Fix The City filed an appeal of the City Planning Decision approving the Casden/Sepulveda project.

The community has raised serious concerns over the traffic impacts of the project, the health impacts on future residents and the impacts on already strained infrastructure including first responders.

Fix The City filed a timely appeal to preserve the community’s rights.

Fix the City is concerned about the deterioration of quality of life that this project will cause, both for its future residents and for residents nearby or regionally who be affected by the project.  Specifically, Fix the City is aggrieved by the decision to expose senior citizens and other vulnerable residents to the vastly increased air pollution that will result from the location of housing within 300 meters of the freeway.  Fix the City also objects to the massive traffic impacts and increase demand on first responders services that the project will place on the already inadequate local infrastructure.

(Graphic shows distance from the freeway)

The project’s FAR is inappropriately calculated because it includes the MTA parcel as part of the FAR.  No development could occur on the MTA parcel so it is not legitimately included in the site area as calculate for the FAR.  Therefore the maximum permissible project size is not accurately calculated; this approval must be revisited with an appropriate maximum project size calculation.

(graphic shows Expo area that was included in FAR calculation)

The project does not incorporate adequate mitigation measures to mitigate impacts to air quality, to traffic, or to public safety as required by the State Density Bonus program.

The project is not in conformance with the General Plan or the West Los Angeles Community Plan.  As the City Planning Commission recognizes, the site is currently designated “Light Manufacturing” and “Public Facilities.”  The General Plan must be amended to permit this project; such amendment is spot zoning and inconsistent with good planning practice.

The project does not conform to local zoning and requires a zone change, which again is spot zoning and inconsistent with good planning practice.

The project does not consistent of an arrangement of buildings and structures that is compatible with existing development, because it permits hundreds of residential units to be constructed within 300 meters of a major freeway, one of the ten busiest in the United States.  Emissions of pollution from automobile within such close range to a freeway expose the future residents of these buildings to significantly increased levels of NOx, SO2, VOCs, and fine and ultra fine particulate matter.  There is thus no support for the finding that the project is compatible with existing development, and there is no likelihood of significant future change to the nearby land use that will alter this fundamental incompatibility.

The project does not provide its residents with appropriate placement of recreational facilities, because the project’s facilities are located within 300 meters of a major source of air pollution.  Those utilizing the recreational facilities, which will surely include children, a vulnerable population, will be exposed to increased levels of Nox, SO2, VOCs, and fine and ultra fine particulate matter.

This is the fire department letter saying that the area’s fire stations are not adequate to handle the load.

This is the police department  letter saying that the project would have a significant impact on police services in the area.

Community Draft EIR comments can be found HERE.

The CPC decision can be found HERE.

The full searchable DEIR can be found HERE.