Jul
16
SCAG Vision for Katella & Los Al Blvds on Monday Council Agenda
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, Development, Planning & Zoning | 5 Comments
(7/16/2010, Los Alamitos) The agenda is out for this Monday’s City Council Meeting, with several items of interest.
Most significant for the city’s future is Read more
May
10
Is the hospital about to eat up Los Alamitos?
Filed Under 2010 Issues, Commission Meetings, Development, Planning & Zoning | 5 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 5/10/2010) Los Alamitos’ schools, neighborhoods, and location make it a great place to live, but it may well be the most poorly planned community in Orange County.
Los Al has the two busiest surface streets for miles around, but sales tax revenue from retail businesses on those streets is surprisingly low.
Due to a series of decisions made by developers and businesses more than by residents, Los Al has become a city people drive through to get to Costco, Target, Kohls, and restaurants in Seal Beach’s crazy northern dogleg and the unincorporated Rossmoor Center.
What do people drive into Los Alamitos for? Medical care, accountants, schools, Ganahl Lumber, and a handful of really good restaurants actually within the city limit.
While I thank God for our restaurants and Ganahl, and it’s nice to have doctors and schools nearby, the net result is more traffic than sales tax revenue.
My fear is that the Los Alamitos Medical Center’s new 25-year expansion plan is a step in the wrong direction. While it might make a lot of sense for the hospital’s owners, I’m having a hard time figuring out how it makes sense for the people of Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, or Seal Beach.
If you live in the area, tonight is a key night for you because Read more
Feb
26
Council Meeting – 3/1/10 – 7PM
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, Development, Planning & Zoning | 18 Comments
[Ed Note: JM still... Dave is still away so I'm still posting for him. It's Friday, the City Council Agenda has been posted... ]
Don’t go to City Hall! As part of our historic 50th celebration, the City Council Metting has been moved to…
ST. ISIDORE PLAZA, 10961 REAGAN STREET
Not much to discuss… unless you consider the Consent Calendar.
A little background and then…
Oct
28
Los Al Med Center meets with Community Activists
Filed Under 2009 Issues, Development, Los Alamitos Priorities, Planning & Zoning | 11 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 10/28/2009) (Intro by Dave Emerson:) There’s been plenty of noise and discussion lately about the Los Alamitos Medical Center’s future development plans. The LAMC apparently decided to be proactive and invited three of the “squeaky wheels” to their facility for a discussion this past Monday, 10/26/2009.
Those attendees have issued a very interesting report on that meeting. I was amazed to learn Read more
Aug
28
Friday morning crash on Katella @ Los Alamitos
Filed Under Development, Planning & Zoning, The Base, Traffic | 42 Comments
Was it a recycling truck from the Base? (Click photo to enlarge)
(Los Alamitos, 8/28/09, by Dave Emerson) Around 9:30 this morning a RAV4 turning left from Katella eastbound onto Los Alamitos Blvd. northbound was hit by a diesel big rig going west on Katella.
An hour later the truck still blocked two westbound lanes on Katella and all northbound lanes on Los Al Blvd.
According to an officer on the scene the car turning left was Read more
Dec
9
Notes from the Los Al Planning Commission: Land of storage & doctors?
Filed Under Commission Meetings, Development, Teamwork | 4 Comments
(by Dave Emerson) Last night I saw seven volunteer Planning Commissioners conscientiously working together with city staff in a cordial attempt to do what they felt was best for Los Alamitos. The audience was courteous and professional as well, and there were no hoots or boos or applause.
A pleasant change from many recent City Council meetings. Almost made me wonder if we should turn off the TV cameras at City Council–at least during the “Oral Communications” portion in election season.
I left pretty much impressed with the work of all involved. The Commissioners, staff, and Counsel worked together to come up with sound decisions on each of the three matters before them. At the end Los Alamitos’ new Community Development Director Steve Mendoza had high words of praise for the Commission’s ability to think beyond the immediate cases before them to the long range effects and implications.
I think we have a planning commission we can all be proud of. My only negative observation would be that only one of the 7 Commissioners was a woman. Hopefully another lady can be added to Ms. Shloss if a seat becomes open when new commissioners are appointed. Although one can’t draw substantive conclusions from just one meeting, it appears that we have a group that works well together and really shouldn’t be broken up unnecessarily at this important point in the city’s history.
