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1948 JAN 14 CC MIN - 3lc 11 h 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 I throughout the United States, although it is still untried 2 in the courts, and there is even some doubt that it can be 3 enforced, 4 MAYOR SELBY: Than you. Does anybody else have 5 anything they wish to say in favor of Mr. Taylor's appeal? 5 (Pause) MR. TAYLOR: Well, in regard to the working shop we are there every morning and we are usually there about an hour in the morning and we are there possibly an hour in the afternoon. Outside of that, we work two or three days a week in the shop. MR. JOBE: That is, cutting threads on pipe? MR. TAYLOR: On the piping machines fabricating soil pipe. MR. JOBE: When you are there every day, what do you do when you are there for the hour or so that you are there? MR. TAYLOR: Well, we have three men who come to work there every mornings and they are there for only a few minutes; they come and get the truck and then go out MR. JOBE: In other words7 there is no actual work of any fabricating nature except possibly for three days a week then? MR. TAYLOR: That is about right. MR. JOBE: And then there are quite a number of your men who don't work out here in the first place? DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, Los ANGELES 13 . MICHIGAN 3548 r cv u 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 1s 19 20 21 22 23 24 25' 26 1 MR. TAYLOR: We have men who work for me who 2 have never been to the shop. 3 MR. JOBE: I think that explains and clarifies 3 - you don't do any night work and you don't intend to do any night work, is that right? MR. TAYLOR: Noy we don't. MR. JOBE: That bears out my original statement that his type of use is a very restricted type of use; that he only operates three days a week, as far as the pipe threading and fabrication work which he needs to do there. Although they go in and out of there for a short period of time every day, mostly the property is lying dormant there, and he does not do any night work what- soever. MAYOR SELBY., This will be the last opportunity for anybody who wishes to say anything more in favor of Mr. Taylor's request. If there is nobody else who cares to testify, then we will hear from those who are opposed to it and this will be their last opportunity. The hear- ing will close when that is up. MR. BREWBAKER: There is only one thing more I wish to say: that the property is anything but dormant as the gentleman just stated. I do know for a fact. -- or I would like for him to tell me what all the pounding is down there, because you don't pound a lot when they are threading pipe. If they dog then perhaps that is what I DAVID ETTLESOAI, OFFICIAL REPORTER, Los ANGELES 13 . MICHIGAN 3540 L 1: 1: lc 14 15 16 17 1s 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 hear. But there is a lot of pounding that can be heard 2 up at my house during the day when I am trying to sleep. 3 That is all, 4 MAYOR SELBY: Thank You. Anybody else? 5 MR. MACK: I just want to say that we can hear 6 a lot of the noise made up there from my place. MR. WESTOVER: Mr. Mayor, Mr. Taylor's repre- 1 sentative has said something about leasing the building possibly to some other people for commercial use. I think ' that was using poor taste. I thought we were good neigh - bors, and it seemed to me like that was a threat, and I don't like the idea at all. He feels that if he keeps its why, it will be nice; but if he lets it goy why, it will - be terrible, I don't like the idea of being threatened into anything. I thought we were supposed to be good neighbors as has been stated, and that we would continue on as such. I am sorry to hear that statement; and because of that statement, I am more against it than ever. And I am kind of like some of the other folks here: I wonder where all the pounding comes from? My house is within 40 feet of Mr. Taylor's plumbing shops and in the last few weeks, I thinkq there have been some days possibly when Mr. Taylor hasn't been working all day; but there have been very few. And before that Mr. Taylor had hired men I don't know how many DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3348 R 00 C�7 1C 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 who came there in the morning and left at night, who works 2 all day long. 3 So I am definitel y opposed to breaking the R -1 zoning, because I like it the way it is. I realize he is ' there and I for > one > am perfectly willing to make the best of it. But I am not in favor of enlarging the busi- ness because I can see now I doubted it at the begin- ning -- I felt that if he wanted to enlarge or build a small storeroom, why, it was quite all right, and I would have agreed with that up until now; but now I don't be- lieve that I would even agree to that, because I don't know that that is what it would be meant for. And I don't know but what in a very short time