(l-r) Mar Preston of Pine Mountain, Laura Olney of Frazier Park ask questions of Gorman Post Ranch Developer Steve Hunter of Land Design Consultants, Inc. Penny Maines of Gorman looks on.
By Patric Hedlund
For an evening that was all about communication, this one got off to a rocky start. Four representatives from the proposed 531-home development by Gorman Post Ranch LLC from Irvine and two representatives from Los Angeles County converged with about 60 very serious mountain residents Thursday, Jan. 25 at the Frazier Mountain High School “cafetorium.” Nobody could hear. There was no microphone, no PA system, just a very soft-spoken woman in a notorious acoustic badland and some increasingly grumpy citizens trying to speak above the roar of basketball practice in the gym.
About a dozen people left in frustration before custodian Sherry Pimentel opened the high school library and the grateful crowd flowed into an oasis of quiet to begin what turned into a productive event.
This “scoping” meeting is required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as the time when interested parties and stakeholders define what should be included in the research for the project’s Environmental Impact Report.
Concerns to include in the EIR were wide-ranging. Doug Peters thanked the representatives and L.A. County for coming, but asked about the ever-present mystery of how unknown ground water resources can be counted upon to serve 531 new households, an estimated 2,200 people, without compromising the surrounding natural environment and existing neighbors. Everyone raised their hands regarding concern about cumulative impact of traffic congestion on the Interstate 5, seismic activity and air quality degradation from vehicles.
The developer’s documents say they intend to grade 13 million cubic yards of what some, such as Gorman homeowner Rose Bryan, hoped would become the Gorman Wildflower Preserve. Others expressed shock at the plan to build houses on the top of the ridges, transforming the world famous area forever.
Lake Hughes resident Candy Lenore Palmetto said existing fire and public safety resources were already too thinly allocated for the current population of the region. She asked, “How do you intend to keep all these additional people safe when we don’t have adequate resources ourselves?”
Penny Maines and Knute Johnson of Gorman asked what experience qualified the tiny Golden Valley Municipal Water District to manage both the water and wastewater (sewage) facilities for that many homes.
Developers plan to remove 2,375 oaks and encroach on another 1,677. They plan to remove 20 heritage oaks and encroach on another 15.
El Tejon Unified School District Trustees Ken Hurst and Anita Anderson asked about the impact on ETUSD schools.
Those who spoke were from Glendale, Lake Hughes, Golden Valley, Gorman, Lebec, Frazier Park, Pinon Pines, Lake of the Woods, Lockwood Valley, Cuddy Valley, and Pine Mountain.
Forms for submitting comments to the Los Angeles County Planning Department can be secured at The Mountain Enterprise office, or online at www.MountainEnterprise.com, under Community FYI.
Comments can be mailed to Christina Tran, Impact Analysis Section, L.A. County Dept. of Regional Planning, 320 West Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 974- 6461 fax: (213) 626-0434.
All letters and faxes must be received by February 20, 2007, at 5:00 p.m.
This is part of the February 02, 2007 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
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