Seal Beach : Residents Plan to Protest Business Park Approval

Opponents of the proposed Bixby Ranch Co. business park that voters approved this week said Wednesday that they will protest results of the special election to the Orange County registrar of voters, charging that there were several balloting improprieties.

In written statements given to City Clerk Joanne Yeo Tuesday, four residents said they saw cards on polling place tables urging a “yes” vote on Proposition A, the Bixby development.

Later, Barbara Rountree, one of the four, said an election worker at one polling place improperly removed each ballot from its envelope before depositing it in the ballot box.

Another concern regarding the election surfaced at Monday’s City Council meeting, when Councilman Victor Grgas presented a letter he received in the mail, written on what appeared to be official City Council letterhead and signed by the three council members who supported Proposition A--Mayor Oscar Brownell, Vice Mayor Joyce Risner and Councilwoman Edna Wilson.

The letter, which urges a “yes” vote, reads in part: “Attached is a coupon with your polling place on it. Please take it with you when you vote.”

At the bottom of the letter, in pale gray print, it reads: “Not printed or mailed at public expense.”

The council directed City Atty. Greg Stepanicich to determine whether the letter violates Fair Political Practices Commission rules or the state election code.

According to John Follis, co-chairman of Concerned Citizens of Seal Beach and one of those who submitted a statement, the four residents saw the polling place improprieties at six of nine Leisure World precincts. The Bixby proposal received its greatest support in the Leisure World precincts.

With 44% of the city’s registered voters casting ballots, the Bixby proposal received 4,930 “yes” votes (56.5% of the total) and 3,797 “no” votes (43.5%). The special election was called to decide the fate of the controversial $36-million development proposed for an 18-acre site bordered by the San Diego Freeway, Seal Beach Boulevard and the Rossmoor wall.

The second measure on the ballot, asking voters whether they objected to a plan by the California Department of Transportation to widen Pacific Coast Highway to six lanes through the city, received 4,192 “no” votes from 50.6% of those casting ballots.