Feb
15
Traffic Commission, Solid Waste, Melting Pot, & City Clerk on Los Al agendas for Tuesday, 2/16
Filed Under 2010 Issues, City Council Meetings, Planning & Zoning, Traffic | Leave a Comment
(2/15/2010, Los Alamitos) Several items of interest are scheduled for two separate City Council Meetings that were moved back to Tuesday due to the Presidents’ Day Holiday today.
At a 5 p.m. Special Meeting the Council will meet in closed session to Read more
Nov
23
Planning Commission meets Tuesday on housing plan
Filed Under Commission Meetings, Planning & Zoning, Traffic | 2 Comments
(11/23/2009, Los Alamitos) The Los Alamitos Planning Commission is meeting in Special Session at City Hall on Tuesday at 7 p.m. primarily to hold a public hearing on Read more
Oct
16
Los Al Mayor calls Special Council Meeting for Saturday afternoon
Filed Under City Council Meetings, Traffic, Troy Edgar | 35 Comments
(10/16/2009, Los Alamitos) Mayor Edgar has called a special meeting of the City Council for tomorrow, 10/17/2009, at 3 p.m. to discuss two items.
With a regular meeting already scheduled for Monday, it’s a bit unclear why a special meeting is needed, especially since Monday’s agenda (to be posted here later) seems Read more
Sep
15
Gas & a beer? Our new Planning Commission will drink to that!
Filed Under Decency, Planning & Zoning, Traffic | 165 Comments
Police nationwide use staged accidents like this to send students a message about drunk driving. Looks like our Planning Commission had a different messge to send.
(9/14/09, Los Alamitos, by Dave Emerson) Last night the Los Alamitos Planning Commission voted 5-0 to allow the sale of beer and wine for “carry out” use at the Shell station at the corner of Los Al Blvd. and Katella, roughly a half mile from Los Alamitos High School and 605 freeway onramps and just around the corner from both our Middle Schools and several elementary schools.
In an action one observer described as “bizarre” 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
Aug
14
Council to discuss proposed construction moratorium this Monday, 8/17
Filed Under 2009 Issues, City Council Meetings, News you can use, Planning & Zoning, Traffic | 6 Comments
Los Al Med Center's last major project
(by Dave Emerson) The potential impact of future medical development in town has got some citizens concerned about impacts on traffic, future development, and potential for expanding Los Alamitos’ sales tax base.
The Los Alamitos City Council is slated to further discuss the issue near the end of this Monday’s Regular Council meeting in response to an interesting letter from former Read more
Jun
11
A true American hero, Gen. James P. Combs soldiers on
Filed Under Teamwork, The Base, Traffic | 7 Comments
(6/11/2009, Los Alamitos, by Dave Emerson) The more I observe the Base’s outgoing commander, General James Combs, the more impressed I become. My father-in-law was a carreer military man, and Barb tells me anyone who rises to the ranks of General is just about guaranteed to be one of our nation’s best.
That’s certainly the case with Gen. Combs. With less than three weeks until his July 4th retirement, instead of burning up his remaining vacation pay and making the rounds of retirement parties he continues to fight hard and skillfully for Read more
Jun
9
Most local residents who visited the site two weeks ago seemed supportive of the Base composting.
(6/9/2009, Los Alamitos) After the Seal Beach City Council voted 5 – 0 last night to post signs enforcing a ban on large trucks on Lampson, outgoing Joint Forces Base Commander Gen. Combs indicated he will find another route for the 12 trucks a day delivering green waste to the Base.
“We are going to continue to work with the public to find the best way to Read more
Jun
8
The General skips Los Al P.C. for Seal Beach C.C. . . . again
Filed Under Planning & Zoning, The Base, Traffic | Leave a Comment
(6/8/09, Los Alamitos) For the second time in a row, Seal Beach’s ongoing uproar over recycling trucks accessing the Base via Lampson have led to General Combs canceling a scheduled appearance before the Los Alamitos Planning Commission at tonight’s regular meeting. (Complete Planning Commission Agenda below)
The cancellation, while frustrating to Los Alamitos’ Planning Commissioners, is understandable, because Seal Beach’s Council will be voting tonight on a plan that have a major impact on the Base’s new pilot recycling program (see “The eco-general strikes back,” our 5/26 post on the topic).
According to a Register online report earlier today, Seal Beach, the proposal would ban all trucks heavier than 6,000 pounds from traveling down Lampson. That’s roughly the weight of a typical full sized quad cab pickup, which seems a bit like overkill (see “Seal Beach to ban large pickups from Lampson?“) In any case, it could turn the General’s plan to support the rehab of the base by going green into a nightmare for Los Alamitos residents who Read more
May
30
Cypress traffic mitigation revisited: Los Al Council looks at SeaCoast Grace expansion Monday
Filed Under 2009 Issues, City Council Meetings, Traffic | 6 Comments
View of SeaCoast Grace's admin building & present auditorium taken from site of planned new auditorium
(5/30/09, Los Alamitos, by Dave Emerson) Once again the Los Alamitos City Council has a busy agenda for it’s regular meeting this Monday. Appointing Commission members, a Katella no-parking zone, and selecting a non-profit to run LosAlTV are only 3 of 9 items on which the Council will be taking action.
