‘Rossmoor People’ off base
Dear Editor,
I just can’t believe the attitude of all the Rossmoor people who are opposed to plans for the new L.A. Fitness location in Seal Beach.  I’m not sure where these Rossmoor people are getting their information, but I’ve never in my life seen anyone living in their cars in a gym parking lot because they can’t afford to live close to work.  I challenge any of them to show me an example of this.
As for the noise concerns, it’s obvious none of these Rossmoor people have ever been inside of an L.A. Fitness location because they are widely known as some of they quietest fitness facilities in the country.
I’m also appalled that they contend that a “gym” will bring crime to their sub-division.  This is a fitness facility, not a meth lab!   If that Rossmoor wall isn’t making them feel safe, then perhaps they should install a gate, like the one over at Leisure World.  The real crimes are those atrocious McMansions they are allowing to be built inside Rossmoor.
What these Rossmoor people should be more concerned about is that it’s an L.A. Fitness when what we really need is a REAL gym such as a Golds Gym, Powerhouse Gym or World Gym and not just a fitness center.
Putting my muscle where my mouth is,

Chris Mitchell Kingry
Seal Beach

Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the Seal Beach Department of Community Development from January from the Rossmoor Homeowners Association Board of Directors. The author has given the News Enterprise permission to publish that letter here.   

The Rossmoor Homeowners Association has reviewed various plans and analyses for the LA Fitness Club Project at the Shops of Rossmoor and has serious concerns about the adequacy of the parking and traffic analysis. We would like to file these comments for the EIR.
The RHA has long worked with adjacent cities, the Los Alamitos Unified School District and the County of Orange on traffic impacts within and outside our community. The county and the school district have undertaken extensive and costly efforts to mitigate traffic congestion during school hours, which impacts not only Rossmoor residents but many Seal Beach parents who drive their children into one of Rossmoor’s four elementary schools.
We are concerned that the analysis for this high volume retail establishment could reverse the improvements that the school district, the very district that serves your city, and the county have undertaken.
At its own cost, the school district has begun a program offering low cost bus service to the Rossmoor schools from Seal Beach and has cited about 200 families that are subscribing to the service each day. The health club is almost certain to add many more vehicle trips than that to Rossmoor streets.
We are particularly concerned about increased traffic volumes on St. Cloud and Montecito roads, which carry large volumes of vehicles to Rossmoor Elementary School, as well as Weaver Elementary and Hopkinson Elementary. It also is a main pedestrian and bicycle route to the schools.
The city must require the developer to improve the analysis on how future patrons will access the club. The main entrance seems to be west bound on Rossmoor Center Way, an access road that is already congested from serving the large number of retail stores at the front of the complex.
One serious potential problem is that visitors to the sports center will find an alternative route through Rossmoor, accessing the club eastbound on Rossmoor Center Way or from a freight entrance at the stop of sign of Copa De Oro. Either route would cause serious traffic problems during school hours. Moreover, the freight entrance does not appear to be properly engineered for general traffic, even though it would provide access to the club.
The other issue of serious concern is the informal agreement that the Shops of Rossmoor made to allow Seal Beach residents in nearby apartments to park in the lot that is slated for development. The accommodation relieved the problem of Seal Beach residents of the apartments parking in Rossmoor in front of private homes.  If this accommodation is lost, Seal Beach must find a solution to the overflow parking from the apartments.
The RHA has heard overwhelming opposition to the development of the health club. While we believe economic development in many cases is a positive for our community, we want it to be done without impairing the safety of pedestrians, congesting our residential streets or causing overflow parking into neighborhoods.

