South Region High School # 15 (SRHS 15) is being planned to be built as a two-academy senior high school, with a primary enrollment at construction completion of 810-students.
The plan actually envisions a 1,215-seat school site, but a third academy may or may not be needed for the other 405-seats that may or may not be needed.
Tonight's meeting was the second in a series of three meetings to get public comments and ideas about the "schematic" of the school and the site, prior to the formal Notice of Preparation and Scoping, and Initial Study for the new project.
The senior architect from CO Architects showed a PowerPoint presentation of illustration of what the campus might look like.
The preferred location of the new campus in along Alma Street, between about 30Th Street and 36Th Street, on the east side of Alma Street.
The campus would take up the area where Angels Gate Continuation School now stands, as well as areas with other older buildings remain on the site.
About one third of the total campus space would be taken up by the first two of three academys, and associated communal buildings, such as administration, food service, library, and such.
The other two thirds of the campus, basically south of the academic buildings would allow for a soccer field, baseball diamond, basketball courts, a gym with locker rooms, and other recreational activities. What is drastically missing, many people feel, is a swimming pool that LAUSD claims they can't afford.
The athletic fields would also be used for community uses, when school is not in session.
The school will have 2.5 parking spaces for each classroom. Initially there will be 30 classrooms, so that means there will be about 75-on campus parking spaces. Surely not anywhere near the number of spaces required to get any real relief from having off-campus parking.
The primary access to the school would be the one, and only one access along Alma Street, just south of 30Th Street, basically where it currently is now the access to the west side of Angels Gate.
The planners are thinking about using the access road that goes, basically from 31St. Street and Gaffey, up the steep hill and to the campus. I don't hold much hope for that happening.
There was a fairly decent crowd of at least 50 residents of the area and there were SPHS students using the meeting as a study tool for a class they are in.
Most of the comments and questions from the folks who got up to ask questions or provide verbal comments were centered around traffic, parking, noise, other environmental issues, and how they dissapprove of having a school with only Alma as the access point.
Rod Hamilton, the head of the facilities department for this area of LAUSD was invited to an HOA meeting in May. He might not be able to find a way to get out of going, but he sure may try.
The school is slated to open, at this time, in 2012 and have only 810 students. Mr. Hamilton spoke as if the third academy may never be needed or that funds might never be available to build it, even if it is needed at some future point.
The process will continue with a third meeting with the public, possibly in mid-April, followed by the issuance of the Notice of Preparation and Initial Study, which will all lead to the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR).
During the processes, the public will have Internet access to public documents and will have time to provide both oral and written comments on the Initial Study and the DEIR.
The Initial Study states what will be studied and the projected importance of any mitigation that might be necessary.
The DEIR is a document that states the outcome of the studies identified by the Notice of Preparation and Initial Study.
Following the comment period of the DEIR, a Final Environmental Impact Report will be issued.
During all of the processes, the public has the right and are encouraged to make comments on anything and everything in the Notice of Preparation, Initial Study, and DEIR.
When the Final EIR is processed, then hearings will begin to determine if there are any more issues to consider.
If LAUSD gets their way, construction may begin as early as 2009. But there are lots and lots of issues that must be settled before any bulldozer knocks down the first structure.
If folks are concerned with the projected high school or any aspect of it placement, access, or facilities provided, they are encouraged to first contact the Homeowners Association for their neighborhood, if they have one.
The second step, or first step, if they don't have an HOA, is to contact LAUSD and/or Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council. The Web address for that group is:
http://www.cspnc.com/index.php. This group is one of the first Neighborhood Councils founded in the City of Los Angeles. One of their missions is to represent residents in the area.
More information about the proposed new school will be coming out, in the future, on this blog.
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6 comments:
Thank you for reporting on this so those who could not attend know what is going on. Angels Gate is located in the Palisades neighborhood which is supported by the Palisades Residents Association. Our annual meeting will be held Tuesday, May 13 and I encourage all homeowners and renters to attend. We can be contacted through www.sanpedropalisades.org.
You're welcome, Jeniffer, and thanks go to you for providing information about your Residents' Association.
In 1962 My grandfather bought a two-bedroom house which was located where and onramp to the V.T. Bridge was going to be built.
