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San
Rafael Elementary School
By
Don Watson, Chair 7-11 Committee
Photo
courtesy of Stan Clark
Public
Hearing of the San Rafael School
Property 7-11 Committee
The 7-11
Committee was established by the
PUSD Board of Education to develop
recommendations for alternative uses
of the San Rafael Elementary School
3.2 acre property.
The
Committee is composed of community
members, parents, school staff, and
representatives of the business
community, and is supported by
District staff, legal counsel, and a
representative of the City of
Pasadena. (7-11 means the Committee
has between 7 and 11 members). The
Committee has held two previous
meetings in January and February.
The
establishment of the Committee was
necessitated by the discovery of
active earthquake fault lines on the
property. This precludes the long
term use of the property as a public
school. The San Rafael staff,
students, and program are scheduled
to move to the former site of
Allendale Elementary School,
adjacent to the Blair Middle/High
School complex, after July 1, 2017.
The
public hearing at SRES on Monday,
March 24 was the first of two
hearings to get input into
recommendations the Committee will
be making to the Board of Education
regarding the future uses of the
school site.
An
estimated 120 people attended the
meeting and Public Hearing. Dr. John
Pappalardo, Chief Financial Officer
for PUSD, presented the timeline of
events that led up to the decision
of the Board to close the school.
Mr. Eric Duyshart explained the role
of the City in any proposed re-use
of the property for other purposes.
The site could be leased to a
private school or for other public
uses, or could be sold for
residential home sites or other
uses. The public and the members had
questions for Dr. Pappalardo, Mr.
Duyshart, and legal counsel
regarding the necessity to vacate
the property, on the alternative
uses, and the procedures for making
a final decision.
During
the public hearing, 13 people
presented their points of view about
the process and alternative uses of
the property.
Everyone
in attendance was provided with a
survey to identify their preferences
for the use of the property, and
uses or conditions they could not
tolerate. 49 surveys were submitted.
The
results of the public hearing and
the survey will be presented and
discussed at the next meeting of the
Committee, March 31, 2014, 5:30 pm,
at the District offices, 351 S.
Hudson Avenue, Room 236.
The
date for the next public hearing
will be set by the Committee.
All
meetings are open, and guests are
invited to ask questions or make
statements.
EDITOR'S
NOTE: Adaptive reuse of the site
potentially will introduce new
impacts to the neighborhood and
affect property values, good or bad.
SRNA supports a cautious approach to
this transition and a full
understanding of zoning allowances
for all those affected by the
closure.
For
more information on the applicable
state laws please see:
Alquist-Priolo
Act of 1971
CA
Code of Regulations (CCR)
******************************************
Board
of Education Update:
Pasadena
Unified School District on March 27,
2014 voted 4-2 (Kim Kenne
absent) authorizing the district to
accept bids for lease of the Linda
Vista Elementary school site. [BR-
77-B]. Tom Selinske made the motion
seconded by Dr. Elizabeth Pomeroy.
Tyron Hampton and Dr. Mikala Rahn
voted in favor. President Renatta
Cooper and Scott Phelps voted
against the motion.
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Profile:
Little Flower Candy Co.
SRNA
is proud to have many fine dining
places in our area. Little Flower
as it is known to residents, is
a tiny cafe, bakery
and
candy kitchen on the edge of
town. It's where the neighborhood
can meet and eat fresh delicious
food, drink strong
coffee
and listen to great
music surrounded by art,
neighbors, friends and community.
Little
Flower is a great place to meet a
friend or make a new one.
Christine
& Pam have created a great
neighborhood café.
SRNA
artist Wendi Moffly's art can be
seen there from time to time.
1422
W. Colorado Blvd,
Hours:
Mon-Sat
7 am - 7 pm
Sun 9 am - 4 pm
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710
Extension/Tunnel Update
By
Ann Kelley
Neighborhood
communities nervously await the
submission of the multimillion
dollar Environmental Impact
Report (EIR) expected to be
released this spring. Once the
EIR is released there will be a
great deal of activity
as environment, transportation,
medical and planning experts and
citizens in every city get busy
reviewing the report. We have a
90 day window to prepare a
response to a document expected
to be 10,000+ pages that took
Metro consultants, CH2M Hill,
two years to prepare. It's a
daunting challenge but many
people have committed to accept
the task of review.
Here's
an example of a tunnel boring
machine for transportation
vehicles. Notice the size compared
to the people!
;
SRNA
along with other neighborhood
groups are in unison against the
tunnel alternate as a solution.
While
the proposed F 7 (Tunnel) is not
in SRNA's immediate area, SRNA is
opposed to the draconian
environmental impacts such a
project would incur on our
streets, fire department, and the
Arroyo. SRNA believes a tunnel
project would negatively impact
all of Pasadena. SRNA, from the
beginning in early 2012, has been
opposed to 20th century
solutions to a 21st
century problem.
