The Department of Defense and Seal Beach officials are working on a study of land use at the Naval Weapons Station and neighboring communities. The Joint Land Use Study area includes the Navy base, Seal Beach and Long Beach.
“The Joint Land Use Study is a Department of Defense effort to help ensure compatible land use planning between military installations and local communities. The public can make comments throughout the process. A draft report should be available later this year,” said Gregg Smith, public affairs officer for the Seal Beach Navy base.
According to the project overview on the website for the study, “The goal of a JLUS is to reduce potential conflicts between military installations and surrounding areas while accommodating new growth and economic development, sustaining economic vitality, protecting public health and safety, and protecting the operational missions of NWS Seal Beach.”
“The NWS Seal Beach JLUS will provide stakeholders with:
“• A land use assessment for surrounding potential growth areas;
“• A baseline of existing incompatible land uses around the installation;
“• An assessment of regional and local growth trends;
“• A plan to assist surrounding communities in making informed decisions regarding compatibility; and
“• Recommendations and strategies to promote compatible land use planning around NWS Seal Beach and within the surrounding communities.”
According to the website, project organizers are planning three public workshops on yet-to-be-determined dates. The first will provide an overview of the study, the second will refine the issues and the third will present a draft of the study. That will begin the formal public comment segment of the project before the final version of the study is released.
However, according to Crystal Landavazo, project manager and the city’s interim director of Community Development, the dates, times and locations of the meetings have not yet been confirmed.
According to the project website, The study will be “guided” by two committees: a public policy committee made up of local, state and Federal officials, both civilian and military; and a technical committee, the members of which will be based on the recomendations of the policy committee.
According to the website, “This project is being funded through a grant provided by the Department of Defense, Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) to the City of Seal Beach.”
The project manager is Crystal Landavazo, senior planner (and interim director of Community Development) for Seal Beach.
Her email address is clandavazo@sealbeachca.gov.
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