Politics & Government

Could Los Alamitos, Rossmoor and Seal Beach Merge to Create One 'Super City'?

County Supervisor John Moorlach sees merit in the merging of the three communities. Do you?

The communities of Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and Rossmoor are as intertwined as they are distinct from one another.

They share a school district and a police dispatch center along with youth sports leagues and recreational resources.

If Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach has his way, they’d also share a name. Moorlach has long suggested that residents in the three cities consider merging to form one “super city.”

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It’s a politically charged suggestion that hasn’t gained much traction in the past. However, as Rossmoor faces pressure from the county to join forces with Los Alamitos, the idea, once again, has people talking.

In a time of budget deficits and cutbacks, there are economic benefits to be had from such a merger, said Moorlach.

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“It’s a win, win, win all around,” said Moorlach. “It would give the same benefits of a private sector merger.”

However, there really is no precedent for the merger of cities, acknowledged Moorlach.

The real challenge would be to overcome people’s sense of territorialism, he said.

“You can keep your identity and your charm but have more effective governance,” said Moorlach.

By merging, the cities could eliminate duplicate services and departments but still maintain their independent sense of identity much the same way Newport Beach encompasses distinct communities such as Balboa Island and Corona del Mar, he said.

If history is any indicator, such a merger would have major obstacles—public and political will being the biggest.

Decades ago, Seal Beach annexed the portion of land that now houses The Shops at Rossmoor. It was a controversial move then and remains so today as The Shops are patronized by Rossmoor residents, but the sales tax revenue goes into the Seal Beach coffers. The wound was reopened a few years back when Seal Beach city leaders opted not to annex Rossmoor.

In 2008, Rossmoor residents voted not to incorporate to become a city. The cityhood measure is one that divided the community and echoes of that division can be heard in the community’s current efforts to resist annexation by Los Alamitos.

At a meeting in Rossmoor last month, Los Alamitos city leaders offered to provide police and animal control services to Rossmoor and openly discussed the possibility of the two cities one day merging. It was a suggestion met with distrust, hostility and rejection by dozens of Rossmoor residents who spoke up at the meeting.

At a subsequent Local Agency Formation Commission, Moorlach and county officials discussed the possibility of Los Alamitos annexing Rossmoor’s only commercial center at the corner of Katella Avenue and Los Alamitos Boulevard and providing police services to Rossmoor in exchange, said Rossmoor Community Services District General Manager Henry Taboada.

“He dropped a bomb on us,” Taboada said.

Such a move would effectively destroy Rossmoor’s ability to ever support itself as city because Rossmoor would need the sales tax revenue from that corner to sustain itself. Forcing Rossmoor to accept services from Los Alamitos is about a step away from trying to force Rossmoor to be annexed by Los Alamitos, said Taboada.

Rossmoor residents would benefit greatly by merging with Los Alamitos and Seal Beach because they don’t currently have any political say, said Moorlach. The merger into one super city would create a new city with much more political capital, he added.

Getting Seal Beach to reconsider annexing Rossmoor would be a big hurdle, acknowledged Moorlach.

It would be a challenge because each community has its own distinct flavor, said Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce President Erik Dreyer-Goldman.

“Plus the last time I checked, the beach doesn’t go that far inland,” he added.

If people examine the benefits of such a merger, it’s not such a far-fetched possibility, said Moorlach.

“At the end of the day, the big issue is what name we would use, and I think Seal Beach is fine,” said Moorlach. “It’s got salability and an intrinsic means of increasing property values.”


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