Richard Rownak
The planning commission hearing of May 23, 2012 agenda included an Administrative Site Plan Review to allow the development of a one story 7 Eleven store with 2,500 square feet of floor area and 12 on-site parking spaces located at 4436 Sepulveda Boulevard.
In the hearing residents were told to "write a letter" by the chairman, Anthony Pleskow, when he informed them that the input part of the hearing was over. The 7 Eleven rep was able to address the committee without being asked a direct question by the committee. Residents raised hands at that time in an effort to have equal time to speak, but were ignored.
Changes need to be made so that a final comment by a representative from the public can be made in public hearings.
Vice chairman Scott Wyant’s own traffic study directly contradicted the study by 7 Eleven. He was emphatic about disbelief of the numbers submitted by 7 Eleven. Marie Malahi told of her video of the intersection and that she hadn't had time to compile for presentation.
Commissioner John Kuechle said that he saw no evidence that the study done the last day before school was out for spring break was incorrect or flawed in any way. I think his judgment as well as the study is flawed. He seemed to want to push the development through. The commission questioned the person paid by 7 Eleven but none of them wanted to know what a residents video camera had captured at the same intersection. Not knowing the true facts is one thing, not making every effort to know the true facts is quite another. Ms. Malahi is a full time working mother and she had spoken, in previous hearings, about her own son being hit by a car in this area.
The traffic person from the City didn't know that across the street at Taco Bell the City allows the restaurant to use the alley as their drive through, which blocks the alley regularly. Mr. Wyant spoke of this intersection as a problem in past City traffic studies. The other commissions didn’t ask to see the past study he spoke about.
If left turns on Southbound Sepulveda are made, pedestrians, bicyclist or skateboarders will be at risk. My question is where is the “NO LEFT TURN SIGNS” going South on Sepulveda placed? A double yellow line may not even be noticed. Someone traveling south from behind a parked bus into the driveway will be vulnerable to serious injury.
Commissioner Marcus Tiggs’s big concern was that the store had more than one entrance.
There are ways to obtain tobacco and alcohol, even if you aren't 18 or 21. The only way to stop this bad influence is to not allow the source in the school kids path. Unfortunately more residents, church leaders, parents and school officials, were not there to voice their concerns of this business that will make every attempt to sell as much tobacco and alcohol as possible, in the path of so many school kids, That's the goal of business, sell as much as possible. Hopefully an appeal will give more folks an opportunity to show their support for denial of this unwanted project. I don't want take away alcohol sold in my neighborhood to anyone.
A statement from a former City Council person made in an email said it all "7 Eleven doesn't sell alcohol, just beer and wine". Well meaning City officials can get things wrong, and comments from the committee that "they can live with it" are little consolation to people who do actually have to live with it.
The Planning Commission decision is a mistake in judgment and/or a rush to judgment. This area is changing and will be busier as a new business moves into the area, LA Spice and when Green Peas reopens across the street on Sepulveda. This study will be obsolete by the time 7 Eleven opens if it started construction today. No consideration was made for these businesses opening in this study or hearing. Since the hearing, a vehicle has ran to the building just catty-corner to the proposed development. This is a dangerous intersection, which needs more investigation. Comments were made by the commission that they didn't want to come back in two weeks on this issue, this, to me, shows a lack of interest for full consideration or investigation of all the facts.
That there are real problems is clear. If the commission came to wrong conclusions about the development, in their evaluation, then there are no real alternatives or solutions of safety and traffic issues to remedy the problems once the store was in place, so they approved it.
Richard Rownak is a resident of the Vets Park neighborhood of Culver City.
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