Beverley Houghton
RHA President

Last week the House Republicans approved the American Health Care Act, called “TrumpCare” by some.
It is likely to have a significant local economic impact if it gets passed by the Senate and signed into law.
According to Data USA, a number-crunching website, healthcare/social assistance is the number one industry and source of jobs in Los Alamitos.
Over 800 jobs In Los Alamitos are in the healthcare/social assistance field, according to the latest available data from 2015. The next largest Los Alamitos industry is education, with over 600 jobs. Healthcare creates over 15 percent of the Los Alamitos job market.
For Cypress, healthcare/social assistance is tied for first place as the source of jobs.  Approximately 3,000 employees in Cypress work in the healthcare field, 12.6 percent of the job market.
No one can easily predict how the House bill will fare in the Senate, nor whether any massive changes will ultimately be approved and signed into law.
One thing is for certain, the House Republican bill will significantly decrease the overall monies going into the healthcare field.
The severe reduction of money going into healthcare is a result of the combined impact of several different changes.  Most of the current healthcare taxes, including even some Medicare taxes, are reduced or eliminated:
The individual mandate and its penalties (taxes) are eliminated, retroactively to the beginning of 2016.
The employer mandate and its penalties (taxes) are eliminated, also retroactive to the beginning of 2016.
The premium tax credit is first modified then repealed effective 2020.
The Net Investment Income Tax of 3.8 percent on the unearned income of wealthy individuals and estates is eliminated. This tax was part of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and helped pay for healthcare insurance premium subsidies.
The small employer health insurance tax credit is eliminated effective 2020.
The “Cadillac” tax on high cost employer health plans is delayed until 2026.
The medical device excise tax is eliminated.
The 10 percent “tanning” tax is eliminated effective June 30, 2017. This tax also helped pay for subsidies.  Because there is a direct correlation between excessive use of tanning salons and skin cancer, this tax was imposed as part of the Obama era healthcare bill.
The annual fees on health insurance providers and branded prescription drug manufacturers are eliminated.
In sum, the House Republican-passed bill eliminated all the federal sources of funds, which funded subsidies for individual and small business health insurance plans, as well as the funding for Medicaid extension to the working poor.
The House bill did not go through the normal Congressional Budget Office vetting and analysis for its impact on the U.S. Deficit and on health care consumers.
Thus, we don’t know yet the predicted specific impacts of its massive tax cuts and other provisions.
What is obvious is that much of the Republican bill’s cuts will go into the pockets of wealthy individuals, corporations and estates.
That money is not going to be spent on healthcare employment, whether locally or anywhere.

Joel Block is a retired attorney and freelance writer living in Rossmoor.

This column appeared in the May 10, 2017 print edition of the News Enterprise.

Village 605 is the name of a proposed shopping center development in Los Alamitos at the 605 Freeway/Katella interchange.
On March 2 a lawsuit was filed against the project’s developer and the City of Los Alamitos to prevent the project from going forward.
The plaintiffs claim that California environmental protections and the City’s own Municipal Code were violated by the cancelling of an administrative-appeal hearing on the project.
It is not a simple legal dispute, it mostly deals with procedural rights and does not directly attack the environmental impacts of the project.
Many local residents in the surrounding communities have publicly voiced their concerns over fears of increased traffic congestion, pollution and the danger to pedestrian safety. This is especially a concern for families with students who currently or will attend the adjacent Oak Middle School and also nearby Los Alamitos High School.  Also in the immediate vicinity are the Los Alamitos Youth Center and the Los Alamitos Civic Center.
The nearby corner of Katella and Los Alamitos Boulevards is already one of the busiest intersections in Orange County.

Katella Already Congested
The OC Register reported in 2010 it was the 6th busiest, based upon 2008 data.  Since then, much development of high-density medical buildings along Katella Blvd. has increased its traffic.
Young people commuting on foot or bike to either Oak, the Youth Center or the High School, are directly impacted by increased traffic along Katella.
One might wonder why in 2014 the City rezoned the proposed site from its long-standing ‘office’ designation to ‘retail’ uses.  After all, any large-scale retail development in that location would create substantial traffic increases on the only access street, Katella Boulevard.
The simple answer is that the City wanted to expand its retail sales tax base.
Sales tax revenues for small local cities hosting large retail shopping areas can create their own pot of gold.
The City of Commerce, which hosts The Citadel outlet mall and other retailers, raises $1,150 in sales taxes per resident, more than 10 times the amount raised by the average California City.
Having multiple local shopping areas is wonderfully profitable for the host city.
But, will the impact this may have on the community be a price we are willing to pay?

