SEAL BEACH : Candidates Debate Hellman Ranch Plan

Development and how it will affect Seal Beach’s identity emerged as the major issue at a forum Wednesday night attended by the eight candidates vying for two vacant council seats in the March 27 election.

The candidates discussed issues ranging from traffic to police relations to sidewalk repairs, before an audience of about 60 Seal Beach residents.

The forum--which was probably the last public meeting of the candidates before the election--was marked by a lack of debate and rancor in a city known for its heated politics.

A controversial housing development on a prime piece of real estate has for the last few months been the dominant issue in Seal Beach, which encompasses beaches, a massive retirement community and an old-fashioned downtown shopping district.

The proposed development on the Hellman Ranch site, a picturesque area off Seal Beach Boulevard with sweeping views of downtown Long Beach and the shoreline, was mentioned often during Wednesday night’s forum.

The Mola Development Corp. first proposed construction of 773 dwellings on the 149.5-acre site. That plan was rejected by the city, and a compromise agreement that calls for the construction of 329 homes and the restoration of 41.4 acres of the land for wetlands has received much community support.

The two council seats available are for districts that represent the most diverse areas of the city of 26,000 people.

In District 3, which covers The Hill district of Seal Beach and part of the Leisure World retirement community, three candidates are vying for the seat now held by Councilwoman Joyce Risner, who is prohibited from running for reelection because of a two-term limit.

The candidates are Galen F. Ambrose, a financial controller and co-founder of a Seal Beach environmental group; Gwen Forsythe, a planning commissioner whom Risner has endorsed; and Dennis Pollman, an insurance executive and Seal Beach business owner.

In District 1, which covers downtown Seal Beach and the Surfside neighborhood, five candidates are running for the seat held for eight years by Mayor Victor S. Grgas.

The candidates are Charles Antos, an Orange County planner; James Cook, a firefighter; Marilyn Bruce Hastings, a property management specialist; Douglas Hoxeng, a tavern owner; and Joe Rullo, a contractor endorsed by Grgas.

Antos, Hoxeng, Ambrose and Hastings opposed the Mola agreement, saying a larger portion of the land should be devoted to wetlands. Cook, Rullo, Pollman and Forsythe backed the compromise because they said little could be done to gain more wetlands on the site.