LETTERS TO MAYA Reference case no. DIR 2008-1630; ENV-2008-2529-CE
I am writing to you as a long time resident (1946), as a pharmacist in the area (40 years), and president of the Little Landers Historical Society since 1999. For those of you unfortunate people who are unaware of the advantages of living in the Sunland/Tujunga Valley I have some news. We are not typical of the general San Fernando Valley with the multiple freeways and the Verdugo mountains that bottle up the smog and ground fog in the valley. We are at a higher elevation and surrounded by mountains on all sides. We have no smog producing industry and the 210 Freeway bypasses our valley. Our only industries for years were orchards, vineyards, a small olive canning plant and many sanatoriums for TB and asthma. Other than that we have been a bedroom community for jobs elsewhere. Most of the above industries have disappeared but we are still a bedroom community and we still have a large population of children and adult asthmatics who live here because they can breathe here. Do you know of any other asthmatic home for children, other than the Sunair Home in Sunland, that was used by Los Angeles for inner city children with chronic asthma? You really don't have the statistics you need for the micrometeorology study of S/T. The closest air quality testing station is in Burbank with a part time station in Pacoima. Whatever pollution Home Depot brings in to our town will be trapped for days depending on the temperatures and wind. Our one street town will bring the cancer and asthma produced by the diesel particulate matter right through the center of town and finish off the trip by parking and unloading less than 500 feet from Apperson Street Elementary School. The very nature of their business depends on contractor trucks driving through town often. The more trucks - the more money HD will make and these contractors will often take the shortcut or dodge traffic on Foothill by taking Apperson Street or Woodward Ave. where the school is located. There was a time in the 40's to the 60's when we did have a polluting industry at the West end of Sunland and that was gravel mining. After a long battle by the citizens of the Sunland-Tujunga community (sound familiar?), the community with the support of the mayor and the L.A. City Council took the fight to the courts against Livingston Rock Company and in May of 1962, the court supported the City of L.A. and the S/T community in reaffirming the right of a city to protect the health of the community. The issue? Particulate matter, the same deadly byproduct of large heavily loaded diesel trucks. The American Lung Association states: "Chronic Exposure to Particulate Pollution Shortens Lives by one to three Years". (Please see enclosed information on the dangers of diesel particulate pollution.) The blight the neighborhoods will face on the three sides of the HD site due to noise, traffic and pollution can not be overlooked. Take a look at the enclosed five HD sites nearest to S/T and compare the type of site and the surrounding neighborhoods to the S/T site. There is a world of difference. HD simply does not belong in the center of a bedroom community. Let me point out the issue. If your parents or grandparents lived in Sunland-Tujunga, would you force them to drive or take the bus to Glendale, Burbank or Pasadena for sheets, dishes, clothes and all those items you would expect in a general merchandise department store for as long as they lived in S/T? This is the only site large enough to accommodate such a store. Our community deserves better than a Penny's catalog. At the same time Los Angeles will continue to lose all sales taxes from these sales. We are asking you to protect the health and welfare of S/T by requiring a full Environmental Study. The community came together in the 1960's to defeat pollution in our valley and we again ask the City of Los Angeles for their full support. I realize HD is a powerful entity but that should not stop us from doing the right thing. In their dealings with us they have shown that they have no heart, no soul . . . and very little honesty. Therefore a full and complete EIR and nothing less should be the standard for an organization that has never shown any respect for our community. And last I would point out that the community worked over ten years to create a community plan for future growth. The plan, The Foothill Corridor Specific Plan, Ordinance No. 170,694 became effective on October 27, 1995. A large wholesale box store for contractors is not and never was part of our Specific Plan. Respectfully submitted, Lloyd Hitt, Pharm D President of Little Landers Historical Society STNC DAC Committee S/T Coordinating Council Friends of McGroarty
Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky, I am writing to express my concern over the possibility of CEQA exemptions being issued for proposed Home Depot Store at 8040 Foothill Blvd. and 10355 Woodward Ave., Sunland. I am in agreement with the STA's analysis and believe this project will have substantial negative environmental impacts and demand that the applicant (Home Depot) be required to identify, address and properly mitigate any potential environmental impacts before it is allowed to proceed with the project. The sensitive location of the site (with residential homes immediately adjacent, an elementary school < 500ft away as well as the Haines Flood Control Channel immediately adjacent) should mandate the proper level of environmental scrutiny which must include full CEQA review, and I would like to see a full EIR required for this project. I am very concerned with drainage, noise, ground vibration resulting from truck traffic, delivery, and idling (problematic in our narrow, confined valley with its rocky substrate), hazardous material storage, air quality during both construction and operation, as well as diesel particulate exposure to adjacent residences, traffic disturbances, general building safety (the building does not conform to current seismic/earthquake safety standards; a partial roof-collapse also occurred in 2007) and much more. The intensification of use has been inadequately addressed. I want to see all of these issues addressed seriously and appropriately by the applicant and city planning. Additionally, an improper baseline has been applied by the applicant, a K-Mart store is non-existent. This is a 33 year old, deteriorated vacant building and vacant lot and the proper baseline and CEQA guidelines must be applied. Please do not allow The Home Depot to bypass the appropriate level of environmental scrutiny, full CEQA review and a full EIR must be performed before this project is allowed to move forward. Your decision is crucial and we ask that you deny any CEQA exemptions. Respectfully, Damien McGinnis _________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky, I understand that your office has been called upon to issue a ruling pursuant to The Home Depot's application for CEQA exemptions for the proposed Home Depot store at 8400 Foothill Blvd. and 10355 Woodward Ave., Sunland, CA. This is simply The Home Depot's latest attempt to skirt responsibility