Joel Block is a retired attorney and freelance writer living in Rossmoor

Earth Day, Climate Change March

Dear Editor,
Earth Day was April 22 and the Climate Change March was April 29. Both were very important days for the planet that we all share and inhabit. The March was nation wide, but D.C. felt the real impact–over 200,000 strong. I participated locally and it too, was a successful outing. Lets hope that the message is getting to our leader, but unfortunately he was at his resort in Florida, Mar a Lago costing the taxpayers millions and making money off his business interests, which is actually supposed to be illegal, no president will make money except for his salary as president? With the lowest approval rating ever, I would think he would stay “home.”
As an American History major, which I just love so much, I must state here that it’s impossible to say that a new president just after 100 days, will be the best president ever!
That compares him to the greats such as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and the list goes on. This president gained the trust of the Midwest, a people that are struggling and tired of promises that aren’t fulfilled. However, as soon as he came into office it was evident with his billionaire cabinet that it was just rhetoric.
Our planet is in peril. In 1906 The Antiquities Act was passed to protect our public lands from exploitation and protect the significant natural wonder of this country. Donald Trump has signed yet another executive to overturn this and subject our national parks to oil drilling, fracking, and mining.
Our oceans are a disaster, our coral reefs are dying at an alarming rate. Baby seals in California are starving. We have a mass of plastic that floats off our shore the size of Texas. In California, we have over 250 million trees dead with the drought, which means we can expect more out of control wildfires. The weather around the world is out of control and 2016 is the hottest year on record.
So, what is the response from our president? A $54 million wall to “protect” from the bad people, he dropped one 360 million dollar bomb last week, and a budget hike for the military costing us 54 Billion Dollars! I too was proudly raised in a military and police family. This is pure insanity.
This man has threatened our communities, health, people of color, workers, indigenous people, WOMEN, and the future of our planet, and yes, the country’s budget. But, President Trump I do thank you for truly awakening this country with a grass roots movement that is long over due. Progressive means happening or developing gradually, implementing new social reform, and embracing this beautiful, unique country of ours with renewable energy; there is money there!
Every week I call my representatives, send pictures of stunning landscape to the White House, and include too that Wild Animal Heads do not belong on walls as his son is a trophy hunter.  We all need to help our planet and make an impact any way that is comfortable, but just do it!

Claudia Freeman
Los Alamitos

Thoughts on letter from Republican club
Dear Editor,
I read the letter from the Republican Women. It occurred to me that they might want to spend less time having lunch with each other and maybe read what the rest of us are saying about President Trump’s first 100 days, or maybe listen to the news. They might find out that most of us don’t agree with them. Just a thought.

Charles Milam
Cypress

Learn to tolerate differences, don’t be offended
Dear Editor,
After reading The Sun Letter to the Editor dated April 27, 2017 regarding items left on the beach, I must agree with the writer. I live on the sand and see the trash left behind for city staff to remove; broken chairs, broken umbrellas and EZ up canopies. Items are left every weekend and our city staff is wonderful about clearing off the beach trash and I commend them.
BUT if the real complaint from the writer was a cross left on a public beach and he felt he must publicly impose his outrage on the rest of us then I feel compelled to produce a list of things I find offensive.
I am offended by intolerance. I am offended by people who feel the world should care that they are offended. I am offended by people who use the “F” word around little kids. I am offended by the lack of clothing many women wear to the beach. I am offended by Beyonce and the trash the entertainment industry produces. There are many things that offend me but I know we live in a society where people do not care what I find offensive so I do what most adults do. I have learned to tolerate the differences of a crowded suburban society. If it comes to a point where things become intolerable, I can always move to the desert or the mountains and become my own little intolerant community of me, myself and I.
So my advice to all who “feel” they have the “right” to go through life not being offended; suck it up buttercup and do what most adults do, know that most people don’t care if you are offended, get over yourself and get on with your life.

