1954 AUG 18 CC MIN - 54e .; o .signs` s F are not `gaused ' y North American.
s hey precede'us. Theyhave been approved by the State,
4 and are to be installed this month, we are informed.
5 From North American's standpoint, we would
6 be much better off to have 'a signal at Walnut and Sepulveda
7 just to come in like that (indicating on chart), but we
8 don't direct that. Your State Highway Department in part -
9 I don't know whether the City of E1 Segundo participates
10 in the cost of that or whether the State bears it all; I
11 do not know that -- but that is the reason behind that.
12 MRS. KRUG: Do I understand that there will be
13 no left turn permitted. at Walnut then? Is that the reason
14 why they could not turn at Walnut?
15 MR. TAYLOR: No, you may turn at Walnut.
16 MRS. KRUG:' Well, if they can't get into the
17 parking lot on Washington, there would be no point in turn -
18 ing before they got to Walnut, as far as I can see.
19 MR. TAYLOR: I don't think I made myself clear.
20 The reason for a left -hand, turn here is because you have
21 a controlled traffic signal to protect you on making a left -
22 hand turn. Whereast at Walnut there is not a signal to
23 give you the left -hand turn protection.
24 MRS. KRUG: Well, possibly they could install one.
MR. TAYLOR: Possibly Y we can get one there.
26 MRS. KRUG: And close the gate on Washington Street
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- i ve�V I a A I tr.Z , G.D.R., OFFICIAL R[rORT[R -
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1 MR. TAYLOR: If you get one here, you would
2 close the gate, sure.
3 MAYOR SWANSON: Anybody else?
4 MR. RAYMOND E. BRYANT: I live at 1103 East Walnut
5 Avenue, E1 Segundo.-
6 We are spending a lot of time here this
7 evening debating this question. Now, I am definitely
S opposed to it, completely, for this reason: That all of
these things that have been brought up would be subjects
for additional hearings. We have absolutely nothing to
gain by North American coming in there, but we have lots
of time and lots of effort to lose every time one of these
hearings comes up and something else comes along that is
attached to it.
I don't think that there is any question
but what the facility would be expanded, they would, need .
to diversify the use of the premises, they might have to re
route their traffic, and they would be "firstest with the
mostest" when it comes to making these changes, and most
of the citizens would be like myself, caught short.
I don't know too much about the problem.
For instance, the one important thing to me is the
geography involved. Roughly there is about five square
miles in the city. Those are round figures, but it is
somewhere around that. Of that I would say that there are
two easterly square miles, there is a southerly square
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DAVID ETTLESON_ c an n... ... __
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1 mile, and, half of this area on the westerly side of
2 Main Street is all devoted to industry, and even part of
3 the area in the section which is primarily residential is
4 also industry.
5 Now, how far are we going to go with the
6 industry, and how far with residential? Who is going to
7 elect a City Council if we don't have any residents here?
8 There must be some limit.
9 Also, the people who live here now have a
0 right to expect some good faith in zoning matters. I mean
1 we buy -- true, we are not spending millions of dollars,
2 none of us have it. I am quite sure that what few dollars
3 I have mean more to me than if I was spending a million or
4 two for North American. I could do that with the greatest
5 of ease, but to spend my own money, I can't. I can't sell
s my home here. I have lived. too long to take a loss on my
7 home because I couldn't get the cash down on it to go else-
where and buy another home, which would be my inclination,
and it would be the inclination of other people in that
area, d.ue to the fact that there are enough outside inter-
ferences now.
I might say that it is only the dogged deter-
mination of the residents here that keeps us remaining
here, and keeps property values up now.
So why not let North American find a suitable
site in a logical geographic location in the industrial area
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DAVID ETTLESON_ c_a_P n........
1 There are natural boundaries here. I believe that Grand
2 Avenue would be the southerly boundary, and it would. seem
3 to me that Sepulveda would. be the easterly boundary.
4 Now, let them find. their area outside of
5 that. It may cost them a few dollars more, but I will
s assure you that the extra dollars that it will cost them
i will save the citizens many dollars. And we have no one
3 to underwrite our loss, I'm sure. (Applause)
> MAYOR SWANSON: Anybody else?
MRS. E. A. WILMOT: I live at 1+11 East Sycamore.
As the representative of North American talked about
expanding their position, I saw myself out on the street.
Our home is what we cherish most, and if industry moves
in around us, what are we going to do?
