1948 JAN 14 CC MIN3
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TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS
had at the
Regular Meeting of the City Council
of the
City of El Segundo g California
on the
Adoption of the Master Plan of Freeways
of the
City of E1 Segundo, California
- -- 000 - --
Wednesday Evenings January 14, 1948
Council Chamber, City Hall,
E1 Segundo, California
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 • MICHIGAN 3546
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11 Transcript of Proceedings had at the Regular
Meeting of the City Council of the City of E1 Segundo,
California, on the Adoption of the Master Plan of Freeway
of the City of E1 Segundo, California.
The hearing on the above designated matter con-
vened at the hour of 9 :10 otclock P.M., the Honorable
William R. Selby, Mayor of the City of E1 Segundo, Cali-
fornia, presiding$ in the Council Chamber, City Hall, Cit;
of E1 Segundo, California.
MAYOR SELBY: Well, gentlemen, we will now con-
tinue with the hearing on the Master Plan of Freeways for
the City of E1 Segundo, California.
I believe we will ask the same thing of those
present as we did in the previous hearing, namely: that
all those who desire to speak either in favor of or again:
this matter will please rise so that you may be all sworn
in at the same time.
... Several witnesses were duly sworn by the
City Clerk ...
MR. WOODWORTH: Has notice of the time and place
of this hearing been duly and properly given and is affi-
davit on file to that effect?
MR. McCARTHY: That is right.
MR. WOODWORTH: And they will be made part of
the record in this case?
MR. MCCARTHY: Yes.
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548
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11 MR. WOODWORTH: Are the files and records of thel
2 Planning Commission's recommendations before the Council
3 and in the file, Mr. Clerk?
4 MR. McCARTHY: Yes, they are.
5 MR. WOODWORTH: And is it the Council's order
that those records of the Planning Commission, the com-
plete file, be made a part of the records in this matter?
' MAYOR SELBY: Right.
' All rightq now, we will hear from those first
who wish to make any objections to this Master Plan of
Freeways.
MR. ALLEN McCRAY (E1 Segundo Land & Improvement
Company): As I understand it, this meeting tonight is a
hearing to consider the adoption of the approval of the
Master Plan of Freeways and that a resolution has been
passed by the Planning Commission and placed on file with
the City Council of E1 Segundo that they approve said plat
I wish to object to any action being taken on
that matter this evening for the following reasons. As
a representative of a large property owner and taxpayer
in the City of E1 Segundo, I wish to state that we were
not advised of the meeting except by notice in the local
paper the last few days. Upon learning of this meeting,
I endeavored to find out what information was available
in the files of the City Clerk's office of the City of
E1 Segundo and in the files of the City Planning Commissio .
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 • MICHIGAN 3548
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From my investigation I learned that the infor-
mction to be had is very meagre and very obscure. The
only map shown is on a very minute scale in the files of
the City Clerk's office of the City of E1 Segundo. The
Planning Commission's files have no map showing the pro-
posed routing of highways, major thoroughfares, in so far
as they affect this City.
Only this evening, when talking to the Chairman
of the Planning Commission, Mr. Allan, he stated to me
that the Planning Commission had resolved that the City
Council of E1 Segundo adopt this plan, as the maps and
information-furnished the Planning Commission indicated
that there were no thoroughfares that would affect the
City of E1 Segundo.
We have heard reports to the effect that one of
the proposed freeways goes through the city limits and
affects large portions of E1 Segundo property, and I think
no action should be taken on this matter until we are
apprised of the details of the proposed highways and
thoroughfares through the City in so far as they affect
properties, traffic hazards and approaches to the City,
until we know the facts, and that the whole matter be
postponed. If I am incorrect in my information showing
what they propose to do in the City of E1 Segundo, then
I would certainly appreciate being shown wherein I am
wrong.
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3546
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11 I would like to read a little statement which
21 is probably a little more comprehensive than what I have
mentioned informally here and I would like to have it put
on the record, if I may:
"With reference to the adoption of a Master Plan
of Freeways of the City of E1 Segundo referred to in Resc
lution No. 16 of the Planning Commission of the City of
E1 Segundog California$ the undersigned, E1 Segundo Land
& Improvement Company$ the owner of the major portion of
Section 18, TP -3 southq Range 14 west$ and a large tax -
payer of the City of E1 Segundo, hereby protest the adop-
tion of said Plan at this time for the following reasons:
"(1) It has been rumored that there is a possi-
bility of a proposed freeway designated as the Manhattan
Parkway in the above mentioned plan crossing and severing
a portion of this company's holdings; and whereas there
is apparently a lack of information in the files of the
City Clerk of this Council and of the Secretary of the
Planning Commission of the City of E1 Segundo as to whethl
said Manhattan Parkway does or does not pass through the
city limits of El Segundo or through the aforementioned
lands the only information readily available is a map on
an extremely small scale that is obscureq indistinctt and
does not even show or have delineated thereon the city
limits of the City of E1 Segundo and of some of the prin-
cipal highwaysq such as Aviation Boulevard or Rosecrans
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 • MICHIGAN 354E
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11 Avenue.
