Residents Urged to Voice Opinions on Massive Condo and Hotel Project Bordering Seal Beach

Seal Beach city leaders are urging residents to voice their views Thursday about the 12-story condominium tower, theater and shopping complex proposed for the corner of 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach a half-mile from the city border. 

The sheer size and traffic associated with the project along with its proximity to the wetlands has made it one of the largest and most controversial projects in Belmont Shore in years.

One flank of the project is .3 of a mile from the border of Seal Beach. At that location it could have significant impacts on the local skyline and traffic, prompting the Seal Beach City Council to approve a letter to Long Beach, noting “significant concerns.” However, Seal Beach city officials have not declared an opposition to the project.

In a newsletter to Seal Beach residents, City Councilwoman Ellery Deaton urged residents to attend a Long Beach Planning Commission meeting Thursday to learn more about the project and to tell Long Beach officials what they think about it.

“Whatever happens at 2nd and PCH will affect our quality of life in Seal Beach,” Deaton wrote in her newsletter. “Seal Beach needs to be represented.”

Deaton quoted a letter from a project opponent, noting, “It's important that those who oppose this development, as proposed, make our voices heard at this meeting.  Most likely, if one developer gets major concessions granted, other developers will follow and our lovely beach community will begin to look like Marina Del Rey with all their high rise buildings.”

The project, which is in the review stage for a draft environmental impact report, calls for a 12-story condominium, a 99-seat theater, a 100-room hotel and thousands of square feet for restaurants.

While a handful of Seal Beach residents have attended Seal Beach City Council meetings to raise concerns about the project, the local response to the project has been measured.

Seal Beach resident Joe Fiori said he could live with the prospect of a 12-foot condo tower a few blocks away. It’s the traffic that has him worried.

“It’s more of a traffic issue for me,” Fiori said. “I can deal with a 12-story building as long as it doesn’t set a precedent. This big issue is that the traffic at that already congested corner (PCH and 2nd Street) is only going to get worst unless they find a way to extend Studebaker.”

In a letter to Long Beach City officials, Firor asked planners to consider extending Studebaker Road behind the Marketplace shopping Center, so that it joins with PCH near the San Gabriel River.

While the extension of Studebaker would allow Seal Beach residents to bypass the crowded PCH and 2nd Street intersection to get to the freeway, it would cut through the Los Cerritos Wetlands, something likely to find opposition from local environmentalists as well as the California Coastal Commission.

A final environmental report is expected to come out this summer or fall. An architect for the project said it was meant to retain the character of the city, encourage connections through spaces meant for pedestrian, bike, boat and bus access, encourage views, and provide an "iconic east gateway into the city." There would be an open space area of unknown size, possibly a shuttle for hotel guests, and the tallest buildings would be constructed closer to PCH than to Marina Dr., which runs along the edge of the marina.

Traffic has long been a major concern for residents and workers in the area who fear their daily drive to freeways and work and Trader Joe's will be slowed even more with a new population of people living and working on the 11 acres in the 12-story condo building, hotel and restaurants. Long Beach city traffic engineers found that the average delay at the intersection of 2nd and PCH is calculated to be 40-45 seconds, and the proposed development plan would increase this wait by about 15 seconds.

Thursday's meeting is at 5 p.m. at Long Beach City Council Chambers, 333 West Ocean Blvd.

Nancy Woo contributed to this report.