and unethically move forward with its project as quickly as possible. With multiple residential homes and an elementary school within 500 feet of the site, I believe a full E.I.R. must be conducted, including full CEQA review, before Home Depot can even consider moving forward with this project and urge you not to grant CEQA exemptions. Residing approximately 1 mile from the site, I have been simply appalled at the irresponsible manner in which Home Depot has treated this project. By all appearances, The Home Depot has been intently focused on bypassing city rules and regulations, in adherence to community standards set forth in the Foothill Corridor Specific Plan, and has disrespected this community as well as the city directly and indirectly through its actions and the actions of its numerous paid lobbyists, P.R. firms, and attorneys. It also appears to me as though The Home Depot has attempted to abuse its relationships through various affiliations with city officials and conducted itself inappropriately. If The Home Depot wishes to continue with its project, I speak for the community in demanding that they do so responsibly and be subject to full environmental scrutiny. Sincerely, Patricia McGinnis _________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky, I am writing to you today regarding the proposed Home Depot location at 8040 Foothill Blvd. in Sunland. I have to insist that Home Depot must go through a full Environmental Impact Review before they can even consider proceeding with their Project. With so much at stake, it is unthinkable that the City of Los Angeles or our community to settle for any less. The Sunland Tujunga Alliance has submitted documents proving the negative impacts a Home Depot store will have on our area, including the heavy industrial traffic on the only corridor through the area, reduction in air quality and the close proximity to an elementary school of the proposed location. Reports by several leading experts have been submitted stating that this Project must undergo a full E.I.R., and I believe that the community has made a fair argument that this project needs much closer scrutiny than it has received to this point. I personally believe that this is simply not the right location for a project of this type. The negative impact of this specific project in this location in this community is simply too great to be mitigated by ‘band-aid’ fixes, and am confident that once a full E.I.R. is done, these facts will be obvious to all. Regards, Bill Lindamood _________________________________________________________________________________________ I am a 10 year resident of Tujunga and my 3 children attend Apperson Street Elementary School which is within 500 feet of the Proposed Home Depot on Woodward Ave and Foothill Blvd. in Tujunga CA 91042. Apperson Elementary has a high population of Special Needs children the least of which suffer from asthma related disabilities. The presence of a high concentration of trucks associated with a business like Home Depot will only provide increased negative air quality and thus be detrimental to the overall learning environment of the most sensitive of the school population. Home Depot is also notorious for supporting , but not legally processing or documenting a high turnover of Temporary Workers that typically surround its business perimeter in search of work from customers exiting the property. The indifference of Home Depot to the presence of such Temporary Workers loitering about their property also makes them an unacceptable neighbor of and Elementary School or any residential neighborhood as this becomes simply a public nuisance within our town. These are only two factors that are obviously negative impacts upon our neighborhood and I demand that Home Depot be required to follow the law and provide an objective accurate and honest full EIR to the City and this Neighborhood of Sunland Tujunga to prove that such factors can be mitigated . Regards Carol Trunfio and Family _________________________________________________________________________________________ Thank you, Maya, for taking the time to visit Sunland-Tujunga so that you could see first hand the uniqueness of the community’s landscape, location, and commercial conditions. The people who live in Sunland-Tujunga want to see their community improve. Local businesses and residents are working towards that end. They want to see fewer empty buildings and less urban decay. They want to shop in their own community. They want a better place for their children. That is why it is important that the City of Los Angeles require that a thorough Environmental Impact Report be conducted before the proposed Home Depot project moves forward.
Below we have included a few of the specific areas we believe need to be examined closely: 1. Negative Economic Impact: The Home Depot report lists only two-thirds of the Sunland-Tujunga businesses that could be adversely affected by their proposed hardware warehouse and they downplay the impact it would have on those businesses. They seem to think few stores would close and those spaces would be quickly leased to other enterprises. The truth of the matter is Sunland-Tujunga already has a high number of vacant storefronts and unsightly empty buildings, such as the 8300 block of Foothill Boulevard in Sunland or the former Arigato Express property at Foothill Boulevard and Haines Canyon Avenue. Increasing the vacancy rate would only heighten the risk of further urban decay, especially since many of the current vacancies have been empty for a year or more. The ‘broken window theory’ applies to vacant buildings and storefronts as well and it doesn’t bode well for Sunland-Tujunga. 2. Diminished Air Quality: The kinds of vehicles that frequent a Home Depot are very different from a general merchandise retail operation. Not only will Home Depot have over size big rigs making deliveries to the property, the contractors who shop there will also be using large vehicles to pick up orders. The kinds of diesel and other exhaust from these vehicles could add significantly to inferior air quality and possible health risks, especially for the students attending Apperson Elementary School. The kinds of products sold at a Home Depot are also very different than that of a general merchandise retailer. This is not conducive to an area that is surrounded on three sides by residential neighborhoods and a nearby elementary school. 3. Traffic Safety: As mentioned above, the kind of traffic expected for a large hardware warehouse is very different than that of a general merchandise retailer like the former KMart. The size of these vehicles could negatively impact the traffic flow not only on Foothill Boulevard, but also Woodward, the small residential street east of the property, which is to be the main exit for delivery traffic leaving the property. This will also negatively impact student traffic accessing Apperson Elementary School. The location of the property, over a mile east of the Sunland Boulevard 210 freeway access and over three miles west of the Lowell Avenue 210 freeway ramps, will negatively impact local traffic. In particular, vehicles approaching from the east on the 210 freeway will likely use the Lowell off ramp, adding traffic to both Lowell Avenue (which includes an elementary school at 4444 Lowell Avenue) and Tujunga Canyon Boulevard, an already treacherous two lane road heavily trafficked. Oversize vehicles do not belong on these residential roadways. Home Depots are usually located in semi-industrial areas with ready freeway access. This particular property does not fit that description by a any means. 