• Election: A reminder: the city of Seal Beach won’t accept ballots until the day of the District One runoff election, Tuesday, Jan. 29. However, there will be a lockbox at City Hall and votes will be accepted from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. This is a mail-only election. Instructions come with the mail-in ballot.
According to Orange County Registrar of Voters, your ballot must be marked on or before Election Day and be received by three days after Election Day.
If you haven’t received your ballot or you made a mistake in filling out your ballot, call the Registrar of Voters at 714-567-7600 before Election Day.
• City Clerk: The city was scheduled to issue an announcement this week that it has officially begun the search for a permanent successor to former City Clerk Robin Roberts, who left the public sector for the private sector in December 2018.
• Street vendor update: The City Council this week approved the second (and final) reading of an ordinance regulating street vendors. The introduction of the ordinance was approved the same night that the council approved an urgency ordinance regulating street (or sidewalk) vendors. The urgency ordinance was necessary to comply with a new state law that requires city to issue permits to sidewalk vendors with limits on the regulations that city governments may impose on the sidewalk vendors.
As previously reported, the state law will allow sidewalk vendors in business and residential areas and parks. The city of Seal Beach, citing safety concerns, will not allow sidewalk vendors on the beach. They will, however, be allowed on the Seal Beach Pier. The sidewalk ordinance was a Consent Calendar item. Consent Calendar Items are voted on collectively, without discussion, unless pulled by a council member.
• Accessory dwelling units update: The council this week approved a second (and final) reading of an ordinance establishing regulations for accessory dwelling units, also known as “granny flats.”
The ordinance was a Consent Calendar item.
The City Council unanimously adopted new rules for “accessory dwelling units,” the agency’s Monday, Dec. 10, 2018, meeting.
As previously reported, the Planning Commission reluctantly recommended that the council approve the ordinance in early November even though none of the five planners actually liked the ordinance.
An additional dwelling unit is basically a small place for someone to live in that is on the same property as a larger house.
If you have a question about a continuing issue, email Associate Editor Charles M. Kelly at editor2@sunnews.org.
