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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/28/1964e. COMMUNITY CENTER BUILDING 5050 NO IRWINDALE AVENUE IRWINDALE, CALIFORNIA 113 TUESDAY APRIL 28, 1964 7 30 O'CLOCK P M Upon instructions of Mayor Diaz, the Deputy City Clerk adjourned the meeting until such time as a quorum of the Council was present At 7 40 O'clock P M , the City Council of the City of Irwindale met in Special Meeting at the above place Pursuant to Section 54956 of the 3 Government Code, the Deputy City Clerk presented Affidavit of Notice of Special Meeting sent to all Councilmembers, all interested property owners, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, and posting in three places in the City Following the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of our Country, the meeting was opened with an invocation by Mr Edwin T Powell ROLL CALL Present Councilmen Breceda, Miranda, Martinez, & Mayor Diaz Absent Councilmen Sulzer Also present City Manager Edwin T Powell, Deputy City Clerk Margaret S Barbosa, and Attorney Barry Floyd Also absent City Clerk Lee B Young and City Attorney Robert R Stevens PUBLIC HEARING ZONE EXCEPTION CASE Before Mayor Diaz declared public X91 NO 16 -DRAG STRIP hearing open he requested that all proponents and opponents that wished to speak to limit their time and avoid repetition since there were many present who might wish to speak Councilman -Mayor Diaz declared the public hearing open and stated that the purpose of the public hearing was to voice the opinions pro or con as a result of an appeal made requesting reconsideration of the decision ,of the Planning Commission granting a special use permit for a drag strip to the Soland Corporation He stated that several letters and petitions were received in protest All persons wishing to speak stood up and were sworn in by the City Attorney PROPONENTS Jack Minnock, 1258 South Butterfield Road, West Covina, representative of Soland Corporation Mr Minnock stated that a petition signed by over 1, 400 persons had been transmitted to the Council in favor of the drag strip (A copy of said petition has not been received or filed in the City Clerk's Office ) Mr Minnock stated that the main complaint was traffic and excessive noise and he felt that both of these could be controlled A plan had been worked out with former Chief of Police of Irwindale to the satisfaction of both the City of Arcadia and E1 Monte to divert traffic east to Lower Azusa Road and Rivergrade Road and have officers direct traffic The property where the proposed drag strip would be located was surrounded on the north, west and south by quarry and on the east by the Flood Control Channel The 114 nearest resident was located about 1, 717 feet from the acceleration point Norman Dalbec, 2839 10th Avenue, Arcadia Mr Dalbec stated that one of the main objections from the opponents was noise and it was his belief that the question was whether the noise would be intolerable or would it not be He admitted that there would be some noise from the drag strip, but that it would be for only a few hours each week and the noise would not be continuous There were a number of factors which had some bearing on the noise, one being that the prevailing winds blow from west to east away from the complainant's property He felt that this proposed drag strip would be an asset to the San Gabriel Valley Mr Steve Gibbs, 3447 Ahern Drive, Baldwin Park Mr Gibbs stated that he felt that a drag strip was needed in the San Gabriel Valley area for all young people since the closest drag strips right now were at Long Beach and Pomona Jim Blake, 2947 Stanton Street, Pomona, California Mr Blake presented a number of pictures of homes in relation to their location to the Pomona Drag Strip He stated that there were 3 churches and the Genesha Hills homes which were located about 700' from the drag strip and didn't feel that the land had depreciated in value He also stated that the Drag Strip was beneficial to the whole area due to the fact that young people as well as adults participated and felt that the benefits outweighed the disadvantages Mel Reck, Hacienda Heights, announcer at the Pomona Drag Strip stated that the Pomona Drag Strip was sponsored by the Lions' Club - backed by them and the Pomona Police Department He stated that there was a need for a Drag Strip Jack Tice, representative of the Soland Corporation, stated that they were requesting this Special Use Permit because the Edison Company needed to build a sub -station to serve additional customers in this area on the property where they were formerly located He stated that it had been very difficult to find property anywhere in this area Mr Tice stated that traffic would not be a problem and the hours and days that they would be in operation would be very limited At least 2, S00 participants, under supervision, would take part in the races every Saturday night During the three years that they were in operation at the former drag strip they only received three calls protesting the noise and that was when the jet was there The City Attorney swore in additional opponents wishing to speak that were standing outside OPPONENTS Lewis Meadows, 432 Hearst Avenue, Los Angeles, State President of Equestrian Trails Incorporated, member of Sheriff's Mounted Posse Mr Meadows stated that they were not opposed to drag strips, but were opposing it because the drag strip would be running parallel to the Equestrian Trail He stated that in his experience a horse will react to noise On behalf of hundreds of men, women and children who ride the Equestrian Trail in this area, they urged that the drag strip be located elsewhere The Mayor directed a question to Mr Meadows concerning the numbers of horse riders actually using the Equestrian Trail, and also if any deaths had occurred during the operation of the old drag strip to any one using the Equestrian Trail 115 Mr Meadows replied in the negative Adair Allen, 12154 Cherrylee Drive, E1 Monte Mr Allen stated that he was mostly opposing the location of the drag strip He quoted statements from several magazines concerning the noise created as a result of stock cars with modified motors running 3 and 4 abreast Mr Allen stated that excessive noise would create a mental problem and continued to elaborate on the effects of noise on people Loland Briggs, 12160 Cherrylee Drive, E1 Monte Mr Briggs stated that he was opposed to the drag strip because the proposed drag strip was practically located in his back yard and he went along with what Mr Allen had stated Mrs Margaret Allen, 12154 Cherrylee Drive, E1 Monte Mrs Allen spoke at length concerning the effects