Update: The 5 p.m., Thursday, April 7, public meeting to discuss the proposed replacement of the Naval Weapons Station ammunition pier will be held in the Senior Center of the Seal Beach Mary Wilson Library. The center is located at 707 Electric Ave. The Navy changed the meeting location at the request of the Seal Beach City Council. The article below has been edited to reflect the change.
Editor’s Note: This article corrrects an error that appeared in the print edition of the Sun that misidentified Anahiem Bay as Alamitos Bay. We regret the error.
A meeting will be held Thursday, April 7, to look at the U.S. Navy’s proposed plan to replace the ammunition pier at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Navy personnel will be on hand to answer the public’s questions about the proposal.
Community Development Director Jim Basham said city staff would be at the meeting. Basham said he hadn’t decided yet who would be there.
District One Councilwoman Ellery Deaton will “absolutely” attend the meeting.
Navy officials want to build a 1,100-foot by 125-foot replacement ammunition pier inside Anaheim Bay. The project would include a new civilian boating channel.
“I support our Navy and our Navy’s work around the world to keep us safe. Seal Beach has an excellent relationship with our Navy and the Navy is doing an Environmental Analysis to be sure that any possible unintended negative consequences are identified and mitigated. It is premature to support or oppose this particular project until an Environmental Analysis is done,” according to Deaton. She encouraged Seal Beach residents to attend the April 7 meeting.
“We’re only at the earliest stages of this project,” said Gregg Smith, public information officer for the base. The Navy is preparing a document that is called an environmental assessment for the project. But nothing has been approved yet.
According to Smith, the Navy must first prepare a document called an Environmental Assessment.
Before doing that, the Navy wants to know what the public’s concerns are. Getting public comment will take about a month.
Then the Navy will prepare a draft of the Environmental Assessment, a process that will take about a year. Then, Smith said, the Navy would seek public comment on the draft. In late 2017 or early 2018, the Navy will issue the final assessment.
Depending on the assessment, the Navy could determine that an Environmental Impact Report is necessary. That could take another two years, according to Smith.
One of the changes that could result from the project is the relocation of the civilian boating channel in Anaheim bay. Smith said that right now, the civilian boating channel goes by the ammunition facility. This is a security concern for the Navy, which sometimes makes it necessary to shut down the harbor to civilian boat traffic.
Smith said the project would move the channel farther from Navy operations, with less need to shut down civilian boating traffic.
Seal Beach merchant Joe Kalmick said repairing or possibly realigning the breakwater on our side of Anaheim Bay would possibly reduce erosion of the city’s beach. Kalmick would also like to see the base improve the visual appearance of the fence at the end of the beach.
Smith said there has been no formal study on the economic impact of the project, but the base would be able to handle larger ships, which would mean more business opportunities because of the potential for more sailors to visit Seal Beach on liberty.
Kalmick, who lives on Seal Way, said the Navy’s plan seems to be OK in terms of the layout and its impact on the civilian neighborhood. He said the fact that the Navy wants to do the project looks good for the long-term existence of the Seal Beach base. Kalmick described having the base here as a blessing on the community.
Kalmick said that allowing—or not obstructing—the project would ensure that the Navy base will remain open, which he said everyone would like to see.
Former Chamber president Seth Eaker said, ““It is exciting and amazing that the Naval Weapons Station – Seal Beach (NWS-SB) is considering a project of the size and scope. Such an investment by the Federal government into our community will only create jobs, enhance the long-term viability of the NSW-SB and will enhance the value of our entire community in the long term.”
He also said “that as a former member of the DWP Advisory Committee, these types of development projects always lead to a small, vocal minority which wishes to oppose any growth or development, or because they have an alternative scenario so that they could land grab what the Federal government will ultimately turn over to the City of Seal Beach.”