4. Failure to Respect our Community Plan: The proposed project is not in keeping with our Community Plan, which identifies that property as part of Sunland- Tujunga’s ‘community center’ corridor. Along with the North Valley City Hall, our city library and fire station, that property is designed for uses that serve the community, that bring our community together. A large hardware warehouse operation does not serve our community. Home Depots are, by design, geared to contractors who travel from far and wide, not the local consumer who needs general merchandise items and currently drives outside the City of Los Angeles to purchase those items. The former KMart property offers us the opportunity to improve our community, to bring locals together for general merchandise shopping and other sundry activities offered by other businesses. This could include enterprises such as a movie theatre, cafe, coffee house, youth center, etc., all of which would add to the quality of life here in Sunland-Tujunga. We know that the City of Los Angeles will benefit from the taxes raised by ANY commercial undertaking on that property. Honoring our Community Plan would be a win-win situation, benefiting both the City of Los Angeles and the city’s constituents in Sunland-Tujunga. We appreciate your efforts and those of the City of Los Angeles Planning Department in examining the proposed Home Depot in Sunland. It is unfortunate Home Depot has resisted conducting an EIR. They talk about wanting to serve our community, be a member of our community; unfortunately, their actions speak louder than their words. Sincerely, Tom & Karen Zimmerman
_________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Mz. Zaitzevsky: We are writing you at the request of the leaders of the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance/No Home Depot in Sunland- Tujunga Campaign. Each of the Sunland-Tujunga residents who strongly oppose the opening of a Home Depot store at the above referenced address are waiting "with baited breath" for your upcoming decision on the level of environmental assessment City Planning will be require of the Home Depot Corporation prior to approving its pending, latest application for this property. Virtually thousands of residents of our community, individuals who previously knew little or nothing about arcane Planning ordinances and requirements but who are now familiar with all the basic law and policies applicable to this case, believe that the only unbiased, objective and fair determination that can be made in this case is one requiring a full Environmental Impact Report be prepared by Home Depot. The multitude of types of environmental impacts of this proposed retail establishment in this location and their severity have been shared with you countless times, through individual residents' letters and e-mails and the thorough and carefully created submittals of the No Home Depot In Sunland-Tujunga Campaign. There is no need to repeat them here. Just let us focus on the fact that we and ever so many of our neighbors in this special part of Los Angeles regularly look for an opportunity to believe that we, as individual citizens and taxpayers, count, that our city is not just a city for the socially prominent, policially connected and economically powerful. You can provide us with that opportunity by doing the right thing, by making a decision based on all the facts of the case, interpreted in a reasonable, common sense, fair and impartial manner. We know and acknowledge that determining that an EIR is required will not be the most politically desirable thing to do, but it is what the law requires, what "fair play" requires and what the facts require. We look forward to being able to praise you ,individually, and LA City Planning for "doing the right thing" and requiring an EIR for the proposed Home Depot store in Sunland-Tujunga. Thank you for considering our point-of-view. Peter and Rebecca Moen Tujunga _________________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Ms Zaitzevsky, I am a resident and homeowner in Sunland-Tujunga with some major concerns about the store Home Depot proposes to open on Foothill Boulevard and Woodward Avenue. I understand that LA City Planning is currently assessing Home Depot's application for CEQA exemption, and I wanted to share with you my concerns about the proposed store. I feel that a full Environmental Impact Report is absolutely necessary in this case. It is quite evident to those of us living in Sunland-Tujunga that this is entirely the wrong kind of development for the area. A residential neighborhood in a town with one main thoroughfare is not the place to build a Home Depot warehouse, particularly when the area is already more than adequately served by existing hardware and home improvement stores. This type of store with its 18-20 diesel truck deliveries per day, contractor traffic and noisy equipment used to load and unload deliveries at all times of the day and night, will only serve to industrialize the area. The community deserves better than this. The increased traffic will affect the residents of Sunland-Tujunga, as well as neighboring communities such as Shadow Hills, La Crescenta and La Canada. The traffic, noise and pollution generated by this store will significantly impact those living adjacent to the store, but will affect all of us in Sunland-Tujunga as more traffic diverts to our residential streets in an effort to avoid Foothill Boulevard. The fact that Apperson Elementary School is only 440 feet away from the proposed store is worrying in terms of the effect the increased levels of diesel pollution will have on local children, and more immediately the potential hazard to school children due to increased traffic levels. Another cause for concern is the fact that Home Depot, a company with an appalling record on the proper storage and disposal of hazardous material, wants to open a store on property that is adjacent to the Haines Canyon Flood Control Channel. Our Community Plan, which was created to ensure appropriate development, specifically designates this area for use as a community retail center with pedestrian-friendly shopping and entertainment facilities. Over the years, Home Depot has demonstrated disrespect for the Sunland-Tujunga community and a blatant disregard for rules and regulations. I would ask that you scrutinize in great detail all applications and building plans submitted to you by Home Depot. The Sunland-Tujunga Alliance this year undertook a detailed analysis of the impact this store would have on the Sunland-Tujunga area. This analysis, which includes reports from several leading