Try as they would, a roomful of concerned, and sometimes angry residents from College Park East could not dissuade the Los Alamitos Planning Commission from voting to approve an overall housing element that changed the zoning of a large tract of land that is slated for a major construction project.
Controversy erupted almost immediately after developers who “won” the right at auction to purchase a 21.3-acre tract of developable land at 4665 Lampson Ave. announced plans to demolish the commercial structure to build 246 new residences.
Developers paid $26.5 million for the land, which city officials now say constitutes a significant portion of the “buildable” land remaining in the city. Development Services Director Ron Noda said at the meeting that only .01 percent of land in the city is vacant and suitable for development.
For Los Alamitos, the available tract came to them unexpectedly, and provides for them an opportunity to provide more than one-fourth of the 769 residences included in the so-called 2021-2029 housing element they have filed with the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).
Traditionally, SCAG’s role in housing has been focused on preparing the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) every eight years, to support the production of the SoCal region’s housing goals, according to its website.
SCAG has now expanded its role beyond RHNA to support local government and stakeholders to develop and adopt land use plans and other programs that accelerate housing production and help meet the region’s goals for producing 1.3 million new units of housing by 2029.
Thus, while the city sees an opportunity, angry residents who live across the street from the tract of land see the relatively sleepy commercial development suddenly transformed into a bustling complex of multi-family housing, bringing with it more than 500 new neighbors, a myriad of traffic problems and other concerns.
In addition, concerned residents, who are residents of Seal Beach, feel disempowered by the fact they did not vote for the elected officials in Los Alamitos who will make the ultimate decision.
Thus, while most of the discussion at the Dec. 14 Planning Commission was civil, there were also direct accusations and outbursts as well as Commission Chairman Art Debolt repeatedly reminding the room packed with residents from College Park East that the item on the agenda, even if approved, was only the housing element compliance.
“We have no project on our agenda tonight,” said Debolt. “We are going to be talking about a zoning change and our (city of Los Alamitos) housing element.” He also said a lot of the questions that would undoubtedly be proposed will be “answered” in the coming weeks and months as the Lampson project itself comes into clearer focus of the city.
Residents from CPE, however, were anxious to let the commissioners know how they felt. Some residents spoke from their seats and did not identify themselves, so not all names in this report can be attributed to the statements.
One resident said with 246 residents living across the street, with an average of 2-3 cars per household, CPE residents will not be able to get to their homes. “With 700 more cars going down Lampson Ave., we won’t have access to our own homes,” the lady protested from the audience.
College Park resident Jeff Smith complained that with so many cars, emergency response could be a problem and could pose safety hazards for children getting to school and playing in the neighborhood.
“I believe this development will dramatically affect my family’s ability to get to school in a timely manner,” said Smith. Also, he said “the amount of parking spots in relation to the residences in this development is grossly underrepresented. I’m really concerned about my kids being struck by a car.”
Dan Brandt, who lives in CPE, is a former Los Al police officer, said there are statistics that indicate that Lampson Ave. is already a dangerous place to drive, citing six traffic fatalities between 2000-2018.
He also said he had investigated the affordable project developers involved in the project and that for the previous project, “they put them (developments) next to mass transit, they put it next to underground parking and that sort of stuff. That’s not what this is.”
Several questions were more specific, asking the city to reduce the R-4 designation to R-3, which would still allow multi-family but with less density. (Classifications such as R-4 allow building heights and other technical measurements that regulate residential unit construction).
Debolt repeatedly explained that the Lampson Project, per se, was not on the agenda. “Okay,” he said, “but we don’t have that project before us. We are only setting a framework for the RHNA numbers,” he said.
Noda suggested that opposition leaders are welcome to make appointments to discuss their specific zoning ideas with Los Alamitos staff.
One resident from CPE suggested developers have a good idea they will be approved, saying “they don’t just spend $26.5 million without knowing they will get rezoning approval.”
A volunteer speaking on behalf of the local AYSO said he has seen some changes in the Lampson Project plans, but he laid out exactly what he thought should be changed to allow local sports teams to continue to fully utilize Arbor Park, which is near the proposed development.
“You are going to rezone it,” she asserted. She also suggested it could be a conflict having Les Johnson, a former employee of Seal Beach and a former interim city manager of Los Alamitos involved in the project.
Johnson was present at the meeting but did not speak. He has previously issued an open invitation to meet with the Stop Lampson project directly to answer their questions.
Generally, however, the feeling was combative, perhaps summed up by one man’s outburst as the city tried to explain its lack of vacant land.
“You guys are sitting around here, talking about taking the .01 percent (of vacant land), or whatever it is, and ruining it for the 99%, or at least degrading life for the rest of us.”
The planning commission, as expected, approved the citywide housing element designations after the sometimes-contentious debate. The commission voted 6-0 to unanimously approve the citywide zoning changes to meet the needs of the housing element.
Debolt again insisted that the vote was not Lampson-specific, suggesting that environmental and other studies are just underway for the Lampson project. Once complete, Los Al Planning officials contend developers will have to undergo the entire process with specific details then to discuss.
Following the vote, CPE residents gathered around Brandt outside the meeting room. Brandt said the group of residents from College Park East will be back in force when the planning commission’s action of Dec. 14 must be ratified before the full City Council.
That vote will likely occur at a meeting of the Los Al City Council in early 2023, planning officials say.
Editor’s Note: The Sun made every effort to identify speakers but not all were audible and some just spoke out. The Sun has discussed ways to improve the identification of speakers going forward.