The
cities of Pasadena, Glendale,
South Pasadena, Sierra Madre and
La Canada-Flintridge have each
committed $50,000 for a total of
$250,000 to hire outside
consultants who will review the
EIR from a regional perspective.
· Glendale
will focus on safety and security
· La
Canada-Flintridge on soils geology
and seismology,
· Pasadena
on legal and the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
· Sierra
Madre on air quality
· South
Pasadena on transportation
The
Pasadena City Council
have committed the City's
Departments to review the EIR from
Pasadena's perspective.
SRNA
will let you know when the
community meetings from Metro are
scheduled so you can take action
and voice your concerns.
Photo licensed
to and courtesy of Stan Clark
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La
Loma Bridge Update &
Speed
Bumps on South Laguna Road
By Marie
Cleaves
Currently
New
Proposed Restored Design
Last
month over 40 residents came to
SRNA's February public meeting
to find out more on the La Loma
Bridge closure that will
begin just a few months from
now. Guests included:
Steve
Wright City
Engineer, Public Works
Stephen
Walker Principal
City Engineer
Amanda
Ta-Chavez
Associate Transportation
Engineer
Kevin
Costa Deputy
Fire Chief
Lt.
Pete Hettema Pasadena
Police Department
The
historic La Loma Bridge was
originally constructed in 1914
when Woodrow Wilson
was President, the United States
Flag had 48 stars and baseball
legend Babe Ruth made his major
league debut with the Red Sox.
The
iconic bridge is scheduled to
undergo a seismic retrofit and
rehabilitation beginning in the
summer of 2014 and lasting
through the winter of 2015.
The
370-foot long by 42-foot wide
structure will be widened and
strengthened while maintaining
its historic style. The scope of
the project includes replacing
the bridge deck, rehabilitating
the arches and spandrel columns,
and strengthening both end
piers. The project will cost
approximately $16.8 million
dollars. Funding will come from
two sources: federal grant funds
totaling $14.7 million and city
funds totaling $2.1 million.
During
the closure the Pasadena Police
Department plans to post police
officers on Laguna, Arroyo and
San Rafael to monitor and
mitigate traffic impacts. The
Department expects most impacts
to be on local traffic with
cut-through commuters opting for
other routes.
SRNA
is working with the various
departments to mitigate the
impacts the closure to the
affected neighborhoods.
Photo
& Rendering Courtesy of the
City of Pasadena
***************************************************************
Speed
Bumps on South Laguna Road
Neighbors
on the Southern portion of
Laguna Road have petitioned the
City of Pasadena to perform a
study about installing speed
bumps on a stretch of Laguna
Road from Burleigh to San
Rafael. This part of Laguna Road
was designated a "local street"
in 2003 which means the road
qualifies for speed bumps. An
official traffic count by the
city on this stretch of Laguna
resulted in 1,500 cars in a 24
hour period. Neighbors in the
area have been asked by the city
to complete a survey and provide
feedback. An affirmative vote of
at least 66% of he affected
neighbors would be needed to
install the bumps.
If
speed bumps are installed the
city must follow established
guidelines which include that
the bumps must be 200 - 250 feet
apart on a stretch of roadway
that is 1,000 feet long and
uninterrupted by curves. It is
estimated there would be a total
of 5 speed bumps on this section
of Laguna.
Laguna
Road is made of concrete instead
of asphalt so the speed bumps
would be rubberized and bolted
into the concrete. Each bump
would be 3 ½" high and 12' wide.
The
Pasadena Fire Chief has
expressed concerns that bumps on
Laguna Road could negatively
impact response times in the
area and damage the department's
fire trucks. The Chief has the
authority to deny speed bumps if
they are deemed a hindrance to
response times.
Survey
results reported by the City are
as follows: Residences Affected
39: 26 Yes or 67%, 2 No 5%, 11
(28%) did not respond.
Status
of project: Survey results
letters are to be mailed to
residents by end of March.
Locate vendor/company that makes
the rubberized bolted bumps with
a design suitable to the
city. The Pasadena Director of
Transportation to consult with
the Pasadena Fire Department on
their use of Laguna Road.
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Complete Streets Program Update!
By Mary
Dee Romney (Chart
information provided by
Sylvia Plummer)
NEIGHBORHOOD
TRAFFIC 'NERVES' . . . and
STREET
VEHICLE COUNTS
Prompted
by speed, accidents and
fatalities on Avenue 64,
impacted neighbors (Avenue 64
Coalition) urged the City of
Pasadena Department of
Transportation to form a
resident advisory group to
address traffic safety.
Subsequently
the "San Rafael Complete
Streets Working Group"
convened in February 2014 to
evaluate the city's January
2014 traffic counts on local
streets and to review
various traffic studies and
recommendations.