We’ll post the agenda later this weekend, but for now we’ll focus on Los Al City staff input on how to respond to Cypress’s SeaCoast Grace Church’s expansion plans.
Cypress’ City Council will be meeting a week later to consider a Conditional Use Permit Amendment for the expansion of the church, located at 5100 Cerritos Avenue. The church wants to a a 2nd auditorium/sanctuary building of 38,031 square feet in Read more
May
26
The Eco-General Strikes Back: Our big recycling field trip
Filed Under 2009 Issues, The Base, Traffic | 13 Comments
(Los Alamitos, 5/26/2009, by Dave Emerson) I felt like I was riding a school bus on a field trip, except everyone on the bus was adults. And we had military escorts wearing camis instead of teachers. And Mayor Edgar, with JM sitting across the aisle in the same row. Plus assorted other Council Members and Commissioners from both Seal Beach and Los Alamitos.
It just might have been the biggest gathering of local officials assembled in one vehicle since Fred Freeman arranged for that infamous Towne Car ride. Maybe bigger.
A variety of vehicles was waiting to transport us to the compost site.
There we were–me and almost 80 of my new BFFs in two buses riding directly across the only controlled military landing field left in our part of this dysfunctional state on a mission to see . . . Read more
May
25
Is it Seal Beach vs. Los Al @ two Base meetings on recycling tomorrow, Tuesday, 5/26?
Filed Under 2009 Issues, City Council, George Briggeman, The Base, Traffic | 20 Comments
The view last week from Rossmoor Highlands back yards.
(5/25/2009, Los Alamitos, by Dave Emerson) The Joint Forces Training Base is now routing 10 – 15 big 18wheeler trucks on a circuitous route through Los Alamitos five to six days a week as part of their new 5 year green waste recycling program.
The come and go by taking the 405 freeway to the 605 freeway to Katella to Lexington. Once they enter the base the trucks backtrack to the western side of the base where they follow a narrow road directly behind Rossmoor Highlands all the way around the perimeter of the Base until they finally arrive at the recycling site northeast of Arbor Park. Then they turn around and exit by the same crazy spiral, occasionally passing incoming 18 wheelers on the narrow road.
General Combs, who will be retiring this year, was hoping to route that traffic more directly off of Lampson, but ran into a major snag when Read more
Apr
21
Traffic advisory: Avoid northbound Los Al Blvd @ Katella this week
Filed Under News you can use, Traffic | 32 Comments
6 p.m. update (4/21): The good news is that it looks like Edison is putting Los Al Blvd. back together for peak traffic times. All lanes were open when I went by around 5:30 this evening, as they were at 8:20 this morning. Good for them!
(4/21/09) Guess somebody figureed that it would be a good idea to narrow northbound Los Al Blvd. to one lane now that it’s the main way for about half of the city to get to a northbound onramp on the 605.
Sounds like they’ll be done in about a week–same time as the freeway onramp should re-open. Nice timing.
When I drove past today around 9:40 this morning it looked like Read more
Apr
19
Coming soon to an onramp near you!
(4/19/2009, Los Alamitos) In case the flashing lights of the past month weren’t enough, you’re not going to be able to get onto the 605 Freeway northbound from Katella westbound until about 5 a.m. next Monday, April 27th.
The logical alternate would be to use the Cerritos Ave. onramp, but that could get jammed up fairly quickly. Next option would be Read more
Mar
24
O.C.T.A. Open House on “West County Connectors Project” 6 – 8 tonight at Rossmoor’s Rush Park
Filed Under 2009 Issues, Traffic | 2 Comments
Aerial view of completed project looking east from Seal Beach Blvd., Liesure World on left, Rossmoor on right
(3/24/09 by Dave Emerson) It’s a glorious spring day here in Los Alamitos, but that’s not the only change in the air today.
Tonight’s the nights for the Orange County Transportation Authority’s local “Open House” to discuss the accelerated construction schedule and details of the O.C.T.A.’s multi-faceted project designed to improve traffic flow throughout the 405/605/22 interchange area running from Valley View to Palo Verde.
This includes reducing the Seal Beach Blvd. Bridge over the 405 to one lane for general traffic in each direction begining early in 2010.
Now that I’ve got your attention, here are some of the details, along with links for more info:
Construction is expected to take almost 4 years, from Read more