Margene Walz
Seal Beach

Writer opposes LA Fitness
Dear Editor,
I strongly oppose the LA Fitness Project in the Shops at Rossmoor. No mitigation can compensate for the loss of peace, quiet and safety that will certainly result from the proposed construction of a 37,000 square-foot health club in the middle of our residential neighborhood.
For many years I resided in Anaheim—across the street from a major health club of which I was a member. Clients arrived and departed continually, night and day. The adjacent parking lot was the site for many forms of crime—drug dealing, gang activity, muggings and a base-of-operation for neighborhood vandalism, robbery and human trafficking. It was noisy, dangerous and heaped with refuse. Even stepped-up law enforcement could not keep pace with the criminal activity.
According to the Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board, the Environmental Impact Report conducted on this project “could not encompass issues of crime.” I think that speaks for itself. Surely residents of Seal Beach would not want such a project in their back yard.
Plus, EIRs are notorious for misrepresentation of facts, omissions and errors. A member of Coalition Against LA Fitness cited several examples of contradictory data in the EIR before the Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board. In April of 2012, the EQCB voted down the Bay City Partners EIR for good reason. Much of the land in that proposed project was contaminated or under water.
Let’s learn from mistakes of the past and not give crime a foothold in our precious community!

Diane Rush
Rossmoor

Library Board against LA Fitness
Dear Editor,
The Los Alamitos-Rossmoor Friends of the Library Board of Directors has taken a position of strong opposition to the construction of the 37,000 sq.ft. LA Fitness facility to be located in the Shops of Rossmoor for the following reasons:
1. Proximity.  The location of the planned facility is in extreme close proximity to our library, one of the most highly patronized libraries in the county, serving  the communities of Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, Cypress, Rossmoor; in addition, this location is adjacent to residential neighborhoods making it incompatible with the area.
2. Traffic/Safety.  The impact of increased traffic of approximately 2000 trips per day poses a major safety problem for our library patrons, especially our school children who use the library after school hours which is also heavy use time for gyms.
For these reasons, the Los Al-Rossmoor Friends of the Library Board stands in opposition to the  LA Fitness project.
Action taken at Los Alamitos-Rossmoor Board Meeting, April 12, 2017.

Del Clark, President
Rossmoor

Don’t need big gym
Dear Editor,
Thank you for taking the time to list the pros and cons of the gym. I really don’t like parking restrictions. I also think a BIG gym is so lame. I think the city of Seal Beach should encourage outdoor activities. We have the best weather in the world, let’s brag about that! I think the gym is a crazy idea. I also have heard that there is often times where people live in cars in the surrounding areas, they visit the GYM to shower then head to work, then back to sleep in a car near the gym. This may not be a real negative subject as these people are not always criminals, they just can’t afford rent or living in the areas that they work in, but I would not like to see this in front of my house.  Thank you for listening and taking the time to listen to all the comments.

Mike Massion
Rossmoor

Hopeful gym will be denied
Dear Editor,
I am truly hopeful that when the decision time comes for this project that common sense prevails.  These “studies” are prepared for this parcel, and this parcel only. They are bought and paid for by the developer. No math was explored to include the entire area and the negative impact to all of our communities.  We are supposed to hang our hopes on these numbers to protect our quality of life. Hope is not a method, and the proposed mitigations are not sufficient by any means.
There is no accounting for human behavior and the impact of what we know to be REAL. This will bring more traffic to an already dangerously congested area. Crime will increase and spread to the neighborhood and also put shoppers at risk.
The people in favor of this project cite one thing: personal convenience and saving 10 to 15 minutes here and there.  Remember, they get to leave after their workouts and GO HOME. We are left to deal with everything else around the clock.
When the convenience of a few outweighs preserving the quality of life for the majority, the decision is easy.  Just do the right thing.  Work with your community and be a good neighbor.

Susan Taylor
Rossmoor

We have 3 LA Fitness gyms in 3.8 miles
Dear Editor,
As an owner and resident of the Rossmoor Park area,  I wish to raise my objections to the proposed LA Fitness project.  The traffic and congestion is already bad in the area, especially at the times when LA Fitness gyms have the most attendance.
With the increase in traffic it will cause additional delays and hardship to current property taxpayers.
This is also the time when local children are likely to be out on the streets or on their bikes, putting them at higher risk of injury or death.  It’s likely that people who would normally shop at the Shops at Rossmoor will go elsewhere if they are unable to get access or find parking.
There are three LA Fitness facilities within 3.8 miles of this proposed location, so this one is unnecessary.  Their websites show a graph of their busiest times, all of which coincide with commute traffic and shoppers.
I would like to see Rossmoor property values improve, not go down due to increases in congestion and the other issues such as crime in our neighborhood.