2I "'(.2) According to the resolution on file in thel
City Clerk's office relative to the Los Angeles County
Regional Planning District pursuant to the provisions of
the Planning Act as amended, Chapter 665, Statues of 1937
which states as follows: "Whereas, Section 4 of said
Planning Act provides for the adoption of a Master Plan
of Streets and Highways showing the general location and
width of a comprehensive system of major thoroughfares an(
other traffic ways and of the recommended treatment
thereof, and so forth..... ", there is nothing on file to
indicate to the taxpayers and the property owners whose
property might be affected or even to the City of E1
Segundo itself as to the widths of major thoroughfares
and other traffic ways and of streets and the recommended
treatment thereof in so far as said major thoroughfares
or parts thereof may affect the City of E1 Segundo.
"(3) If, as has been previously rumored, the
proposed Manhattan Parkway does go through the city limits
of E1 Segundo and severs this companyts plant -- that is,
its industrial holdings -- we deem it advisable that we
should be fully apprised as to the proposed routes, the
proposed widths, grade crossings, treatments, etc., so
that we may have our engineers check these plans to see if
they fit in with those that we have been formulating for
the past year relative to the development and utilization
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548
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1 of this companyts properties for industrial use.
2 "Furthermore, if the rumor is correct, is the
3 proposed Manhattan Parkway advisable and going to be bene-
1 ficial to the City? Will it correct traffic hazards?
5 These are some of the immediate questions that come.to
mind and that we would like answered.
"The taxpayers of the City of E1 Segundo will pay
their proportionate share of this thoroughfare and may,
after all the facts are learned, not want or desire it.
"In conclusions therefore) we earnestly desire
that no action be taken on this matter at this meeting to-
night and that the matter be held over until such time as
the City of E1 Segundo and the property owners have before
them more pertinent and detailed information so that the
question can be fully apprised with all the facts avail-
able for a careful study and analysis.
Respectfully,
(Signed) EL SEGUNDO LAND & IMPROVEMENT CO."
Gentlemen, I called several times to the County
Planning Commission and they said, "We cannot give you any
information regarding proposed routes through cities. The
cities will have all the information in due time." That
was several months ago. And I think that we should know
all the facts before we adopt a plan.
MAYOR SELBY: Thank you. Does anybody else have
anything they wish to say?
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548
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1 MRS. B. 0. FARRELL: I was present when the map
2 was shown at the Planning Commission's meeting, and be-
3 cause it was so small and so obscure, I made no attempt
4 to write a story for my paper.
MAYOR SELBY: Than you. Does anybody else have
anything they care to testify about, either for or against,
(Pause -- no response) Well, it looks like this is going
to be an awfully short hearing.
MR. WOODWORTH: Well, gentlemen, the Council has
the right to make its decision now, or you may continue
the hearing, or you may instruct the Clerk to give notice
of a continued hearing if you so desire, and you can
instruct the Clerk to address a communication to the
Regional Planning Commission of Los Angeles County, or
any other known proponents of the proposed Plan of Free-
ways, advising them of the fact of the continued hearing,
and that the City Council desires full information with
reference to the proposed Plan of Freeways and will be
pleased to receive any evidence which either the propon-
ents or persons objecting thereto may care to produce at
such continued hearing. That is, if you do that, then
you should fix the time and place of the continued hears ,
and should make it far enough in the future so that the
Clerk can give substantially the same kind of notice as
he gave of this present hearing. That could be done, or
you can make your decision tonight, or you can close the
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548
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1 hearing and take the matter under submission for decision.
z But if you close the hearing, then, of courseq you will
s not be in a position to receive any further evidence either
for or against and you will be limited to the record now
' before you, including the map, and so forth.
MR. L. A. ALLAN (Chairman, Planning Commission):
Mr. Chairmang may I ask Mr. Woodworth a question?
MAYOR SELBY: Yesq surely.
MR. ALLAN: Isn't there one further provision
that this possibly could be referred back to the Planning
Commission for further review and investigation?
MR. WOODWORTH: Yes, it could be done. Of
course, I didn't assume that that was desired since the
Planning Commission had acted upon it already.
MR. ALLAN: Well, I will acknowledge -- my face
is a little bit red that we have acted somewhat hur-
riedly on this thing, although it was with the advice and
counsel of our consultant. We are new at the job here,
and I believe that you are stating that the Council should
do or should have to do such work as I think we should
relieve the Council ofq and I believe that the Planning
Commission would be very glad to do that if the Council
so sees fit.