experts, concludes that this Project must undergo a full EIR. I hope that you have carefully read and considered the evidence provided in this document. Sunland-Tujunga is a unique place and the community deserves development and improvement that is appropriate for the area. Thank you for taking the time to read my opinions about this issue. Sincerely, Frances Plotkin _______________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky: My name is Paula Warner and I have lived in Sunland-Tujunga for over twenty years. I also live two blocks from the former K-Mart site (the proposed Home Depot site). The street I live on is a very busy street as it is one of the main thoroughfares for the busses for the neighboring schools. I am extremely concerned about more traffic, pollution and noise that a Home Depot will bring into our community. Please do not be swayed by Home Depot’s argument that they will have no impacts or less than significant impacts on our Community. A full CEQA review is warranted and must be done on this proposed project in order to know the true impacts a Home Depot will have on our Community. We deserve and have every right to know how this mega-corporation will greatly impact our town. Sincerely, Paula Jo Warner Sunland, CA 91040 _________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Maya, I understand that City Planning is making their decision within the week regarding Home Depot's application CEQA exemption. I must insist that City Planning insist that Home Depot go through a full E.I.R. regarding their proposed store in Sunland-Tujunga. I am a homeowner and 10 year resident of Sunland, CA. I am greatly concerned about the proposed Home Depot site on Foothill Blvd. in Sunland, CA for the reasons I will state below. For these reasons I must insist that a Full Environmental Impact Report is done on this proposed Project. Sunland-Tujunga is a community in a small valley about 5 miles long and about 1 ½ miles wide. It has one main artery - Foothill Blvd - which has two freeway accesses only and they are 5 miles apart. The proposed site is in the middle of this 5 mile area. That means that Home Depot’s expected 18-20 diesel truck deliveries each day will have to travel this stretch of Foothill Blvd. This is a residential area, not an industrial area. Home Depot is an industrial supply warehouse. The amount of traffic that they will produce with their delivery trucks and contractors coming to their store will totally clog up an already heavily traveled road. It will also mean greatly increased air pollution due to the nature of this small valley. Add to that the noise in this residential area. This property also has a Woodward Ave. address that is within 500 feet of an elementary school. In addition to the traffic and smog this proposed site adjoins residential backyards and a senior mobile home park. Home Depot has talked about the increased revenue to the City by their presence here, to the increased number of jobs they would supply, to the amount of lost income to the City by the purchase of their products at other stores outside the City. These of course are all bogus arguments since any stores that go in there will supply jobs and revenue to the City. In addition, there is no general merchandise store in this community so the City is losing money everyday since myself and my neighbors have to travel to Glendale or Burbank to buy general merchandise that is needed in everyday living. This is the wrong store for this location. It will destroy this community by injecting industrial presence into a residential community. Again, I must insist that a FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT be properly done with a full assessment of the impact Home Depot, at this Sunland site, would have on the residents and the air, water and noise in this narrow valley. Sincerely, Donna Greisen Sunland, CA 91040 _________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky and the Los Angeles City Planning Office, I am a resident of Sunland-Tujunga and think it is critical that The Home Depot go through a FULL EIR before proceeding further with this project. There are substantial negative environmental impacts of this proposed project, including very valid concerns about industrial traffic,air quality, noise pollution, and the health and safety issues of the family homes and schools in direct proximity to the property and in the greater geographical area. The local Sunland-Tujunga Alliance has garnered expert opinions which testify to these concerns. I think the fact that there are several fair arguments against The Home Depot proposal actually highlights the necessity of a FULL EIR. The City Council has already determined that this is a "project" and as such, it is important that these issues be addressed in the fullest extent possible through a FULL EIR. I feel that the negative impact to my neighborhood will be tremendous. These matters must be studied thoroughly so that all residents of the area are fully informed, know the ramifications of such a project and can take appropriate actions to defend their rights, their families and their homes. Sincerely, Jim McGlynn Tujunga, CA 91042 _________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky: I strongly urge you to require Home Depot to complete all permit requirements, including an environmental impact report, in a clear, transparent and timely manner before they are allowed to proceed to any degree with their project in Sunland - Tujunga. Thank you for your consideration in this most important matter. Sincerely, Bruce C. Fisher _________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky, I am a long time resident and business owner in Sunland Tujunga. I have followed, closely, the Home Depot attempt to open a store here. The obvious truth when viewing the existing Home Depot stores in, and around, Los Angeles is that this kind of activity will grossly and most adversely affect all of the surrounding area in terms of environmental impact. The school is dangerously close to this spot and that fact alone warrants full CEQA review or our city is in danger of a much larger law suit than that filed by Home Depot and that means our tax dollars would pay for the mistake. The underground water table, the traffic, the noise, the air quality, these are things that this kind of store alone will generate. A general merchant does not generate anywhere near the problems a Home Depot would as evidenced by their existing stores. Please do not make the costly error of assuming their documentation is correct and the path is clear. It is not. There are far too many lives at stake and that would be adversely affected by this environmental menace. Please do the right thing and require this project to go through the most stringent process in order to ascertain what true impacts it will have. Sincerely, Tomi Lyn Bowling Resident and Business Owner Sunland CA 91040 _________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky: I am writing in accord with the No Home Depot Campaign and the communities of Sunland and Tujunga. The No Home Depot Campaign has submitted to you several expert reports on the