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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmailed Comment from Joyce Perry December 1, 2025 Shaun Temple Planning Manager City of Seal Beach Community Development Department 211 Eighth Street Seal Beach, CA 90740 Via Email stemple@sealbeachca.gov Re: Opposition to the Hellman Solar PV Electrical System Project Dear Mr. Temple, On behalf of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation- Belardes, we are writing to express our strong opposition to the proposed Hellman Solar PV Electrical System Project. Our Tribe holds deep and continuous ties to the Los Cerritos Wetlands. These lands are part of a cultural landscape shaped by generations of our ancestors who relied upon the lifeways of the natural waterways. The wetlands remain a living cultural landscape for our people today. This land intersects with the village of Motuucheyngna, which was an important site within the larger cultural landscape of Puvungna. Puvungna is widely recognized as one of the most significant Indigenous cultural landscapes in Southern California, and portions of it are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For thousands of years, Motuucheyngna was a place of residence, ceremony, trade, and relationship with the land and waters. The broader Puvungna landscape continues to hold immense spiritual and cultural meaning to our Tribe and other Native communities throughout the state and country. The MND does not meaningfully analyze the site as a tribal cultural landscape. CEQA requires lead agencies to consider impacts to tribal cultural resources and to consult with tribes in a manner that allows for mitigation of potential effects. This landscape must be understood as an interconnected whole, not as isolated archeological sites that can be avoided through minimal mitigation. Our Tribe has consistently emphasized that protecting Motuucheyngna and Puvungna requires the preservation of cultural resources, waters, wildlife, and native plant communities. Over the past century, the Hellman property and surrounding areas have undergone repeated disturbance including agriculture, oil extraction, construction, and unregulated digging. All of this contributed to the 32211 Los Amigos, San Juan Capistrano, California 92675 ◊ (949) 293-8522 ◊ kaamalam@gmail.com destruction of cultural resources, and the disinterment of ancestral remains. Our Tribe and the larger tribal community of Southern California have continually sought to protect Motuucheyngna and Puvungna. Significant parts of the cultural landscape remain vulnerable to further disturbance and destruction. We value the transition to renewable energy sources when it is implemented in a manner that avoids harm to sensitive cultural and environmental resources. However, the proposed Hellman Solar Project does not meet this standard. The current proposal risks further disturbing a vulnerable cultural landscape. The ground disturbance required to install the more than 3,100 panels across 4.66 acres of land, trenching for utilities, and removal of vegetative cover risk significant impacts to cultural, and ecological resources. We respectfully urge the City to reconsider this proposal in light of the deep historical, cultural, and environmental significance of this land. Tribal concerns must be centered in this decision making process. Consultation should reflect not only the requirements of CEQA and state law but the ethical responsibility to protect ancestral landscapes from further harm. We believe the location is inappropriate for industrial development, including energy generation infrastructure. The Los Cerritos Wetlands represent one of the last remaining coastal wetlands in our traditional territory and should be protected and restored, not subjected to further disturbance. We remain committed to working collaboratively to ensure responsible stewardship of this irreplaceable cultural landscape. Sincerely, Mark Mendez, Vice Chairman Christina Gollette De Gonzalez, Councilwoman Matias Belardes, Chairman Dustin Murphey, Councilman Joyce Stanfield Perry, Cultural Resource Director 32211 Los Amigos, San Juan Capistrano, California 92675 ◊ (949) 293-8522 ◊ kaamalam@gmail.com