My grandfather paid $1.00 for the house, $12,000 for the lot at 3616 Emily Street, and for anyther $7,000 he had the house moved to its present site.
When the house movers got the house up on stilts and moved it from actually being on Emily Street, to where they thought it was supposed to go, on the lot, my grandfather took one look at it and said it wasn't straight.
The house movers had to slide the house back over Emily Street, reset the positioning of it, and then move it back over the lot.
Being 6 six years old at the time and watching my grandparent's house standing on large blocks of wood, in the middle of Emily Street, but as high as the level part of the lot, was something I will never forget.
So if you drive by the fourth house from the corner of Emily Street and 36Th Street, you will see a house, originally built in 1954 on a lot that is not part of an onramp, but now sits on top of a hill, you can imagine what it took to put it where it is today.
I heard Mr. Rod Hamilton, of the Facilities Department of LAUSD, when he was invited to attend the May 13 meeting and I am just wondering what excuse he may attempt to use to try and get out of going to a meeting that he was informed about so long in advance.
I think at least one Board member of Coastal S.P.N.C. should also attend the meeting, but there are probably several of them who already live in your area.
I receive update information and meeting information from the Facilities Department, concerning SRHS 15, and like I did with this past meeting, I will create posts of future meetings on this blog.
MW
i live on almeria street. I am horrified with the prospect of this high school. I am happy to go house to house to inform people what may be coming and to be vocal. please let me know what i can do and how to do it effectively.
Howdy anonymous 3:10 PM,
Your HOA seems to have its own Web site at: www.sanpedropalisades.org.
At this time, I am having trouble finding out how to use the "contact us" page on that site, but I imagine it will get pretty busy in the coming days, weeks, months, and years.
I will continue to see if I can find better contact information and I will post the information on this blog.
Thanks for you comment.
MW
I would just like to thank you for this website and information concerning this new high school. I live almost directly across from the entrance to Angels Gate on Alma St. My fiance and I bought our first home almost five years ago. One year later when he unexpectedly passed away I refinanced and did everything in my power to keep our home. For the past three and a half years I've worked almost every day to keep my home and now I'm feeling like it was all for nothing. I love my home and most of my immediate neighbors are senior citizens so its nice and quiet. I thought I would be here forever and now I'm ready to pack my bags. I'm just heart broken. I lived on 14th St. across from the high school for several years and know all the negatives involved. Although I'm not quite a senior citizen my children are grown and I do not wish to live the rest of my years across from a high school. I was able to attend the meeting at the high school thanks to my considerate neighbor who passed out flyers just hours before. I was working and unable to attend your meeting on 2/16/08, but plan on attending any future evening meetings. So thank you again for any and all information that you can provide. I also would like to know if there is anything I can do to help prevent this from taking place.
Thank you anonymous 8:43 PM,
I think I have posted the Email address of the Palisades HOA and the good folks in that organization can offer ways for you to get involved.
There is a meeting Monday evening you may want to attend, It is with the Board of Govenors of Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council.
I believe there is the next meeting of the Palisades HOA on March 11, and I will provide more information about that at the beginning of March.
You and your neighbors are entering a very tough and very steep uphill fight, but isn't the quality of life you have worked so hard and so long to keep worth it?
Having seen what my grandparents did to be able to live in the Palisades, they certainly felt worth it.
My mother lived in that same home for sixteen years, after my sister's family moved out and she loved to come home from here teaching job and live with that fantastic view.
Anonymous, you are going to join a group of residents who are growing in numbers almost every day.
These folks are coming together from all sides of the spectrum, and some of them are even supporters of Bob Bisno's weapon of mass development at Ponte Vista.
It seems sort of ironic now to have some of these same supporters decrying LAUSD's attempts to put their weapon of mass development in the Palisades area.
Hopefully, some of Bob's supporters will finally see why so many of us living near Ponte Vista, don't want any more weapons of mass development in neighborhoods that simply can't deal with those developments.
The Palisades and in particular, Alma Street and 30Th Street residents now know what if feels like to have a developer come into their area and try to tell them what is best for them to live with.
MW
(P.S.) If you see the "MW" at the end of comments, it is because the comment is coming from me, M Richards. M, in real life is Mark Wells
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