Seal Beach, Calif. – As a town where cats have lazed on the City Council dais and a kazoo band toots in the annual Christmas parade, Seal Beach has long clung to its turn-back- the-clock vibe.
So it came as little surprise when folks in Old Town, an enclave of eclectic bungalows west of the Pacific Coast Highway, decided there was no bigger threat than homes remodeled to resemble wedding cakes.
Roger West, 82, was among the longtime residents who feared that Seal Beach, nestled on the Pacific between Long Beach and Huntington Beach, was succumbing to well-heeled newcomers who wanted to top their homes with third stories.
“I resent that I have to spend my life trying to save this town from people who want to exploit it for money,” West said. “How can you say you want a small-town feel with a third story? It’s just greedy.”
Debates over so-called mansionization have cleaved communities elsewhere, leaving folks fuming over burly dwellings that muscle out modest homes.
Up and down Pacific Coast Highway, it was no coincidence that neighborhood tempers have flared as median home prices between 2000 and 2005 more than doubled in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.
In response, more than half a dozen coastal cities have adopted building restrictions to preserve their flip-flop charm, including Oceanside, Solana Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes. San Clemente’s recent ban on second stories in the Shorecliffs neighborhood has resulted in a petition drive and a lawsuit.
Seal Beach, with about 24,000 residents, is a place where Navy broods and retirees mingle. With a 5,000-acre Naval Weapons Station isolating it, the city remains more homey than its brethren.
But the asking price for a bare- bones home on a 25-foot-wide lot has leaped from about $350,000 to as much as $800,000 in the past five years, real estate agents said.
