SEAL BEACH : City Board to Review Bixby Ranch Project

Bixby Ranch Co.’s proposed 223-home development will go before the city’s Environmental Quality Control Board tonight for review of the project’s environmental impact report.

The meeting in City Council chambers at 6:30 p.m. is expected to attract considerable public attention in a city with a history of spirited opposition to major developments.

The proposed Old Ranch Development Plan includes 98 “high-end” houses on about 23 acres overlooking the Old Ranch Country Club golf course. As many as 125 low- to moderate-income homes also are planned on nine acres bordering the golf course.

The project includes construction of a hotel and restaurant near the golf course. The Bixby Ranch Co. would also add 50 acres to the golf course and has offered to build a community center for residents of the surrounding College Park East neighborhood.

Critics say the development would create massive traffic congestion, despite $1 million in traffic improvement fees promised by the company.

“You can re-stripe Seal Beach Boulevard until hell freezes over; it will not alleviate the additional traffic,” said Marty Mahrer, a member of People’s Rebuttal On Bixby’s Expansion, known as PROBE.

The grass-roots group was formed in January to oppose the development. Mahrer said there are also concerns about flooding and the safety of homes planned near Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center.

But company officials say the proposed development will be compatible with the Armed Forces Reserve Center and reflects a 25% reduction in the number of homes originally planned. Developers also say the project will bring new jobs to the city and generate nearly $2 million a year for Seal Beach and the Los Alamitos Unified School District.