Speaking before a packed City Council Chamber, Seal Beach and Rossmoor citizens spoke for more than an hour against the proposed LA Fitness Club at the Shops at Rossmoor. No one spoke in favor of the project Monday night. The project was not on the council agenda.
The project’s potential to aggravate traffic congestion and increase crime were the main concerns raised by opponents of the proposed 37,000 square foot health club, which would be located behind the Sprouts store in the Shops at Rossmoor (which is actually in the City of Seal Beach.)
One man argued that the number of parking spaces alloted to the proposed gym would be inadequate, pointing out that the parking spaces at the nearby 24 Hour Fitness club in Los Alamitos are full during peak hours. Another man recited a Google-generated list of news stories about crimes associated with LA Fitness clubs.
Kevin Pearce, of the Coalition Against LA Fitness Project, said the consultant that created the Draft Environmental Impact Report drew the numbers for its traffic study from a book that is used for projects all over the United States.
Last week, the Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board took comments from the public on the draft environmental report. The agenda package for the meeting included 50 letters and emails from supporters of the project and 15 from opponents.
LA Fitness and opponents of the project have both set up websites. Opponents have gathered 195 signatures on an online petition against the project.
–This article appeared in the April 12, 2017 print edition of the News Enterprise.