severe impacts that this industrial warehouse would make on our community. Please take them fully into account before you make a decision on the Categorical Exemptions for which Home Depot has applied. We have been known for decades as having the highest and best inland air quality in Los Angeles. We are a clean and pristine foothills area located on the edge of the Angeles National Forest and the Big Tujunga Wash. We still have some of the last of the agriculturally zoned animal and horsekeeping areas in Los Angeles. Within our more developed areas, we are basically a bedroom community with a high density center in Tujunga and we face ever encroaching traffic and related air quality problems. Because we have only one way-in and one way-out for most of our area over Foothill Boulevard with a second route over Sunland Boulevard in the West which comes through the horsekeeping area known as Shadow Hills from Sun Valley, we are quite suceptible to any increase in traffic. The Foothill Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan designates this property as a neighborhood friendly retail center. A center of this kind would not increase traffic to the extreme that a project like the one proposed by Home Depot, because most of the customers would live within the community, many would walk to the property, and the vehicles that take families to shop with a shopping cart are obviously different from the vehicles that take contractors and construction workers to shop with a fork lift. Home Depot would attract customers from outside of Sunland Tujunga and this bodes poorly for the quality and the quantity of the traffic on all of Foothill Boulevard and through the Shadow Hills horsekeeping community on Sunland Boulevard. The Specific Plan's designation of this property for neighborhood friendly retail was determined by a group of hard working activists who spent years determining the proper future for this property and came up with a designation that was correct. Today, families in Sunland Tujunga have no mercantile store, no movie theater, few restaurants, and little variety of shops. Therefore, we must take our dollars and travel to other areas most of them in places outside of Los Angeles such as Burbank, Pasadena, and Glendale to purchase soft goods, to enjoy food and find entertainment. Presently a two-acre property in Tujunga is under construction and this development will bring small shops and restaurants to the community. If the K-Mart property is developed as it should be, we become a whole community able to completely serve the needs of our residents causing the long trips out of the area for entertainment and shopping to decrease. This lowers fuel consumption and pollution, and it makes for a less stressful lifestyle for our residents. We have great concern for the placement of a huge warehouse in the middle of a residential area where large trucks will travel in-and-out over a residential street that young elementary school children walk along back-and- forth to school - morning, noon, and afternoon. And what of the increased pollution around this school and these residences - pollution including traffic, air quality and noise. This is a clear cut decision about Land Use in a community regulated by a city ordinance drawn up by the very people who live in that community to specify exactly what is to be planned in the future development of their community. Our Foothill Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan designates our community for the uses our community currently needs which are certainly not for a mostly wholesale warehouse selling building materials. Thank you for your attention, Elaine Brown Sunland, CA 91040 _________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky, I am a homeowner in Sunland/Tujunga extremely concerned about the proposed Home Depot opening on Foothill Blvd. in the lot that was K-Mart. Our community needs a general merchandise store. Our Community Plan, states very clearly that the site is for general merchandise for this community. The former K-Mart site was used by all, but primarily, our low income and senior residents who have no way to travel to Glendale or Burbank to buy basic goods... But, not even the fact that our Community Plan calls for a general merchandise store, aside from that, Home Depot has not done a full and complete EIR. They are trying to come in under the wire and the ramifications are horrific for us. They have spent way too much money lobbying and not enough in, what legally, they are obligated to do... Less than 500 feet away from one of the 2 addresses they use, is a grammar school which includes in its population, many special ed kids. The very presence of so many trucks in our small town could/would be deadly... Home Depot belongs in an industrial area. We are just a small community trying to raise our children in a safe and clean environment. All I am asking is that Home Depot be required (as everyone else is required to do by law) do a full and complete Environmental Impact Report.. I don't see how we can have any dialogue until a complete EIR is done. Please, as a public servant, encourage Home Depot to put their energy into following the law and into doing what is right for the citizens of Sunland/Tujunga..Please advocate for us. Respectfully submitted, Kimberly, David and Zachary Ogle Tujunga, CA 91042 _________________________________________________________________________________________ Dear Maya Zaitzevsky, My name is Juan Martínez and I am a homeowner about five blocks from the former Kmart property where Home Depot wants to establish a store. The area all around the south, east, and west sides of the Kmart property are residential and the property is located less than three blocks from Apperson Elementary School. The property is on Foothill Blvd., the only major thoroughfare in our area, and next to a storm drain canal that empties in the ocean. Home Depot is the type of business that works best in industrial zones because of the traffic, noise, heavy equipment, constant loading and unloading of large trucks, and because it sells industrial types of solvents and pesticides. This type of business will fundamentally alter the fabric of our neighborhood. Because of all of these reasons, it is indispensable that there be a full Environmental Impact Report before Home Depot is allowed to go forward with this project. Thank you for taking the reality of our unique community into account in your decision. Respectfully, Juan Martínez Sunland, CA 91040
Dear Ms Zaitzevsky, I understand that you are in the midst of deciding the fate of our small cities, you do have quite a task ahead. Like many concerned stakeholders, I am writing you today to request as well as require that the Home Depot Corporation be held accountable and like any other entity, have them comply with a full E.I.R as well as traffic study and respect all local set rules & regulations. No need for me to tell you how important this is to all of us including myself. My dearest wish is to see the laws respected and followed instead of having to perhaps accept that the little people such as the stakeholders and myself, have no say in the changes made to our community. We are lucky and blessed to live where we live and we fight fierce and loyal battles to protect the little we have. In the dark days of collapsed banking institutions, foreclosures and loss of profits for major corporations as well as jobs; we need to protect our community as it is all we have. I am asking you to be thorough, fair, impartial and aware of the consequences of allowing Home Depot to not follow rules & regulations which all of us have to and for whom no exceptions are ever made. I thank you for your attention to my request and all other requests made by caring stakeholders. Most sincerely yours, Barbara D. Johnson Tujunga, CA 91042
Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky: I am writing to urge you to deny Home Depot’s request for an exemption from CEQA’s regulations. As a homeowner and long-time resident of Sunland, I am deeply concerned over the proposed Home Depot store at 8040 Foothill Blvd. and 10355 Woodward Ave., Sunland. Due to the type of business and the age of the last Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) provided by the previous occupant, K-Mart, it is important that Home Depot provide the City with a full and current EIR before being allowed to precede any further on this project. I agree with the report provided to you by the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance supporting its contention this project has the potential for causing irreparable damage to the local environment, not to mention grave safety issues for the children at nearby Apperson Elementary School. You are in a position to stop Home Depot from bypassing State law and the City’s ordinances, which are designed to protect the public from ill-conceived and inherently dangerous projects like this one. Please do not grant this exemption to Home Depot. Thank you. Sincerely, Gary L. Swinhart , Sunland, CA 91040
My husband and I have lived in the Sunland-Tujunga area for 36 years. Home Depot has given us cause to search our memories. Neither of us can recall an example of such flagrant disregard and contempt by a corporation for the laws of the City of Los Angeles or the needs and wishes of the citizens of Sunland-Tujunga. To fight a small community for so many years just to avoid a full Environmental Impact Report that is required by law and would have ended this controversy one way or another years ago, most definitely begs the "why" question. "Why" has Home Depot spent so much time and money on this project? A full Environmental Impact Report will answer the question. This is being written to request that you refuse Home Depot's CEQA exemption application. We thank you in advance. Sincerely, John and Ginny Buonauro
_________________________________________________________________________________________ ____ I am writing to express my concern over the possibility of Categorical Exemptions being issued for proposed Home Depot Store at 8040 Foothill Blvd. and 10355 Woodward Ave., Sunland, and ask that Planning DENY the applicants request for a Categorical Exemption. The applicant has deliberately piecemealed the project elements, because the total project would require review under the Foothill Corridor Specific Plan The City needs to require an Environmental Impact Report of the Home Depot site before it is put back into active use. My concern is the inconsistency of this project with Current City policies and General Framework regarding walkability, community design and aesthetics, consistency and safety. In the Los Angeles River Master Plan and Overlay, there is a planned removal of industrial and heavy commercial users and re-orientation towards a highly desirable water element. There has not been an environmental review of this site for 33 years. The new use must be evaluated against the existing use, which is an abandon site, built before many of the in-force earthquake, environmental and community plans. No economic hardship Home Depot knew of site restrictions prior to applying for permits. The applicant also had the option to sell their lease on the site to other companies. “Big box” re-use of the property is not inevitable when environmental review would most likely prohibit this use.. The City of Santa Monica denied Target site use because of it was not consistent with plans for a walkable towne center. Purchased with the intent to resell is wholesale activity While Home Depot may classify itself as a “Retail” store, because California Sales Tax is charged, there is no denying that a major component of the proposed business will be to professional contractors, who are not end- users of the merchandise sold. These contractors enjoy a “professional discount” and will be re-selling supplies purchased from Home Depot in conjunction with their professional services.
Another definition of “Wholesale” is that the product purchased was bought with the intent to be resold. The single test of sales tax used by the Applicant does not tell the entire story. The “Wholesale” building trades all charge sales tax on the materials sold to contractors for resale to the end user. This includes lumber yards, concrete redi-mix, “wholesale” nurseries, concrete block, marble and stone, pipe, air conditioners – all materials which are sold by Home Depot Please DENY the applicant’s request for a categorical exemption Mary Benson, Executive Director. Los Angeles Trails Project
Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky, As Editor and Publisher of The Foothills Paper, I receive comments and complaints about almost everything under the sun. But the most common thread among the majority of my readers comments is “Why can Home Depot get away without a full environmental report?” Maybe it’s easy for an outsider to miss, but the people who live in the foothills area of Sunland-Tujunga, really want to see their community improve. Through the efforts of the S-T Neighborhood Council, and a local business group called COBRA, our local businesses and residents are trying to make that happen. Like citizens of any urban community, they are making things happen. And why not? It’s their community that is controlled by them locally, not some big box store whose office is in another state. This is their community to shop in, play in and live in. They want the best place for their children to grow up in. Like any other city in California, there are regulations to help these people reach their dreams. The City of Los Angeles is our big brother, and should be watching out for our interests. Not those of the politicians that are trying to sneak the Home Depot in under the law. It’s very simple in my eyes. There are not some laws for the rich, and then some for the poor. I read somewhere that the Home Depot brings in more money in one year than our entire community put together. Is that why City Hall is ignoring our plea to have Home Depot adhere to our laws? Please re-consider and take the comments of our citizens to heart. All we’re asking is that you weigh all the merits equally, and that by making a decision based on all the facts of the case, you will do what the law calls for; a full Environmental Impact Report. Thank you, David DeMulle’ Ph.D. Executive Editor
