Council Set to Transfer Ownership of Wall

The City Council’s longtime wish to exclude the crumbling Rossmoor wall from Los Alamitos’ city limits may finally come true.

The council on Monday is set to vote on a resolution that would transfer ownership of the wall to Rossmoor Community Services District. Officials said such a move would end a long dispute over who should pay the estimated $100,000 needed to repair the wall, which was damaged in the Landers and Northridge earthquakes.

“It would strictly be their wall, as everybody thought it was all these years,� Los Alamitos Mayor Alice Jempsa said Friday.

Built in 1959, the wall runs through parts of Los Alamitos, Seal Beach and unincorporated Rossmoor. For years, the two cities and the Rossmoor Homeowners Assn. have battled over who is responsible for its repair and maintenance.

Because the 5-foot-tall brick structure was built by Rossmoor developer Ross Cortese to surround the subdivision, Los Alamitos officials say that Rossmoor residents are responsible for it.

The dispute prompted Los Alamitos officials in 1995 to seek county permission to move the city limits 18 inches to the east. Seal Beach officials also petitioned the county to be freed of any responsibility of the wall.

But late last year, the ownership issue was solved by Rossmoor residents, who voted to form an assessment district to repair and maintain the wall.

The county’s Local Agency Formation Commission will consider realigning the wall’s boundaries to fall entirely inside unincorporated Rossmoor if Los Alamitos agrees to transfer property tax revenue within the jurisdiction to the county.

The Seal Beach City Council approved such a property tax transfer at its Jan. 12 meeting.

Los Alamitos’ council will consider the issue when it meets at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 3191 Katella Ave.