It is a problem of the Planning Commission,
that is their job, to try to plan the city as they see
fit. And the Council, as I understand it, makes the last
move. They will really do the deciding.
Why should we have a Planning Commission?
It takes a lot of time to change these rules, and we out
there in the residential district are interested in the
value of our property as much as the businesses in
E1 Segundo have said they are interested in theirs, and
that is why they wanted businesses to come in. That is
why I could see their point of view. But we have a little
home to protect too, and that is your interest. If industr.
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h�pk* Tom
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1 comes in all around us, what are we going to do? '
2• MAYOR SWANSON: Anybody else?
3 MRS. 0. P. LAMPTON: I reside at 124 East Acacia
4 Avenue. That is the last house on East, Acacia Street
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that adjoins this property in question.
Now I would like to know if North American
decides at some later time that they would like to move
these executive offices, and they may wish to sell this
property, then anybody they can sell it to can fill in
that property with anything within a C -2 zone. I was told
by the Planning Commission -- I asked them this question --
how close to the property line could they come on a C-2
zone, and they said they could come right to the line, and
as long as it was zoned C -2, there would be nothhg we could
do under any conditions.
Now, we certainly would not like industry
built right up against our house. Now, North American
plans a parking lot now, and they say that they will build
or provide a landscaped area. I believe he stated. on the
platform previously that it would. be around ten feet. But
there is nothing definite, and. as their property becomes
less available and their needs become greater, how full
will they put that land with buildings, and will they do
away with those little landscaped areas that they plan?
Those are the things that we are vitally
concerned with. And. above all, even if Acacia Avenue is
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DAVID ETTLESON, C.S.R.. OFFICIAL RKPORTER
132.
kept closed, which Tire like very, very much because it is
a safe place for our child -- and I am not only concerned .
about my own child but for all of the children in the area -
and all of the children in the area will definitely have
to be kept off the street there -- there will have to be a
plan in the scale for safety, which there should be.
But at the same time no one in that area
bought their property with the thought that they were going
to be in an industrial area. They bought in that little
corner of the city because it was quiet and it was protected
from traffic. And now that that gate has been opened
there at California Street and Imperial Boulevard, it has
just increased the traffic so much that you don't let your
child on California Street after 3 :30 in the afternoon. It
has -just made a great difference, and this will only
increase it. (Applause)
MAYOR SWANSON: Anybody else?
MR. MAX J. WALKER: I live at 1414 East Walnut,
E1 Segundo.
I lived. out there before most of the people
that are affected moved out there. We were up there
fighting R -3 on that new tract that went in there, and. it
was turned down. We had. very few people up here fighting i
at that time, and now we have about one hundred times as
many. Why all the argument? I oppose it!
MAYOR SWANSON: Anybody else?
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WFFIGIAL K[PORT[R
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1 MR. DON LAWRENCE: I live at 1414 East Sycamore.
2 I would like to point out that all those
3 in favor of this particular site had. a monetary gain. And.
4 that particular financial gain would be as nothing should
5 we lose, due to traffic problems, the life of even one small
5 child!
7 Thank you. (Applause) .
3 MAYOR SWANSON: Anybody else?
MR. E. A. WILMOT: I live at 1411 East Sycamore.
I want to go on record as opposing this proposed zone
change, and before I start any arguments or discussions
I would like to ask Mr. Taylor this: On their proposed .
building he mentioned something about the vast growth of
North American Aviation.
Are they planning enough building space
within this building to take care of future progress or are
they going to enlarge that building in a year or two and
crowd the parking area to such an extent that they don't
have room in which to park their automobile?
MR. TAYLOR: The building that we plan now is
designed and is being designed with a view of meeting all
of our administrative requirements for the foreseeable
future, and, that goes over the next five or six years.
I can not say that something would not develop that would.
change that. We do not know of anything, we do not expect
anything, we can not anticipate anything. That is not a
0 NIP E _ •ESON, CJ.R., orFtciwL Rt►oRTtd'
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3 Further than that, on the present site as
4 it is now set up with parking requirements, we do not have
5 room for expanding and getting people in and parking.
6 # MR. WILMOT: That is what I understood.. That is
7 the reason I asked you that question.
5 MR. TAYLOR: And we must provide off-street parking.
Does that answer your question?
MR. WILMOT: That answers the question. I would.
like to direct my next statement to the City Council. We
have vested our trust in the Planning Commission in zoning
our properties of the town, and we have vested our trust
in the City Council in backing up and adopting the zones
that were set up.
