Approximately 60 residents attended the Palisades Residents Association's regular March meeting and were extremely critical of the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) plan to build a new campus for senior high school students on property the district owns at Angel's Gate.
Leaders of the brand new committee joining to fight plans for South Region High School #15 (SRHS 15) were very happily surprised to see so many residents join this first real meeting to discuss the new school.
SRHS 15 is currently planned to have two academies of 405 students each, with an additional academy planned when new propositions are approved of by voters.
A representative of LAUSD Board of Education member, Dr. Richard Vladovic also attended and offered Dr. Vladovic's concepts for the new campus. The aide had almost the entire meeting participants asking many questions and the aide was open to providing answers, seeking comments and addressing concerns residents have.
But it was very obvious from the beginning of the meeting in a packed room that had residents stand and even standing in the hall, that nobody supported the current plans.
The group asked many intelligent questions and was very upset with the outreach staff of LAUSD and their continued failure to notify area residents about meetings and other information, concerning SRHS 15.
Several members in attendance also asked whether alternative sites have been studied. Leaders stated that the upcoming meeting to be conducted on Thursday March 13, at Dana Middle School Auditorium, beginning at 6:00 PM, was the place to ask LAUSD leaders and officials questions they seek answers to.
Leaders informed the gathering that the March 13 meeting was extremely critical because it was the scoping meeting for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) officials to determine and announce what environmental studies would be conducted on the Angel's Gate site and any and all alternative sites that can be considered for the new campus.
This meeting is where the public has a chance to steer the CEQA studies by providing official with written and oral comments.
Providing this meeting with written reasons, questions, comments, alternative ideas, and study related facts, gives the public the ability to have input on the upcoming environmental studies.
The written and oral comments can also state the level of study the public believes each issue should be given.
Here are some examples of issues the public may wish to have addressed, beginning at the March 13 meeting:
Using Alma Street as the main access to the campus.
How the Outdoor Experience Center will impact the new campus.
How the new campus will affect educational and environmental impacts on the Outdoor Experience Center.
How lighting, noise, and other types of pollution will affect the local residents.
Whether the new campus should be built somewhere else.
Whether the new campus should be built at all.
The affect a new campus might have on the habitat of animals in the area, including the two foxes that have been seen in the area.
The affects increased traffic on Gaffey and other area streets will have on the neighborhoods in the area.
How off-campus parking needs to be mitigated.
How the construction traffic and local environment near the construction site would be impacted.
Are there any endangered species living in the area?
Whether the soils and water table might be affected.
How traffic around the new campus might affect traffic of other schools.
The study of all ingress and egress points for any new campus must be studied.
Whether a traffic mitigation would be something being done with Alma Street.
Would a traffic signal system be needed along Gaffey near 30Th Street?
Would a traffic signal system be needed at some point on Paseo del Mar?
Just about anything within reason, could and probably should be studied.
The meeting on March 13 is probably the most important first meeting to attend, give written comments, and possibly oral comments. It is certainly a good time to address questions to officials of LAUSD, especially Mr. Rod Hamiliton of the Facilities Division, Dr. Richard Vladovic a member of the Board of Education, and if Councilwoman Janice Hahn is in attendance, you may wish to ask her point blank, if she favors an 810-1,215-seat high school campus, at Angel's Gate.
During the debates over whether a 2,025-seat school should be built in northwest San Pedro, Councilwoman Hahn stated that she favored small learning environments of between 500-550 seats each, dispersed throughout the community.
But this is only the beginning! The Palisades Residents Association's next meeting on May 13, 2008 at White Point Elementary School IS a very important one, all on its own
Mr. Rod Hamiliton of the Facilities Division has been invited to speak and take questions from Resident Association members, on a much smaller scale than the March 13 meeting.
I believe that even Dr. Vladovic, our local Board of Education Member could attend.
Rod Hamilton and Dr. Vladovic have different opinions about the plans for the new campus. However, neither one of them have the official say as to what types of instructions or academies would actually be at any new campus in the area.
The local area superintendent has the final say as to the uses of any new campus in the area.
This post is another start at providing information. There are several other avenues to use to find more information. Here are some sites you might wish to bookmark, along with this one please:
http://www.sanpedropalisades.org./
http://www.sanpedronewsonline.blogspot.com/
http://rneighborhoodsare1.org/
http://www.cspnc.com/index.php
As important as these first sites are, having the Email address for the group that oppose any new high school from being built at Angel's Gate is something you may also want to save:
NoHighSchool15@cox.net
In the coming days, this blog will put together a basic fact sheet for both opponents and supporters to view, concerning having SRHS 15 built at Angel's Gate.
Reading previous posts on this blog may also give you some more ideas and facts about the proposed new campus.
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