Residents urge Seal Beach to seek alternatives, safety studies for DWP pipeline route across College Park West bridge

Residents of College Park West told the Seal Beach City Council on Feb. 24 they fear safety and access consequences if the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP) proceeds with a pipeline route that would use the neighborhood’s single bridge for pipe placement.

Jim Lingle, a longtime resident, told the council a petition representing most of the neighborhood’s 306 homes carried “probably over 300 signatures” and asked the city to require due diligence and independent studies on bridge safety and traffic-control impacts before any decision on the route. He described the potential safety consequences in case of a collapse or an emergency that blocks the community’s only vehicular access.

Other residents echoed those concerns. Jackie Wurfane and Ludo Wurfane urged the council to press DWP for structural and public-safety analyses and to present alternative alignments. Ludo Wurfane suggested routing the pipes along Studebaker Road or building a dedicated pipe bridge, noting Studebaker’s planned overhaul and asking why the pipes could not be placed away from the neighborhood’s bridge.

Why it matters

Residents said College Park West has limited egress during emergencies and argued that construction trenches or strapped pipes over the bridge could reduce lanes and delay emergency response for older residents, some of whom have lived in the neighborhood for decades.

City attorney’s clarification of process

City Attorney Gorelli told the council that a franchise agreement would be required before a pipeline could be constructed in Seal Beach right-of-way and that the council would have to consider and negotiate any franchise and likely adopt an ordinance to authorize it. She said, “a franchise agreement approved by the city council would need to be, considered by the city council before that pipeline could be constructed using the current path that relies on city of Seal Beach right-of-way.”

What residents asked the council to do

Speakers asked the council to require: independent structural analysis of the bridge; explicit plans for lane and emergency access during construction; consideration of alternate routes that avoid the College Park West bridge; and formal city-led studies rather than reliance on DWP-provided materials.

Ending

Residents said they want Seal Beach to act on safety and alternatives before any franchise or construction is approved. The transcript records public comment and the city attorney’s reminder about the franchise-and-ordinance process; it does not record a council vote or decision on the pipeline at this meeting.