Mr. Taylor would hire. more men and make a bigger job of it. There is nothing to insure us people that Mr. Taylor wontt do such a thing. If he enlarges his building, if he builds a building in the back and closes in the front, yes, closing in the front would be an asset to him and to us, too. But how do we know that the business is going to be carried on in the same way. Have we any insurance, any contract, anything in writing that would ensure us that Mr. Taylor wontt continue to grow and grow and hire more men and be- come bigger and bigger and, as a result, more of a detri- ment to our property? Therefore, I am definitely against having any more additions of any kind. DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548 mgr 1� 1: 1: 1P 14 15 16 17 1s 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 MAYOR SELBY: Thank You. Anybody else? 2 MR. RIME: If my memory serves me right, Mr. 3 Taylor made a remark before the Planning Commission that 4 most of his work was done elsewhere, in Baldwin Park, etc. 5 And it seems to me that he should move his business close 6 to where he is doing his workq because his car expenses i in a few years would more than pay for what is happening 3 over here. MAYOR SELBY: Does anybody else have anything to say against Mr. Taylorts appeal? MR. RICHARDS: Gentlemen: As Mr. Jobe has explained here, the Council here can pass a resolution limiting the restricted use or the nonconforming use that is now being made of this property, and I think it might be a good suggestion to the Council that they do take suer a step; because if they dog then Mr. Taylor will know that he has to eliminate the use of his.property within 20 years, and so he certainly won't want to build it up and make it bigger. He will more likely want to look for some other place and build in a business section zoned for the purpose, an Y -1 section. I think that would be a kind of suggestion to Mr. Taylor. Now, we have talked here about the fact that someone has to suffer -- and it was my suggestion. I think I should have stated that someone has to be incon- venienced. Mr. Taylor won't suffer any financial loss. DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548 I r c� 1C 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 He can sell his property for at least twice as much as he 2 gave for its I am sureq right now. So he wouldn't suffer 3 any financial loss through the Council sustaining the recommendation of the Planning Commission. All it does with respect to Mr. Taylor is to inconvenience him from his ability to make more money in the future because he has that location. Financially, he would be very much benefited if he were willing to sell his property now. Of course, it is suggested that he may be forced to leave the place and, if he is obliged to leave the places then he may rent it or lease it to some less desir- able use. Wellq this is a restricted user and I dontt believe it could be used♦ Mr. Jobe♦ for a use more exten- sive than the plumbing use it is now used for. He could not enlarge it by disposing of it or renting it out. But if he is disposed to want to move and get rid of its why, he can do so on very favorable terms, I am sure. Also♦ from what somebody back there said before♦ I understand that this is just a little side thing with Mr. Taylor and his main business is some other place. He a has pretty big establishment, I understand) some other place and this is just a little sideline with him. But these people here who have spoken to you -- this is their residence♦ this is where they live, this is where they pay their taxes and where they raise their children, and it means something to them. It is serious with them. With DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548 L L 1: It 14 15 16 17 1& 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 I Mr. Taylor it really isn't a serious issue at all, where 2 a man can make money by selling out whereas these other 3 people couldn't sell out at a profit. This is a definite 4 blight on residential property and it injures the sale 5 value of every home within 300 feet of the property at 6 least* I believe that Mr. Jobe stated that Mr. Westovi g at first was inclined to favor this. Well, Mr. Westover is a pretty bighearted man and he is a good neighbor and, ' knowing him as I do, he is still willing to make sacri- fices for the benefit of others. But he got to thinking about the thing and how it was really affecting his home, and of course he stated his position to us here very frankly. Now, there are 26 lots represented here in the immediate neighborhood, as near adjacent as you can get to Mr. Taylor's property, which were purchased long be- fore Mr. Taylor purchased his lots there. So it isn't true that these people didn't need to come in there be- cause they were already in there when he came and estab- lished this business of his. I don't criticize Mr. TayL for having put this