COUNCILMAN SKELLEY: In my opinion, I can see
how some of these things can be overlooked by the Plan
Commission and by myself and by the others. I looked
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 354E
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this over and I never picked out this Manhattan Parkway,
Mr. McCray, until just now. It looked to me that it was
way down here near Palos Verdes or somewhere in that
vicinity. They have one across the ( ?) as a
freeway, but it doesn't show E1 Segundo Boulevard or Rose -
crans Avenue or a thing. There is no school. I think it
is so out of line that it should not even be considered
under the present condition.
MR. WOODWORTH: Mr. Skelley has expressed him-
self. What does the rest of the Council think?
MAYOR SELBY: I personally feel that the best
move to make would be to send it back through the Planning
Commission. In other words, Mr. Attorney, let me ask this
question: Could we close this hearing and refer the matte
back to the Planning Commission? In that way, I think,
it will give us more time.
MR. WOODWORTH: Well, if the Council closed thi
hearing, you would not be able to receive a further repor
from the Planning Commission on its because you could not
receive any further testimony from anybody -- if you clog,
this hearing -- that is, without making a new proceeding
out of it.
Might I ask this, Mr. Allan: In requesting tha
this be referred back to the Planning Commission, was it
your thought that the Commission would most likely proces
the matter over again and hold further public hearings
DAVID ETTLESON. OFFICIAL REPORTER. LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548
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upon it?
MR. ALLAN: That is rightq do a little more
investigation on it and see if we can't haves for one
thing, a better map so that we will know where these plac
are to be mobilized.
MR. WOODWORTH: Theng as I understand its gentl
men, the time element is not so material as the proper
processing of it from the beginning all over again?
MAYOR SELBY: That is right.
MR. WOODWORTH: All right, if that is your
pleasure, this resolution, I think, would be in order.
MAYOR SELBY: We would be very glad to have you
give us this resolution.
COUNCILMAN BAKER: I personally think that we
ought to know a great deal more about it than we do know
and that we shouldn't jump into something until we know
more about it and understand it fully.
MAYOR SELBY: Would you like to refer it back
to the Planning Commission and then have it come back to
us again?
COUNCILMAN BARER: Yes, I think so.
MAYOR SELBY: Setting it ahead three or four
weeks or something like that.
COUNCILMAN SKELLEY: I might add to that by
stating that I will attend their meeting personally and
see what information I can get from them at that time.
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 • MICHIGAN 3546
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L It will be held within the next thirty days, I imagine.
MR. WOODWORTH: All right, gentlemen, that ap-
pears to be the choice of the majority of the Council
members, and if it meets with your pleasureq this reso-
lotion would be in order:
"Whereasq the City Council of the City of El
Segundog California has duly noticed for hearing and held
a public hearing upon the matter of the adoption of the
Master Plan of Freeways of the City of E1 Segundo, being
the Master Plan of Freeways of the County of Los Angeles
within or in the vicinity of the City of E1 Segundo; and
"Whereasq in the opinion of this Council no
sufficient evidence has been produced before this Council
either orally or documentary in form, to enable this
Council to reach a decision in the said matter; and
"Whereas, this Council believes that the said
subject is one of extreme importance to the City of El
Segundo and the vicinity of said City; now therefore be i
"RESOLVED9 by the City Council of the City of
E1 Segundog Californiag as follows:
"(1) That the present hearing before this
Council on said matter be and same is hereby closed and
terminated.
"(2) That the matter of the adoption or approv
of the said Master Plan of Freeways within and in the
vicinity of the City of E1 Segundo be referred back to
DAVIb ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 . MICHIGAN 3548
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the City Planning Commission of the City of E1 Segundo
for a re- consideration and re- processing; and that when
said Commission shall have re- considered, after such re-
processing, the said matter, that the recommendations of
said Commission be forwarded to this Council in the.matt
so that this Council may again set the said matter for a
hearing before this Council.
"(3) That nothing herein contained shall avar
be held or construed to in any manner prejudice the tak
of any future action with reference to said Master Plan
of Freeways within or in the vicinity of the City of
E1 Segundo, either before the City Planning Commission of
said City or before the City Council of said Cityp as the
action herein taken is taken without prejudice to any sue;
new proceedings."
All right, if that meets with your pleasure,
gentlemen?
COUNCILMAN SKELLEY: I so moves Mr. Chairmant
COUNCILMAN PETERSON: I second the motion.
... Roll call vote taken by Mr. McCarthy
MAYOR SELBY: The motion is carried.
MR. WOODWORTH: The Commission will receive a
copy of the complete proceedings of this hearing.
MAYOR SELBY: With that understanding, this
hearing is now closed and the reporter may be excused.
... Reporter excused at 9:35 o'clock P.M. ..o
- -- 000 -► --
DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548
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DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 • MICHIGAN 3548
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