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TALKING POINTS
Rezoning Hearing – Monday, September 20, at
6 p.m.
Joreen Aharonian - September 20, 2004
Please
arrive at 5:30 to 5:45 if you plan to attend the hearing.
Make requests:
-
Don’t say, “We don’t want . . .”
-
Say,
“Don’t let Trammell Crow build this . . . Instead, make them do this . .
.”
-
Don’t
get up to repeat what someone else has already said. Don’t read. Speak from the heart. It is more credible.
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Someone
should ask that everyone opposed to the project stand up.
-
If a
person has spoken before, they should stand up and say they want to
state something new for the record.
Again, it should not be something that has already been said.
State, “My name is ____________, and I live at
5420 West 119th Place
. I oppose the project because
. . . . .”
Stress
a need to reduce the housing density. More than 50% of the project
planned is for 600 square-foot studio apartments. They need more variety. There should be more one and two
bedroom apartments and a lesser number of studio apartments. Trammell Crow is suggesting that
people earning $80,000 a year will pay rent of $1,500 for a 600
square-foot studio apartment that isn’t within walking distance of
shopping, transportation or entertainment.
Would you rent a 600 square-foot studio apartment for $1,500 that
is bordered by a courthouse and two freeways? Del Aire consists of 850 houses. Trammell Crow is proposing 450
units, more than half of that of Del Aire.
There is a severe shortage of parking at the courthouse. Request that the courthouse
purchase some of the property for additional parking. Lack of parking has brought
undesirable people to
119th Street
/Place in Del Aire.
People living near the Metro Rail in Del Aire have experienced problems
with people parking their cars for several days while taking the shuttle
to the airport.
Recently, the
Wiseburn
School District
received approval to build a high school.
They need land someplace. Why
doesn’t the county donate the property to Wiseburn for the high school? This would be an ideal
location for a high school. It
would alleviate parking problems around a high school that some
residential areas are experiencing, and the school would not experience
grid-lock when students are being shuttled to and from school. There would be space for a football
field, basketball courts, pool, etc.
Request
that Trammell Crow build only 19 units or less per acre, not the 90 units
they are proposing.
Hawthorne
will not allow this density; they allow only 19 units per acre. The LAAFB housing at the corner of
El Segundo and Aviation is zoned R-1 and is single family only.
Hawthorne
is permitting them to build only 19 units per acre. The city of
El Segundo
will not allow this density either. So
why is the El Segundo Chamber of Commerce endorsing it?
Trammell
Crow’s project is similar to projects approved by the City of
Hawthorne
several years ago. One of the
projects is
Monita
Gardens
located at Prairie and Rosecrans. They
included more bachelor apartments than one and two bedrooms. Initially, individuals with
well-paying jobs occupied these apartments.
They eventually moved. The
housing was very nice in the beginning, but they slowly deteriorated. These apartments have reverted to
slums, which have resulted in higher crime and attendant problems. They have been a drain on the
Hawthorne Police Department and the Hawthorne Fire Department, with 70% of
the police and paramedics servicing this project. The police will not go into this
area without backup.
Due to high density,
Hawthorne
is now experiencing sewers getting clogged by grease and sewage overflows.
Redondo Beach
recently experienced a similar situation due to high density. We don’t want what has happened
to
Hawthorne
. Studio apartments attract transient renters. It is temporary housing. City
of Hawthorne is out of balance in ratio of apartments to homeowners. The Trammell Crow project will add
to the problem.
Trammell Crow says that the project will provide housing for individuals
working in the
South
Bay
and that the project is close to the airport and the Metro Rail. The Metro Rail goes only as far
as Costco. It does not cover
the South
Bay
.
Although there is a 27% vacancy rate with commercial buildings, a new
commercial building will bring more jobs into the area, which we need. Many people have been laid off and
are still looking for work. Commercial
buildings provide a buffer from traffic, and traffic is not an issue
unless it drives through the community.
This is zoned for commercial; we believe it should be used for
commercial.
Most of the jobs are in El Segundo. Since
the majority of jobs are in El Segundo, we think they should build this
project in their own city. They
have more than 20 acres on
Nash Street
, near an access to the 105 Freeway, across from the Metro Rail, and
people can walk to work. Trammell
Crow’s project located in El Segundo would not be next to R-1 property.
El Segundo will not allow a high-density project like this to be built in
their city. What are they
endorsing this?
Trammell
Crow said that this project would not impact our parks, etc. However, they have eliminated their
jogging path, child-care center and minimized areas of landscaping to
maximize the number of units they can build.
Building more studio apartments will mean more money for Trammell
Crow. That means the Del Aire
Park, which is already overused, will be inundated with more people. The Los Angeles AFB project, which
has already been approved, will be using Del Aire Park and its facilities
also.
There are 280 units being built at Aviation and Marine and 625 at Los
Angeles AFB, for a total of almost 1,000 units in this area.
The Mayor of El Segundo has his own public relations firm and was hired by
Trammell Crow. His firm also
is representing the airport expansion.
Isn’t this a conflict of interest? |