I was also impressed to see Mr. Sean Belk from the Sun present for the meeting. According to the Commission Chair, this is the first time a member of the press was present for quite a while, and Mr. Belk is to be commended. I know for a fact that he not only showed up, but did research on the agenda items in advance. Too bad only Rossmoor Highlands gets the Sun delivered. You can pick it up for free at a number of local businesses, including Hoff’s Hut, the Rossmoor Car Wash, and the News Enterprise office at 11110 Los Alamitos Blvd.
There were only three items on the agenda, one of which was simply for a time extension for a condo development project on 3791 Green Avenue. The other two items, Conditional Use Permits for a storage facility and for a doctor’s office and clinic, took up most of the time. In this post, I’ll focus on the storage facility and my rather creative alternative as to what might be possible there as a springboard to envisioning the Los Alamitos of the future.
“Get this junk out of here!”
Folks in the Los Alamitos area must be hearing that a lot, because Sausalito Partners, LLC wants to build almost two acres of self-storage (86,248 square feet) at Read more
Dec
6
Planning Commission meets this Monday, 12/8
Filed Under Commission Meetings, Development | 42 Comments
Note added 12/7 afternoon: We’ve got an interesting discussion going on between Art Debolt and Lisa in the comments section below. However, you won’t be able to see the comments if you’re on our home page (for example, if you just went to “LetsFixLosAl.com” but never clicked on a specific article. If that’s the case, to see the comments, you have to either click on the headline above (“Planning Commission meets this Monday, 12/8″), or click on the blue “Comments” above. If there’s no blue “Comment(s)” above, the Comments are already here at the end of my post.)
12/8 11 p.m. note: That interesting discussion got a bit redundant as it progressed, and not as polite as I’d like to strive for, but some interesting points were made. Truth is, everybody’s human & nobody’s perfect, so there are good things & bad things to say about most people. That’s why we all need grace and we all need to be gracious (for one pastor’s take on this, see “Sunday sermon: Jonah, the Ninevites, and the CPLA“).
12/9: Wow, the comments keep coming. Quite a discussion. If you’re ready to look forward instead of back, I imagine my comments on what might be possible in our town will stimulate some discussion as well. (See “Notes from the Planning Commission Meeting: I have seen the future, and it’s storage and doctors?”)
(by Dave Emerson) As long as we’ve got this blog running, I’ll try to post upcoming community events to help keep us all informed. Let me know of something you think Los Alamitos residents need to know about by e-mailing or calling me , or just post the info in a comment.
This one was suggested by one of our Planning Commissionars. The Los Alamitos Planning Commission normally meets on the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Los Alamitos City Council Chambers.
This month’s agenda includes proposed final approval for that self-storage facility at Sausalito and Oak, a request for a medical office and clinic in the commercially zoned Los Alamitos Plaza (10900 Los Alamitos Blvd., # 148), and a one year extension to develop a parcel map for 3791 Green, between Reagan and Maple (which I’m guessing must be another condo complex?).
I’m not a big fan of turning commercial space that should produce sales tax revenue into additional medical office space. I still don’t understand how we ended up with the Medical Center bulldozing a city block of small businesses to make a parking lot so they could build a three story medical office building on the former parking lot. If we let them, medical offices will consume what’s left of our messed up “city center,” if not the whole doggone town. More traffic, less sales tax revenue. I say it’s time for Liesure World’s doctors to build an office complex & clinics on some of that Boeing land right by Liesure World! More convenient for everyone. Why not a community hospital, too. Shoot, maybe just move the whole Los Alamitos Medical Center, & offices & let’s redevelop that land.
Anyway, if you’ve got an opinion for the planning commissioners on any of these items, you can post it in the comment setion below, and you can reach the staff advisor, the Community Development Director, at (562) 432-3538, Ext. 300. You can also show up at 7 on Monday & speak.
Click here for the full agenda in pdf form.
Nov
29
LAJFTB sketch of "American Veterans' Park" planned for some of the former base housing land along Farquhar
(by Dave Emerson) In an article published on line just before Thanksgiving, as well as in on page 8 of the Local section of this Sunday’s Orange County Register, Jaimee Lynn Fletcher revealed details of a $10 million project planned for the former Navy Housing complex along Farquhar. At the same time the Sun’s Sean Belk reported additional details gathered from Los Alamitos City Manager David Rudat about the Base’s plans for green waste recycling. We’ll start with Jaimee’s information.
