At its meeting this week the City Council asked staff to go back to the State Lands Commission to discuss the proposed lease for the city’s beach facilities. For the first time, the state is asking Seal Beach to pay rent to the state on the city’s facilities on the beach—that includes everything from jetty to jetty, including River’s End Cafe and the pier.
Although staff wanted the council to authorize the city manager to sign a new 30-year lease agreement with the State Lands Commission, council members were not happy with the new requirement that Seal Beach pay the Lands Commission $59,600 a year rent on the land.
The state owns the land in trust for the public.
The previous free 49-year lease expired on June 21.
Another sticking point is that the agreement also includes a requirement that the city give the Lands Commission prior notice before putting up the sand berm and replacing the sand on the beach.
District One Councilwoman Ellery Deaton said she was appalled that the state was asking the city to pay for Seal Beach to take care of its beach.
She said it opened the door for the state to extort more money from Seal Beach in the future.
She added that the city saved the state a lot of money with the services and improvements that Seal Beach has provided.
Deaton said the state was trying to get money out of the city’s pocket and into theirs.
City Treasurer/Finance Director Vicky Beatley said the state had originally wanted nearly $200,000.
Sheri Pemberton, public information officer for the State Lands Commission, said the California agency was asking for rent because land use in the beach area had changed since the previous lease had been approved in 1967.
At that time, according to Pemberton, Lands Commission staff determined there was a public benefit to the land use and no rent was required.
Now Lands Commission staff has determined the land use had changed to commercial use, so lands staff believes charging rent would be appropriate.
According to Pemberton, the fact that some of the facilities generate revenue was the deciding factor.
Examples of that would be income from the beach parking, River’s End restaurant and the fees charged for oil workers to dock next to the Pier going to and from oil islands.
Deaton called the Lands Commission argument specious.
She pointed out that Seal Beach maintains the beach and provides Lifeguard services.
She also said that staff had told the council that the rent was based on the assessed value of the land.
Beatley told the council that the city’s Tidelands Fund, which covers beach area facilities, consistently ran a deficit and that the city’s General Fund covered other costs for operating the beach.
If the beach, facilities, and Pier reverted to ownership by the state, then they could determine what would be the best use of Seal Beach’s beaches.
Huntington State Beach—with RV parking and fire rings—is an example of a state-controlled beach.
