Seal Beach Aids Hellman Ranch Development Talks

SEAL BEACH —  Quiet negotiations over the last four years between a councilwoman and local representatives of the Hellman Ranch have resulted in plans to build 66 homes and a golf course on one of the last open-space areas in the city.

The proposal was presented in San Francisco on Tuesday to Hellman family members who own the 149 acres, much of it wetlands, across Seal Beach Boulevard from the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.

The proposal is largely the work of years of negotiations between Councilwoman Gwen Forsythe and representatives of the Hellman family. Council members said they have been aware of the talks but had not made them public for fear of jeopardizing the agreement.

“What we’ve been facing through this entire transaction here is that we have tried to massage it to what we think will be acceptable to the community,” Forsythe said. “What it’s hinging on right now is approval of the Hellman estate. That’s about 45 very conservative folks up north that may or may not like the plan.”

The last proposal to develop the Hellman Ranch sparked five years of debate and legal challenges that have yet to be fully resolved. Mola Development Corp., which had sought to build 329 homes on the site, still has an $11-million lawsuit pending against the city.

Under the new proposal, the 66 homes would be surrounded by an 18-hole public golf course, wilderness park and wetlands observation area.

“We’re keeping our fingers crossed,” said Forsythe, who expects a decision from the Hellman family by the end of the week. Even in development-wary Seal Beach, Forsythe said, she believes the plan will meet with most residents’ approval.

“The previous development was not financially beneficial to the community,” Forsythe said. “The cost of providing city services would have caused a recurring debt to Seal Beach.”

Councilman George Brown called the new proposal “a great idea. It apparently will satisfy the majority of people and allow Hellman to develop their property with the least amount of controversy.”

Councilman Frank Laszlo, an adamant slow-growth advocate, agreed.

“I think it would go over pretty well in the city, and I expect the council would support it 100%,” Laszlo said. “From what I know about it, I think it will be very good for the city. It sounds reasonable.”

Hellman representatives could not be reached for comment.

Battles over the property, owned by the Hellman family for more than 100 years, have made political careers and prompted angry resignations.

The election of Forsythe and current Mayor Marilyn Bruce Hastings to the City Council in 1990 was considered a victory for opponents of the $200-million Mola project, which had been approved by the previous City Council. A Superior Court decision invalidated the approval, sending the project back to the council for reconsideration.

But before the new council members took office, city officials held a series of marathon-length meetings, one lasting until 4:30 a.m., to try to win approval for the project again. Their efforts failed.

Forsythe and Hastings became part of a 3-2 majority that rejected the project one month after they were seated. Council members based their rejection on seismic risks from the nearby Newport-Inglewood fault and cited geologic reports of soil instability.

The political and legal fallout continued.

Councilman Joe Hunt, a supporter of the Mola project, promptly gave up his council seat. About three months later, City Manager Robert Nelson also resigned over the issue. The next year, the project’s fate was sealed when city residents voted against it by a 25% margin on a June ballot initiative.

Mola Development Corp. then filed suit, but a federal appeals court refused to reverse the city’s decision. The company also filed an $11-million lawsuit against Seal Beach, contending the city’s basis for rejecting the project was invalid. The lawsuit is still pending.

“The courts have thrown most of the major things out in the case, but it could still cause us problems,” Brown said. “The case isn’t done until it’s done.”

More recently, Bixby Ranch Co. officials withdrew a 223-home residential and commercial project last November on the eve of City Council hearings, predicting certain defeat by the slow-growth council majority.

The Seal Beach council election in March was widely considered to be a referendum on development. Slow-growth candidate Patty Campbell, who voted against the Bixby project as a planning commissioner, defeated former planning commissioner Phillip Fife, a Bixby supporter. They were vying for the council seat held by Laszlo, who is stepping down on Tuesday because of term limits.

Councilman Bill Doane stepped down in protest of Fife’s defeat, saying the city was courting fiscal insolvency by refusing to encourage revenue-generating developments.

But Brown said the city is not anti-growth.

“We keep getting labeled as being against growth. We’re not really anti-growth, but we want growth that is reasonable.” The mayor said the Hellman plan “could set a new standard for development. It’s going to be terrific.”

Before any construction could begin, the project would be subject to environmental review and public hearings by the Planning Commission and City Council.