[pdf
version]
ASNC NEWS
Media Contact:
Communications
& Outreach Committee
Arroyo
Seco Neighborhood Council
(323)
550-8105; ASNC_Outreach@earthlink.net
CITY-CERTIFIED ARROYO SECO
NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL DEBATES,
TAKES POSITION ON POSSIBLE
I710-to-210 FREEWAY TUNNEL DEVELOPMENT
Also Files “Community Impact
Statement” with L.A. City Council on Related
Garcetti/Huizar/Reyes-sponsored
I710 State Legislative Program Resolution
November 22, 2009 – Northeast Los Angeles
– At its last regular monthly meeting, the Board of Representatives of the
Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council (ASNC) adopted two motions having to do with
the possibility of several-mile-long tunnel being constructed to complete the
710 Freeway, involving underground construction within the ASNC area.
A
subject of recent meetings and growing speculation and discussion in the
Northeast and nearby cities, the possibility of extending the 710 other than by
surface roads is central to a “route neutral” geotechnical study started early
this year under the joint supervision of the California Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (Metro). The study included borings around the greater
L.A. area, as well as geophysical line testing. Further details on the study, its zones, and its draft
findings -- released just days before the ASNC Board vote -- are available at
(http://www.710tunnelstudy.info/).
In
its overwhelmingly approved statement, the ASNC said it is: “. . .opposed to any form of an
extension to the 710 Freeway through the ASNC area if it will result in: the
loss of homes, businesses, or any existing amenities in our communities;
devastation or diminished use of any remaining open areas or green space enjoyed
by ASNC stakeholders within our boundaries; any compromise of the geological
stability of our area; further delays in the realization of improved public
transportation options for ASNC stakeholders; increased traffic on our
communities' primary feeder streets as a result of any such extension, whether
after any proposed construction or for extended periods during construction;
more congestion on existing freeways that serve our area's residents, workers,
etc.; heightened noise levels related to re-configured traffic flows; placement
of ventilation devices that deface the landscape or concentrate pollutants in
any of our communities, negatively affecting constituent health; or, any other
environmental or aesthetic degradation that cannot be mitigated successfully.”
The
council’s now-formal position went on to urge elected officials to consider: “. . . alternatives to the 710 ‘gap
closure’ that address more precisely the current and future needs of our
constituents as well as the rest of Southern California – reducing
congestion, improving air quality, increasing connectivity for pedestrians,
making our cities more livable – such as: Trip Reduction and
Transportation Demand Management for autos; low-build options to facilitate
traffic movement within ‘the gap’; a more comprehensive transit network,
providing seamless connectivity; (and) heavy rail taking freight to more remote
hubs for transfer to trucks.”
COMMUNITY IMPACT STATEMENT
In a separate
but related action, the ASNC Board also voted to file an official “Community
Impact Statement” (CIS) in support of Los Angeles City Council File
#09-0002-S189 -- submitted jointly in September by Council-members Eric
Garcetti, Jose Huizar, and Ed P. Reyes and now working its way through Council
committees. In their proposed City
resolution, the three Northeast area City councilmembers said Los Angeles
should oppose any extension of the 710 via tunnel through Caltrans’ identified
Zones 1 and 2, while calling for any portal opening for such a tunnel in the
more central Zone 3 to be south of Valley Boulevard (the current end of the
freeway).
The
zones referenced are three of the five defined by the Caltrans/Metro SR-710 technical
study, for use in determining the feasibility of constructing a tunnel. The zones fan out in generally
north/south configurations from just northwest of Dodger Stadium (the beginning
of Zone 1), to as far east as the city limits of Baldwin Park (the end of Zone
5). In its just-released draft
report, the study sponsors declared a tunnel through any of the five zones to
be geologically feasible. Together the five zones encompass much of Northeast
Los Angeles and the western San Gabriel Valley.
The
neighborhood council’s CIS states that the ASNC supports the
Garcetti/Huizar/Reyes motion: “. . . insofar as the resolution opposes as
impractical and costly any completion of the 710 Freeway underneath our ASNC
communities, contained almost completely in Caltrans Zones 1 and 2. As good neighbors
in the City NC system, ASNC defers to the LA32 Council, representing El Sereno,
regarding any construction there. Within Los Angeles City, LA32's area would
bear the major portion of any potential negative effects from a possible tunnel
extension through Zone 3.”
CIS filings are reserved for City-certified neighborhood councils, and
follow a specific council motion through the various committees and the City
Council’s own agenda as representations of a community’s official voice before
City government.
The City Council's
proposed resolution includes a discussion of the best means of analyzing other
environmental conditions, such as “traffic, tunnel configurations, and air
quality” -- not covered by the current
ASNC DUE DILIGENCE
The Los Angeles
city-certified ASNC represents the historic, distinct Northeast communities of
Montecito Heights, Hermon, Mount Washington, Sycamore Grove, and Monterey Hills
in land use and other local governmental issues.
Since
March, the ASNC and its committees have hosted informational presentations by
Caltrans and its representatives on the progress of the Tunnel Technical Study
at posted public meetings held in the Hermon community and at Mount Washington
Elementary School, and members of the board have also attended other forums
held in El Sereno and at Ramona Hall.
In addition the ASNC has been visited by local residents -- primarily of
Mount Washington, Highland Park, and El Sereno - representing “Stop the 710,”
who provided extensive public comment at several monthly meetings.
In
August, a working group led by ASNC Montecito Heights Representative Tom Marble
and made up of a small number of members of the ASNC Board began meeting to
consider and suggest a position statement for the full board’s consideration in
October. The ASNC said it also
plans to host additional public forums to present all sides of the debate and
offer a venue for all concerned constituents to become involved.
Certified as a City
neighborhood council in the fall of 2002, the ASNC has since held six annual
open elections for all stakeholders, selecting representatives of the
communities and their interest groups to serve on its board. The neighborhood council’s five member
communities are estimated to include 30,000 possible stakeholders, and
registration with the neighborhood council has increased each year since
certification by an average 15 percent.
The ASNC’s regular Board of
Representatives meetings are held the fourth Monday of nearly every month at
various public locations within the five member communities. Several committee and “Local Issues”
meetings for individual communities are also held each month, with details
regularly posted online and in numerous physical locations.
For additional information on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council, visit
www.asnc.us online, e-mail ASNC_Outreach@earthlink.net, or leave voicemail at
(323) 550-8105.