Now, we bought our properties within this
limited place that we live in which is nextdoor to this
proposed zone change, and. now they want to come along and
take a portion of this property and change the zone again,
which in my estimation will not increase the value of our
properties any if we take a notion to sell, as has been
stated here on the floor tonight; and in that case, where
are we going to obtain a loan? Because of your flight
pattern that takes place in that particular area, the bank
won't
give you a justified loan.
FHA won't
give you a
loan,
the Veterans won't give you
a loan, so
what are you
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DAVID ETTLESON_ e.e_a_ o....,... o........
135
1 going to do? Are these North American executives with
2 all of their cash money going to come out and buy all of
3 our properties from us?
4 Another thing, on this petition that was
5 handed in by a member of the Junior Chamber of Commerce,
6 I have observed part of the names in that petition. Among
7 about 300 names that impressed me, I noted that there
S were approximately five or six from our neighborhood, that
is, within the immediate affected neighborhood. And I
have talked to several members that put their names on
the petition and asked them why they put it on, and one
of them, for example, said, "Because a friend of mine asked
me to." He said, "I don't care which way it goes."
So let's take into consideration names not
affected in our area and weigh that matter. Are those
people in that portion of town trying to sell our
portion
out, or are they interested in our section? Let's weigh
that when we get ready to make our decision, if we take
those petitions into consideration with the names on them.
And another thing; North American, as near
as I can recall, I don't think has ever come out in any
instance and given the comforts and well -being of the
citizens of that
portion of town out there very much
consideration. I could possibly tell them a lot, but I
will keep still on the matter. I am one of these fellows
that works shift work. I sleep a lot in the daytime, and
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DAVID ETTLESON_ e_g_w_ e%........
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I have appreciated. very much 'the nbl aea enl' "con`fusion
and ballyhooing over that loudspeaker that comes over to
our house all the time, and I don't think that I am going
to appreciate much more the noise of the traffic and what-
not that comes off of this proposed building that they
are contemplating making in a zone change!
So I am appealing to the City Council in
whom we have entrusted our faith, and to the Planning
Commission -- the Planning Commission has already rejected
the request, and I am appealing to you fellows to back us
up and protect us in our homes and what we have invested
in them, and don't let it depreciate any more because none
of us know what time might come about that we will be
transferred, ot, something happen in the family wtn"e we
might want to sell our home.
I don't want to sell mine now, but if I d.o
take a notion to sell it, I don't want to have to sacrifice
and. sell it at half the price because I can't dispose of
it unless I happen to find somebody with cash money who
will come along and buy it, and that ispretty hard to do
today, as you will find out if you consult your real estate
people in the town. You don't find very many people coming
along and offering cash money for the purpose of a piece
of real estate.
Now,
Mr. Dewberry (
?) is
in
the
audience
here, and I imagine
he has been in
here
on
this
traffic
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survey. Is Maple Avenue, Ytich f derst :ex tra =i'�
2 narrow street, and Walnut Avenue, which is an ordinary
3 street, wide enough 'to take care of the incoming traffic,
4 their portion of the 800 or 850 cars they contemplate parking
5 in the area? Have you surveyed that?
6 MR. DEWBERRY: I would say that it would. be
7 approximately 90 -- 80 or 90 cars going into that street
8 out of the 800 in the zoning area.
MR. WILMOT: Have
s you taken into consideration the
10 amount of traffic in the easterly area that will be diverted.
11 to those two streets and come in on Washington Street to
12 avoid your signals on Sepulveda and Imperial?
13 MR. DEWBERRY: Mr. Wilmot, are you speaking of the
14 traffic going into North American or the general flow of
15 traffic?
16 MR. WILMOT: I am talking about the traffic that
17 is going to come into North American's office building that
18 will divert back down through the plant area and come down
19 Maple and Mariposa Streets.
20 MR. DEWBERRY: I am informed that the traffic
21 coming into the office building will be people who live,
22 say, in the Palos Verdes area, or I am led to believe that.
a 23 MAYOR SWANSON: Ladies and gentlemen, at this
24 time we will take a short recess.
25 •.. Whereupon the meeting recessed at 11:35 o'clock
26 P.M., reconvening at 11 :45 P.m. ..,
19 - -- - --- kl ---va iv, 1 VtilliR_ iV 1O CLVUUV 1'111M {fL1t1,Lf w1C I
20 Junior Chamber of Commerce put their house in order before