Tourists and Seal Beach

I read with interest your article “Tourists’ Imminent Departure Has Laguna’s Walkarounders Reeling.” The story focused on the locals celebration of the departure of the summer tourist swarm and quoted one Laguna Beach local making reference to the increased number of tourists year-round as saying, “I wish it was like in the old days where, when Labor Day came, you really got your town back.”

Some of us remember the Laguna of the “old” days. Here in Seal Beach we still have a bit of that “old” days feeling left, but we are having to fight very hard to save our city from the city government.

City government in Seal Beach is doing everything possible to make Seal Beach more attractive to tourists rather than trying to protect our little community from over-commercialization. It sponsors every type of commercial endeavor that will bring more people to the city, including events that promote drinking of alcoholic beverages on city property! One of their more recent scams was an attempt to close down the Main Street in town (prohibit parking) and make a mall out of the area for a two-day event.

As it stands now, the city is trying to proceed with a policy that will eliminate any multiple-housing units, such as duplexes and triplexes, because they say we have a parking problem. Yet it actively promotes events and commercial construction that is aimed at bringing more people into the city and “putting Seal Beach on the map.”

The residents of Seal Beach have filed an initiative that will put vital city issues regarding future development to a vote of the people.

Residents must work together now to preserve the small-town feeling and quaint atmosphere before we become “overdeveloped” and “redeveloped” like so many other beach cities.

MICHELLE A. BRENDEL

Seal Beach