Still,
ongoing safety problems
remain a reality on Avenue
64 and promise to be
exacerbated by traffic
diversions during the
re-construction of the La
Loma Bridge.
(see SRNA article above)
Remedies
from the city's "Complete
Streets" proposal appear
both costly and remote for
Avenue 64.
One
bright side to this effort
is information to neighbors!
The below chart shows the
January 2014 traffic
count/average speed for the
neighborhood's most
frequented streets.
Please
take a look! You know these
streets!
Street
|
# of Cars
|
MPH
|
|
|
|
Annandale Road
|
616
|
27
|
Avenue 64 (north of Nithsdale)
|
8,667
|
39
|
Avenue 64 (south of Nithsdale)
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8,564
|
43
|
Brixton Road
|
210
|
30
|
Burleigh Drive (between Ave 64 & La Loma)
|
625
|
33
|
Church Street (between Ave 64 & Brentnal)
|
678
|
30
|
Glenullen Drive (near La Loma)
|
184
|
27
|
Glen Summer Road
|
324
|
30
|
Kaweah Drive
|
140
|
21
|
Laguna Road (south of Burleigh)
|
1,531
|
35
|
La Loma Avenue (west of Ave 64)
|
3,625
|
34
|
Nithsdale Road
|
740
|
27
|
Poppy Peak Drive
|
130
|
25
|
San Miguel Road
|
977
|
28
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San Rafael Avenue (between Colorado & Nithsdale)
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1,394
|
28
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Tamarac Drive (near La Loma)
|
197
|
20
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THANK YOU TO
NEIGHBORS WHO SERVE ON THIS
WORKING GROUP!
EDITOR
NOTE: For the San Rafael Complete
Streets Working Group Meeting
(February 11, 2014), see:
For
concepts and minutiae on the City
of Pasadena Complete Streets
transition, see:
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Local
Street News
By Joanne
Fletcher, Eunice Kim & Sue
Tkocz
Malcolm
Drive neighbors Joanne Fletcher,
Eunice Kim and Sue Tkocz spearheaded
a block party on Sunday, October 6th
after
several burglaries in the
neighborhood motivated their
neighbors to get together this
summer at the local library to meet
with representatives from the Police
Department. Neighbors came to the
party from Malcolm, Anita and
Sequoia Drives (Aasia Kinney handed
out flyers on Sequoia).
The
party got started a 3:00 pm and
everyone got name tags with their
address identifying who and where
they live. The street was blocked
off in the middle with umbrellas and
tables set up and filled to overflow
with wonderful assortments of
appetizers and desserts.
Approximately
125 neighbors came along with Kitty
Johnson, a police Neighborhood Watch
specialist, Officer Tom Brown and
Officer Jim Riehl who are assigned
to our service area. A special treat
for both the kids and adults was the
arrival of a Fire Department pumper
truck just like the one at Station
39. Everyone agreed it was lovely to
meet and get to know your neighbors
and we encourage you to build
vigilance and cooperation within
your own neighborhood.
Top:
Joanne Fletcher, Sue Tkocz &
Eunice Kim
Bottom:
Kitty Johnson, Officer James Riehl,
and Joanne Fletcher
Photo
courtesy of the author (s)
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Good
Neighbor Column
By
Committee
We
would like to introduce a new
feature in our Newsletter. We are
calling it the "Good Neighbor
Column." The Good Neighbor
Column will address subjects of
interest on your street or block,
or general concerns for your area.
Please send us your thoughts
on issues for the this new column
at info@srnapasadena.org.
The
first issue for our next
publication will address the use
of
leaf
blowers.
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Spring
Is Just Around The Corner - BRUSH
CLEARANCE
By
Stan Clark
The
Pasadena Fire Department is urging
residents to get started with brush
clearance early due to the severe
drought we are experiencing. (The
map and copy are predictive and not
guaranteed.) Last year was
predicted to be one of the worst and
thankfully that did not materialize.
This
year is slated to be very dry and
with that the risk is high. 
The
goal is to help the fire department
have defensible space at all times.
Here are some suggested things you
can do:
1) Trim
back tree branches away from
chimneys, fire experts say at least
5 feet away.
2)
Clear brush in empty or adjoining
lots.
3)
Remove firewood stacked next to
structures.
4)
Remove anything flammable that is
close to structures.
Please
contact the Pasadena Fire Department
for any questions at (626)
744-4655.
With
added fire danger, the Pasadena Fire
Department would also like residents
to know that Red Flag Days have
added impact for fire and rescue
vehicles. Many of our area's streets
are narrow and winding, making it
difficult for the department's
vehicle to quickly get to an
incident.
This
is Rancheros Road in the hills of
91103 on a
call
a few weeks ago. We have similar
streets in the San Rafael area.