establishment here when he did; I don't mean that; because it wasn't zoned and it could be used for this purpose. But now that it is definitely zoned and has been zoned for residential purposes, Mr. Taylor, if he is really a right good neighbor and has a DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3546 r U 1: h 1° 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 I great big heart, shouldn't be any too anxious to stay in 2 that neighborhood, as he can dispose of his property at 3 a good profit to himself and come out all right. There 4 are represented here tonight altogether 35 lots that have 5 spoken in the immediate neighborhood opposing this pro- s position; W. Taylor has three lots there. I want to tell you this: Mrs. Brewbaker made a real point when she said that if you grant permission for this enlargement, why then, the most natural thing on earth would be, when the business grows, for another request to be made. Let's stop it right now. Let's sere notice on him that in 20 years he has got to eliminate it and he has got to conform his property to the residential property in the neighborhood -so that he won't want to con tinue to build this place up so that, as his business prospers, he will again come to you gentlemen later on requesting permission for further enlargement and greater opportunity to expand. It would be a good thing for Mr. Taylor if he would get a piece of property where he can build it up the way he wants to. He will be better satis- fied in the long run, I am sure, with that as a business Proposition* Now, I have a tremendous respect for Mr. Jobe's opinion on these things, because he is really one of our very best and one of our fairest of all men, I am sure, and one of the real experts in Los Angeles on zoning DAVID ETTLESON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548 1 1 1: l; i� 1� 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 1 matters -•• but I just can't agree with.him when he states 2 that this is going to improve the neighborhood by granting 3 this request. I will grant you that maybe tomorrow when 4 those changes are made -- I mean, of course, that he would s move back his fence -- well, Mr. Taylor could have done 6 that already, don't you see, if he wanted his business to 7 be as unobjectionable as possible; he could have done that 8 Mr. Jobe, you see, before now. It is suggested now that 9 the Council make him do it by making it a condition in granting him his request. Well, he could have done that, t he could have done that already. You see, as for these people who own their homes there in this residential district, 20 years doesn't mean too much to them, because most of them who have spoken are young people and they will be there 20 years from now and they will get the benefit of the residential section, and, in time, they will get the benefit of the elimination of this business property, I am willing to concede, though, that tomorrow, if this fence were moved back, etc., it would help to make the place a little more presentable, a little more pleasiAl to the eye, but it wouldn't eliminate the noise that these people say they are hearing. One gentleman here stated that the noise can be heard up at his home, and Mr. West- over says that he can hear it, as did another gentleman back there. And these men who work shifts and have to ---W =I ILGSON, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548 C"q 1 2 3 4 s 6 7 8 9 10 11 . 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 y sleep in the daytime, it is difficult for them to sleep without being interrupted from the noises that are there. So I don't think it is going to improve this property, I don't think it is going to improve the neigh- borhood at all, to grant this petition of Mr..Taylor's. On the contrary, I think it is going to definitely be a blight. That is the word: there is going to be a blight on the neighborhood. .Anything that tends to build up the business is going to be a blight on the neighborhood, and this tends to do it. Of courseq some of these gentlemen suggested that they didntt need to buy in there. But some of these returned servicemen -- why, this is the only opportunity they had in buying a home, in getting a home, in El Segundog anywhere near their place of work. There werent, any other lots available. They were practically forced to come into that section. Whereas Mr. Taylor and his good service sons, they have another home besides this; they have their homes elsewhere and they have another business elsewhere too. So you see, it isn't just quite the same. When a man has his home right there and when a man has an interest in a business there and lives some place else and has another big business elsewhere, it is not quite comparable, is it? Well, gentlemen, I hope you see fit -- Oh9 I don't wish Mr. Taylor to experience any harm -- but it is V =ZUN, OFFICIAL REPORTER, LOS ANGELES 13 - MICHIGAN 3548 t