And Now, From Another Section of the Choir

If you think the proposed Marymount College Expansion Project has nothing to do with San Pedro, you would be sorely mistaken.

Even though the campus sit high on a hill overlooking the blue Pacific Ocean, there are plenty of traffic issues in San Pedro that could provoke comment from that community.

Here now is a release concerning the Marymount College Expansion Project.

November 14, 2008

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Traffic Safety Commission of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes will conduct a public hearing to take comments on the Traffic and Circulation discussion of the recently released Final Environmental Impact Report for the Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project proposed for property located at 30800 Palos Verdes Drive East. The public hearing will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 8, 2008 at Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Boulevard, Rancho Palos Verdes.

The purpose of the hearing is to obtain feedback from the Traffic Safety Commission and members of the community on the Traffic and Circulation discussion of the Final EIR for the pending Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project. The Project applications consist of Zoning Case No. ZON2003-00317 (Revision “E,” to Conditional Use Permit No. 9, a Grading Permit, a Variance Permit, and a Sign Permit). This meeting is not to discuss the merits of the Marymount College Facilities Expansion project, but rather the project related Traffic and Circulation. The discussion and feedback from Traffic Safety Commission will be provided to the Planning Commission for it to consider in reviewing the project applications.

All interested parties are invited to submit written comments and/or provide testimony about the Traffic and Circulation analysis at the December 8th public hearing.

The project applications, Draft EIR and Final EIR are on file with the Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Department at City Hall, 30940 Hawthorne Boulevard, Rancho Palos Verdes, and are available for review between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., on Fridays. Additionally, the Draft EIR and Final EIR are available for review on the City’s website at www.palosverdes.com/rpv at Fred Hesse Park, the Peninsula Center (Main) Library, and the Miraleste Branch Library.

Please send written comments or project inquiries to Ara Mihranian AICP, Principal Planner, at (310) 544-5228 or via e-mail at aram@rpv.com. General inquiries regarding the Traffic Safety Commission meeting should be directed to Senior Engineer, Siamak Motahari, at 310-377-5252 or via email at siamakm@rpv.com.

Joel Rojas, AICP Director of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement
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I am one of the members of the Rancho Palos Verdes Traffic Safety Commission so I know where I will be on December 8, 2008.

The Draft Environmental Impact Report contained information that 40% of the traffic associated with Marymount College would pass through my neighborhood of Mira Vista.

My neighborhood sits along Western Avenue so much of the traffic would also use Western Avenue and/or pass east into San Pedro proper.

The Report also showed that 25% of the traffic would go through the intersection of Western Avenue and 9th Street.

San Pedrans may have not noticed the events surrounding the long processes at expanding the Marymount College campus. One of the Alternatives to the project was to put more off-campus housing on the College's owned site on Palos Verdes Drive North and also to build more athletic facilities at that northwest San Pedro location.

The College currently owns an apartment building being used as off-campus dorms near the corner of Cabrillo Avenue and 24th Street, but the College is looking to sell off that property if their Preferred Site expansion is approved.

There may be some residents of the San Pedro community who care about the College Expansion Project and they are all encouraged to read as much as they can and then come up the Hill to make comments at the December 8 meeting.

I have personally pondered long and hard on these matters and I have found comfort in my current opinion about the expansion project.

I hope to see those persons interested in the project at the December 8 meeting.