During a Red Flag Day, these trucks
could not easily get to a location
for a call.
For
more on Red Flag Days go to:
Photo
courtesy of Pasadena Fire Department
(PFD)
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 Coalition
for the preservation of the
Arroyo. EIR-NFL Lawsuit
Information
Update
By
Nina Chomsky
President
Linda Vista ~ Annandale
Association (LVAA)
The
Lawsuit: The
Coalition (Linda Vista
Annandale Association,
San Rafael Neighborhoods
Association, and East
Arroyo Neighborhood
Preservation Committee),
which challenged
Pasadena's Environmental
Impact Report for NFL
Rose Bowl use, was
disappointed that the
Superior Court ruled
against us. The
Coalition will appeal
the decision.
Importantly, although
new factual and legal
issues cannot be raised,
the Appellate Court will
review the case de
novo, i.e. all
over again.
The
Coalition sincerely
thanks all supporters of
the lawsuit up to now,
including SRNA. This
matter is not over, and
the Coalition will keep
the community informed.
Rose
Bowl Events: Meanwhile,
Pasadena is exploring an
"entertainment"
alternative to the NFL
to raise Rose Bowl
money. Over Coalition
legal objections
focusing on failure to
mitigate cumulative
displacement (major)
event impacts, the City
Council recently voted
to increase 2014 Rose
Bowl displacement
(major) events from 12
to no more than 18,
including 5-6 large
concerts. Additionally,
in a letter to the
Coalition's Attorney,
the City recently
confirmed that
(1)
The City will not host
any NFL games in the
Rose Bowl during
calendar year 2014;
(2)
Non-Displacement
"Walks/Runs" in the
Central Arroyo (which
have impacts on
recreation and use of
the Central Arroyo) will
be limited to no more
than 13 Rose Bowl
sponsored events and no
more than 3 City
sponsored events in
2014;
(3)
The City will share
costs with the Rose Bowl
Operating Company to
fund a study to analyze
event coordination in
the Central Arroyo;
(4)
The City will meet with
the Coalition to discuss
improving the management
of events at the Rose
Bowl, minimizing the
inconvenience caused by
such events and
promoting improved
residential quality of
life in the City;
(5)
The City does not
contend that the
up-to-eighteen
displacement (major)
events in calendar year
2014 establish a new
"baseline" for
displacement (major)
events at the Rose Bowl.
But,
a basic challenge
remains: how to identify
and implement
performance-based,
enforceable mitigation
measures to protect
Arroyo impacted
neighborhoods from so
many major and smaller
events.
The
NFL: There
will be no 2014 NFL
announcement of an L.A.
team, and attention has
shifted to 2015.
Recently,
attention also has
shifted from downtown
Los Angeles to Inglewood
as a possible NFL
stadium location.
Hollywood Park in
Inglewood, which closed
in 2013, includes 238
flat acres. Many believe
that the site is an
ideal NFL stadium
location with easy
Freeway access; few
residential neighbors;
and, plenty of room for
a typical NFL stadium,
including adjacent
above-ground parking.
Now,
per the L.A. Times, the
owner of the St. Louis
Rams, billionaire Stan
Kroenke, has purchased
the 60-acre parking lot
between the Forum and
Hollywood Park, possibly
for a new stadium in
joint venture with the
Hollywood Park owners.
While relocating an NFL
team is complex, the
Rams' lease allows them
to leave St. Louis in
2015.
Stay
tuned.
The
Coalition for
Preservation of the
Arroyo is composed of
the East Arroyo
Neighborhood
Preservation Committee
(EANPC), the Linda
Vista~Annandale
Association, (LVAA)
and the San Rafael
Neighborhoods
Association (SRNA),
and is supported by
the West Pasadena
Residents' Association
(WPRA).
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JOIN OR
RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP WITH SRNA
West Pasadena's Newest and Fastest growing neighborhood
organization dedicated to
the San Rafael
neighborhoods area.
MEMBERSHIP
LEVELS:
|
|
|
|
Member
|
$
20.00
|
Household
|
$
35.00
|
Sustaining
|
$
100.00
|
Patron
|
$
250.00
|
Benefactor
|
$
500.00
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Please
send check by mail to:
San
Rafael Neighborhoods Association
(SRNA)
PO
Box 92617
Pasadena,
CA 91109
OR
Join
us at our website at
Debit
or Credit cards accepted.
SRNA
is looking for people to
volunteer and be part of our
organization. Represent your
street and your concerns.
Write to us if
you would like to help make a
difference and express your
area of interest.
The
mission of the San Rafael
Neighborhoods Association (SRNA)
is to enhance and maintain the
character and quality of all San
Rafael neighborhoods through
advocacy and an activated
community.
SRNA
is registered with the City
of Pasadena/Neighborhood
Connections office.
Membership
dues/Donations are Not Tax
Deductible.
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