Janis Hawkridge
Seal Beach

Safety concerns about gym
Dear Editor,
I oppose the addition of the fitness building for many reasons.  The main reason I am in opposition is my concern for safety.  I drive Montecito every morning to drop my daughter off at Rossmoor Elementary school.  One morning I was stopped at the corner of Montecito and Bradbury, waiting for cross traffic.
My daughter and I were talking and before I could honk my horn a car had hit a teenager crossing the street on his bike.  My 7 year old daughter and I both screamed in horror as we watched this poor boy be thrown off his bike, over the car, and slam to the ground, right in front of us and we couldn’t stop it or help him.  I crossed the intersection and pulled over to offer help and call for an ambulance.
For the three years we have been driving this route I have seen several close calls and this was by far the worst.  I can’t begin to imagine how many more accidents or close calls will occur if we add more traffic to the area.  Please take the safety of the children into account and consider how the extra traffic will affect the safety of the kids that walk or bike to school.  I believe this is a terrible location and the children will suffer with the additional traffic.

Cheri Real
Los Alamitos

Love the quiet here
Dear Editor,
I recently moved to Rossmoor from one of the condo buildings on Montecito Road in Seal Beach. My favorite part about living in the condos was the access to shopping while still being in a quiet setting.
I oppose the request by LA Fitness to build in the parking lot behind the condos.
The peaceful, neighborhood feel of that center will severely diminish.
The center right now is highly walkable, with walking routes actually mapped out with distances. If you build a gym, any gym, there, you will shatter the walkability of that entire center. I will never let my young children walk through there, as the increased traffic volume will make it unsafe for them to do so.
I also worry about the increase of crime. I have a few friends who had their cars broken in to in the gym parking lot on Valley View and had hundreds of dollars of belongings each stolen.
The police told them gyms are targets for thieves because people often go to the gym on their way home from other places, leaving many of their belongings in the car.  I worry that these individuals will seep in to the streets of Rossmoor and that we will see an increase of property crime, especially on the streets nearest the center. Please picture this gym outside your backdoor, as it literally will be for several hundred Seal Beach residents.  Please.  LA Fitness needs to find a more appropriate location.

Melissa Roudabush
Rossmoor

Stand up for Rossmoor residents
Dear Editor,
I am writing to let you know that I am extremely opposed to an LA Fitness gym being built in the shopping center at the end of my street. I live on Brimhall Drive in Rossmoor. My street exits at Montecito right by the library. My children and I walk, ride bikes, and shop in the area of the neighborhood that will be most impacted by this gym.
The traffic is already so bad, and I know that this gym would bring in so many more cars and people.
I know I don’t live in Seal Beach, but I do shop in Seal Beach, and the success of the local shopping center depends on the Rossmoor homeowners. Until this point, we have seen the shopping center as an asset to the community. We eat there and shop there–we keep it in business.
Someone needs to stand up for Rossmoor residents. As a county “island” we do not have the same influence on city councils and decision makers. One of the reasons that the shopping centers surrounding Rossmoor are so attractive to businesses is because of the families in Rossmoor. And the residents in Rossmoor do not want this huge gym, and the traffic it will bring to our community.
I hope the shopping center developer will consider our input and value our patronage. Please say no to LA Fitness. It is just too much for this community.

Jennifer Burrell
Rossmoor

Gridlock expected
Dear Editor,
Over 33,000 additional daily car trips are projected for developing local projects per recent traffic studies available through gridlock city….
Let’s see ….33,000 X 360 ( to be a little conservative) = 11 million 880 thousand “additional annual car trips” from local projects in the “works”….WOW…WOW…WOW!!!!! ?Ask your elected reprsentativs how they plan to mitigate the negative impact of that on your quality of life. And don’t stop asking until you get an answer Are they making things better or are they making things worse?

Doug Smith
Rossmoor

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