My family and I reside a mere three blocks directly north of the old K-mart site in Sunland. We have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in restoring our beautiful historic home nestled in Sunland-Tujunga’s rural treecovered hillsides. Eighteen years ago my husband and I moved to Los Angeles from New York City, and when we decided to move out of the Hollywood area and buy a home in Sunland-Tujunga our friends reacted with shock and pelted us with warnings. The only people who “lived up there are old hippies, red-necks and bikers,” why would we want to live there! Well, I must say that the strength and commitment that this community has shown in keeping Home Depot at bay for over four years is one of the best reasons I can give. When my husband alerted me that the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance was asking for letters to be written, I had to first take some time to catch up on the current nitty-gritty facts. It is appalling that Home Depot would even think of seeking exemption from a full environmental impact study while intending to build 450 feet from an elementary school. It will prove even more appalling if our city officials allow it. For you see, in a very small nut shell this is the deal, health and well being of children or let Home Depot evade responsibility. And Home Depot has been trying to make a deal with someone, anyone, who is willing to deny the voice and needs of the people, disregard children and homeowners, and eyes open take this quaint and beautiful town that is rebuilding itself and hand it over to urban decay. I am so proud of the citizens of my community, call us what you like, think what you like, but we know what is important and best for us. Who would know better? We have shown the city council that we know what we are doing and what is at stake and our council representative acknowledged this with her support last August. Yet to this day, Home Depot is still trying to get around the statutes. Afterall, when they started this “tenant renovation” project, I bet they too thought that Sunland-Tujunga was made up of just a bunch of old hippies, red-necks, and bikers, no one would even notice, let alone prove capable of stopping them. This morning I have read over the recent documents generated by the alliance, starting with the 100 page response to Home Depot’s request for CEQA exemption. Then the complaint written to Councilwoman Greuel outling the convoluted process with the DRP and lastly, her response to that complaint. This alliance of people who have specifically taken all this time to research and write, to stick to it and lead, they have my utmost respect and gratitude. STA has repeatedly shown throughout this drawn out saga, that as a community, we are responsible, intelligent, compliant with procedures, involved, concerned, creative and united. This is what we want from our citizenry, do not slap us in the face. We will not lie down in the face of deception, perceived acts of privilege by big business, and injustice. All this, is what is involved here and now, please act rightly. Sincerely, Nancy Konrardy
Dear Maya Zaitzevsky, I am writing this letter to you regarding the Home Depot proposal to move in the K-Mart property in Sunland. My name is Thomas Wescott. I am the Parliamentarian for the PTA of Apperson Street Elementary School. I have been chosen to represent the PTA’s in the district of the Sunland area, and I have been participating on behalf of the PTA's in our area in the DRP discussions. We have a great concern with Home Depot moving in with respect to the impact it will have on Apperson Elementary and the surrounding community. First, I have taken the time to look up a lot of current Home Depot stores location’s with respects to residential housing and schools. I have yet to find one of Home Depot store’s remotely close to a school and in-bedded this deeply into a residential community where three side of the store are residential. Apperson Street Elementary School has what is called a safety zone around the school. This safety zone is to protect and give safety to the school and the kids. The old K-Mart building is inside this zone - less then 500 feet from our children's campus. Later in this letter I will cover area’s that have an issue with the safety zone. The school also has safety routes and Woodward Avenue is one of these routes. The school buses and a large amount of parents use this street to bring children to school. Woodward is one of the addresses to this K-Mart lot and has a driveway from the parking lot on to Woodward Avenue. We are Gravely concerned about the amount of traffic that will be on this route during the hours that parents and busses will be bringing their children to school. Beginning at 6am, until well after the time that our morning school bell rings, is typically a very busy time for a Home Depot. The amount of commercial trucks, non-commercial trucks and other vehicles traveling in and out of this lot will make it difficult, and dangerous, especially for those who walk to school. This is a huge concern for Apperson and makes us extremely worried about the safety of these kids, our parents, and our school busses. With all do respect to the temporary labor force, we know with Home Depot comes the day labor force, and having people hanging out on Woodward Avenue waiting for someone to pick them up for a days work will be a challenge for us with the safety of the school kids (Safety Zone). Whether these temporary workers are on the Foothill Blvd, Woodward Avenue, or in some building across the street will remain a security risk for all the school kids at Apperson and other schools near by. These workers typically do not have records of their employment, no W-4 form or employee application declaring where they live or who they are. This opens the door for very bad people to hang out under the camouflage of the innocents’ “the temporary workers”. Another concern we have regarding the safety of our children is the toxic chemicals that will be stored and sold on this property. The concern extends to those who buy these toxic chemicals, and their loading the chemicals in their trucks with open beds. Should one of these bags be damaged and leaking, having them drive out the parking lot and right past the kindergarten playground and the whole school itself is again, putting our children at risk. Apperson Street Elementary School has Special Ed kids that this could gravely affect. The old K-mart building that these toxic chemicals will be stored in is in the safety zone (I mentioned the safety zone earlier in this letter). Another issue is the air flow from the mountains, if you look at the air flow in this city you will see that Apperson Elementary is down wind of the old K-Mart lot. This means any air born materials, chemicals and gases will flow to the school putting these kids in harms way. Home Depot will not bring a positive environment to the old K-Mart lot or to the Sunland community. I am asking you to please look at the safety of Apperson Elementary School and all the other schools near by when considering this permit issue with Home Depot. Our children should be the number one concern with respects to something like this and if the safety of our children is at risk due to some company trying to move in next door well then we feel “Children First”. Thousands of kids will be going to the school over the coming years and to put them at risk because the wrong company wants to move in next door is unconscionable. I bring you this letter today with the backing of hundreds of parents and students of Apperson Street Elementary School and surrounding schools as well as thousands of parents and students of tomorrow. Please help protect our future by not issuing permits to Home Depot. It is the wrong place for a store like Home Depot. Sincerely Thomas Wescott Apperson Street Elementary School PTA Parliamentarian