According to our favorite Register reporter, work is expected to begin next week on the demolition of two “groups” of abandoned housing in the first step of a project planned to extend over the next six years at a cost of up to $2 million per year.
View of former Base housing from Little Cottonwood Park
“We are going to take it down in stages so as not to impact air and traffic,” said Ret. Gen. James Combs told Fletcher. Personally, I’d rather see it all done at once then spread out over an additional six years. The abandoned housing has been an eyesore along Farquhar and from the adjacent Little Cottonwood Park for a decade and a half already.
Any progress, however, is a good thing. Renovation of Base property is hardly a top priority for a military engaged in two major wars. Fletcher reports the base has been working with the state and National Guard to obtain funding. We can only hope that funding will not be cut back over subsequent years. Gen. Combs and our city leaders are to be commended for their persistence over the years to move this project forward.
40 acres of Park & Memorials?
(LAJFTB sketch) A handicapped-accessible soldier for handicapped vets and their families is included in the plans.
The Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base supplied three sketches to the Register, which are included in this post. The Register’s captions indicate that the Veteran’s Park will include memorials and the above playground as part of a “40 acre military oasis to serve veterans and educate the community.” An acre is roughly 1/640th of a square mile, so 40 acres would represent about 3% of the Base’s 2.2 square miles, which is slightly more than half of the 4.3 square miles that make up the entire city of Los Alamitos.
I’m not sure if that 40 acres includes all of the old Navy housing or only part of it, and nobody was answering the main phone at the base over the long weekend to clarify that. Apparently, however, additional uses are planned, as the article indicates that “The base is devising a master plan that will outline proposed projects for the land but a release date has not yet been set.”
Update: In an excellent comment following this post, some of this is clarified by a member of the Veterans’ Park Committee. Based on this new information, it appears that the Veterans’ Park would be located in a different part of the base, to the east of the main entrance on Lexington.
Possible uses include an urban training ground for the military and possibly civilian police and fire fighters, as well as an expansion of the Base’s Headquarters. According to Gen. Combs, “Every inch of property has been spoken for.”
No mention was made in the article of the possible relocation of Los Alamitos’ city facilities discussed by City Manager David Rudat at last week’s City Council meeting. I contacted Council Member Dean Grose who indicated that as far as he knew that was still a possibility.
A main courtyard is planned to honor soldiers from past wars.
Hopefully some consideration will be given to the traffic impact of such a development, especially on the horribly congested intersection of Farquhar and Los Alamitos Blvd. With the Base occupying more than 50% of the total land area of the city of Los Alamitos, better coordination of long term planning and development would seem to be a top priority for our new Council, and experience dealing with a military base might also be high on the qualifications list for our next City Manager.
Click here for Jaimee’s complete article. Jaimee, thanks for another informative and timely article. Any additional info is always welcome here!
Green Waste at the Base
Meanwhile, back at the Sun, Sean Belk reported on Thanksgiving Day on a phone interview he had with our interim City Manager about the Base’s greenwaste recycling program. He indicated this involved the use of a biodegradable “green waste” material made from grass clippings, leaves, and the like, which is now being used as fertilizer at the Base’s strawberry fields.
My sources on the Base’s recycling program confirm that such green waste is one component of the program, but that treated sewage may also be included. There apparently is no harm or major odor problem from treated sewage.
In any case, Sean reports that such a program has been operating on the Base for the past 3 – 4 months. This is consistant with what I’ve heard, although my understanding was that this is a trial program at this point.
Rudat also indicated that a larger commercial recycling center on the Base is “only being talkd about” with former trash hauler George Briggeman. “There’s nothing on the table,” according to Rudat. “There’s nothing on anybody’s agenda, people have only talked about it.”
Well, Mr. Briggeman talked about it with General Combs, Ken Parker, Cat Driscoll, and Gerri Mejia, as indicated at the last Council meeting. (See “Coming soon to a Joint Forces Base near you?“) So I’m thinking it’s probably on Mr. Briggeman’s agenda, and I’ll see if I can talk to him to find out.
The Sun article indicated that the commercial recycling plant could generate sales tax revenue, but it’s my understanding that the $300,000 annual income discussed would come from traffic mitigation funds. I’m pretty sure retail sales of recycled materials was not part of the plan.
If you live north of Rossmoor Highlands and want to pick up a copy of the Sun, it’s available free during business hours at the News Enterprise office at 11110 Los Alamitos Blvd., as well as at the Rossmoor Carwash and Hoffs Hut.