of noise on people's mind and quoted several statements from publications Edith Adams, 12135 Hallwood Drive, El Monte Mrs Adams felt that drag strip should be located away from residents Art Salcedo, 11708 Cherrylee Drive, E1 Monte Mr Salcedo stated that he was a member of the Equestrian Trails for 5 years and was opposed to the drag strip because the noise from the cars would scare the horses He thanked the Council for the opportunity given him to speak Evelyn Nichelson, 12039 Conference Street, E1 Monte Mrs Nichelson pointed out that all people speaking in behalf of the drag strip were not living in Irwindale and were living away from the drag strip area Lulu Daves, 12031 Conference Street, E1 Monte Mrs Daves stated that she was mainly opposed to the noise R H Ashenshade, 11910 The Wye, E1 Monte Mr Ashenshade was opposed with the noise and traffic involved with running a drag strip REBUTTAL FROM PROPONENTS Mr Jack Tice stated that the main concern of the people opposing the drag strip was the noise, traffic and the opposition from the Equestrian Trails He felt that these problems could be remedied Auggie Torres, Claremont, California Mr Torres stated that he worked in Recreation and felt that there was a great need for more recreation for the young people and that is why he was for the drag strip Edgar Romig, 916 North Avenue 54, Los Angeles 42 Mr Romig stated that he had experience in working with Y M C A groups and was a car enthusiast himself He stated that the Ventura Freeway has Equestrian Trails along side and that Diesels ride the freeway 24 hours a day and had never seen a horse drop anybody yet 116 Norman Dalbec stated that many statements from the opponents were misleading Mel Reck stated that at the Pomona drag strip, horse stables were located nearby and it didn't seem to bother the horses Don Richards, Baldwin Park Mr Richards stated that he lived in the Americana Homes located near the proposed drag strip and in his experience property located near drag strips did not depreciate in value Mr Alber, Baldwin Park, stated that it was necessary to sacrifice for the American Youth Steve Gibbs stated that if drag strips are situated in outlying areas people will not attend and felt this was a good location fyr a drag strip Richard Macias, 10564 Marcen Street, E1 Monte Mr Macias directed a question concerning traffic to Sgt Breceda of the Irwindale Police Department who was present Will Tice, part owner of the Soland Corporation stated that noise and traffic would be no problem Jim Blake made a statement in favor of the drag strip REBUTTAL FROM OPPONENTS Mr & Mrs Allen made a statement in relation to traffic and noise Councilman Martinez moved seconded by Councilman Breceda that public hearing be closed Carried by the following vote of the Council Ayes Councilmen Breceda, Miranda, Martinez and Diaz Noes None Absent Sulzer RECESS Meeting was recessed at 9 55 O'Clock P M Meeting reconvened at 10 07 O'Clock P M with the following councilmembers present Breceda, Miranda, Martinez and Mayor Diaz Absent Sulzer SPECIAL USE PERMIT REQUEST - Councilman -Mayor Diaz stated that SAN GABRIEL VALLEY DRAG STRIP now was the time for the Council to make a decision concerning the request to operate a drag strip and to take into consideration any letters, petitions for and against this request Mayor Diaz stated that the Council could either affirm or reaffirm the decision of the Planning Commission by a majority vote or place any further restrictions or conditions that they wish to Councilman Martinez stated that it was a very hard decision to make, therefore he moved that this matter be tabled until Monday, at the next regular meeting to be held May 4, 1964, for further study, seconded by Councilman Breceda Councilman Breceda stated that merely as a matter of courtesy, the Council should wait to render a decision until such time that the City of Arcadia does, but that he was ready to make a decision tonight Councilman -Mayor Diaz urged the Council to make a decision since all the proponents and opponents were present to answer any questions that the Council might have Councilman -Mayor Diaz stated that the Council had letters from the Equestrian Trails, the opposition, a petition signed by 1, 435 people in favor of the San Gabriel Valley Drag Strip which should be read into the record He stated that both he and Councilman Martinez had attended the Planning Commission meetings at which this was discussed and had heard all testimony for and against After some discussion, Councilman Martinez withdrew his motion to table this matter and councilman Breceda withdrew his second Councilman -Mayor Diaz stated that he was not too concerned with the traffic problem because it could be handled well by the Police i" Department, but he was more concerned with the noise problem because it affected many people Councilman -Mayor Diaz directed a question to Mr Minnock as to what they had in mind insofar as noise abatement, if any He wished to have the members of the Soland Corporation to go on record publicly that they intend to do something about the noise Mr Minnock stated that they knew nothing about noise abatement, but that they were willing to do anything that might help He stated that maybe they might consider placing sheets of celotex to act as a buffer strip Councilman -Mayor Diaz stated that the Council should consider placing some kind of a condition in the resolution that after a year's time, if there is no progress made on some kind of noise abatement, that the City Manager be instructed to contact the Soland Corporation, and if in his estimation, reasons for no progress toward noise abatement are not valid, that he bring the matter before the City Council for action and possible removal of the drag strip Mayor Diaz asked Mr Minnock if this met with his Approval and Mr Minnock stated that they would be willing to go along with this The City Attorney was instructed to include a stipulation of this nature in the resolution Councilman -Mayor Diaz stated that the proponents had proven to him that there is a great need for a drag strip in this area Counalman Martinez moved that the City Council honor the decision of the Planning Commission and that the City Attorney include in the resolution the condition of noise abatement, seconded by Councilman Breceda Councilman Martinez amended his motion to include that the City Attorney present the resolution at the next regular meeting of April 20, 1964, for approval of the Council, Councilman Breceda so amended his second Carried by the following vote of the Council Ayes Councilmen Breceda, Miranda, Martinez, and Mayor Diaz Noes None Absent Sulzer May 18, 1964