I am writing to add my name to those of this community who are adamantly opposed to Home Depot operating their business in Sunland. Until they tried to come here, I used to patronize their store in Sylmar, a scant 10 minutes away. I was not always thrilled with the lack of customer service and the junky way the store looked, but it served its purpose. I have not been back since. I also live on one of the side streets that will be greatly impacted with the increased flow of traffic on Foothill Blvd. It is not only the over flow traffic that cuts down our street, but the large commercial trucks use it also. A full EIR must be done, how could it not be done with the layout of this town? The credibility of our planning department will be in question should HD be allowed to circumvent protections that were put in place for the very reasons we are fighting for. Sincerely, Nancy Shannon Sunland, CA 91040
Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky, Very soon a decision will be made about the need for the Home Depot in Sunland-Tujunga to conduct an full EIR. I am sure you have received many, many letters and emails regarding this issue. Our family has lived in this community for over 25 years - and that is what it is . . . . a community. It is not an industrial area, but a community, with homes, small businesses, schools, and churches. To have a Home Depot, with all the things that come with it - industrial traffic, chemicals, noise (such as beep, beep, beep all day), unsightly outside storage - put in the middle of our town on our only main street, right next door to an elementary school, will impact the quality of our town forever.. I join the rest of our community to ask you to require Home Depot to be accountable. A full EIR is required by law - please hold them to it. We thank you for your consideration of the views of the community impacted by your decision. Don and Maggie Seitz
Dear Ms. Zaitzevsky My name is Cindy Back, and I am the President of the Apperson Street Elementary School PTA. I am writing this letter on behalf of the many parents of our school and community who share a concern about what a store like Home Depot will do to our small single main-street type community. Many of us believe that this type of a store on the corner of Foothill Blvd and Woodward Avenue in the Sunland-Tujunga area is a mistake. As a representative of the PTA, I can not focus on the sheer inappropriateness of this type of a store in our area, or the idea that what we really need is a place to purchase quality clothing and supplies for our kids, but instead my focus will be on the threat this installation makes to our children. Many families cross the intersection at Foothill and Woodward in the mornings and afternoons bringing their most precious cargo to school. We are convinced that this intersection will become clogged with large smoke belching trucks, making it very difficult to negotiate safely, both in a vehicle and on foot. The fact that this intersection will be congested, leads to the fact that patrons of Home Depot will seek alternate routes through the quite surrounding neighborhood, and right past our school. The threat that leaking bags or barrels of toxic items will traverse within 15feet of our Kindergarten Playground is very real. Aside from the very real fact that large quantities of toxic items will be stored within 450 feet of our campus, there also lies that fact that with every Home Depot comes the groups of day laborers. Though we believe that most of these individuals are honest hard working people simply looking for an honest day’s work to feed their own kids, they create a screen for would be predators to watch, plot and prey on our innocent children. Our Children deserve the right to a safe and healthy environment to learn, play and grow. Home Depot, a block away from their playground violates that right. Please do not allow this installation to proceed. Sincerely Concerned, Cindy Back PTA President Apperson Street Elementary School
"OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE" Our town has been fighting this Corporate Monster now for over four years. They have been allowed to break all the rules and all the laws that are in place to protect our residential towns from companies that belong in commercial/industrial areas so that our residential areas dont become ghettos. There is NO QUESTION that this 'Project' does not belong in our small bedroom community. How long must we fight? Who will have the integrity and charactor to stand up and protect us? We are insisting that Home Depot must go through a full E.I.R. before they can even consider proceeding with their Project. The negative environmental impacts are too great for the City or our community to settle for any less. The STA has submitted documents proving the negative impacts a Home Depot will have on our area, including the heavy industrial traffic, air quality, and proximity to a school. We have made a "fair argument" with the inclusion of reports by several leading experts that this Project must undergo a Full E.I.R. Who will stand by us? We must vote in those that will represent the people's will and will not allow themselves to be paid off by Corporate lobbyist or bullied by Corporate hired thugs! Children and tractor trailers do not mix! 24/7 forklifts, truck deliveries and residential homes do not mix! 20 to 30 tractor trailers a day on residential streets do not mix! There are laws set in place to protect us from this! Why is it taking four years to enforce them? I am, as a voting, tax paying citizen, insisting that a full EIR is demanded as it should have been all along. Mary Louise Eckman Sunland, CA
I want to strongly urge you to force Home Depot to do a complete Environmental Impact Report before proceeding with their plans to open a store in Sunland. The large trucks that will be coming in and out of our town 24/7 will most certainly impact our quality of life. Our town is pretty much a one road city. The congestion, traffic and pollution will severely affect our lives and our health. In addition, this location is a block away from our largest elementary school. What will this do to our kids? Please, mandate a full EIR so everyone can see the damage that will be done to our quiet little village. Thanks for hearing us out! Holly D. Hughes Sunland, CA 91040