The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 106, No. 6 - February 9, 2017 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................18 Classifieds............................4 Community Briefs...............2 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Entertainment......................6 Legals............................ 16,17 Obituaries.............................2 Pets........................................7 Real Estate................8-14,20 Sports.............................. 5,15 Weekend Forecast Friday Rain 60˚/53˚ Saturday Sunny 64˚/49˚ Sunday Sunny 69˚/49˚ Laker Legends Take Part in Spectrum SportsNet Basketball Clinic On Saturday, January 28, Spectrum SportsNet on Alaska Avenue in El Segundo turned its parking lot into an outdoor basketball court to host an instructional clinic, led by former Los Angeles Laker greats and current SpectrumSN studio analysts James Worthy and Derek Fisher along with SpectrumSN Anchor/Host Chris McGee, for kids from Toland Way and Fletcher Drive elementary schools in partnership with LA’s Best After School Enrichment Program. NBA Hall of Fame hoopster and Laker great James Worthy doing drills with elementary school kids during Spectrum SportsNet’s Basketball Clinic in El Segundo. Photos Courtesy of Spectrum SportsNet. • Council Looks at R-1 Building Changes; RV Parking Ordinance By Brian Simon On an evening with one of the longest agendas in recent memory, the El Segundo City Council on Tuesday held a public hearing ESHS Engineering Pathway Students Speak at Project Lead the Way Conference El Segundo High School (ESHS) student mentors from the El Segundo Cyber Education Initiative (ESCEI) recently presented their program to more than 100 educators at the 6th Annual California Project Lead the Way Conference in Riverside. The ESHS students had the chance to talk with Project Lead the Way Worldwide CEO Vince Bertram, who immediately posted a photo of his meeting with the ESHS students on Twitter stating, “No one can predict the future, but we can create it.” The ESHS visionary teenagers are students enrolled in the high school’s Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Engineering Pathway, and in conjunction with the Computer Science Club they established ESCEI last fall to provide computer science and Internet safety education to elementary school students. The Engineering Pathway is funded by Chevron—a long-time community partner for the ESUSD and a corporate sponsor of PLTW. In a few short months, the ESCEI is gaining momentum with more than five workshops already conducted for Center and Richmond Street School students. In addition, the student mentors recently secured a sponsorship with local video game company Electronic Arts™ and EA Outreach©, the company’s philanthropic engagement program aimed at helping its players and employees improve lives through education and initiatives that foster a culture of inclusion. Partnerships with See ESHS Engineering, page 4 and first reading for proposed changes to development standards for two-story homes and second story additions in the R-1, singlefamily residential area. Among the key potential revisions (as presented by Planning Manager Gregg McClain) is to do away with current modulation requirements altogether in favor of a simpler system. Originally implemented in 2006 to curb the adverse impacts of mansionization (giant houses on smallish lots), modulation (required indentations along interior walls) promoted more attractive buildings but still didn’t improve light or air circulation for neighbors—or enhance privacy, McClain noted. He added that modulation is too complicated to understand, prohibitive for architects and contractors to design and build around, creates awkward floor plans, and is difficult to plan-check. Staff recommended replacing modulation with a set floor area ratio (FAR) to control building size---in this case, allowing a maximum of 0.60 total, of which up to 0.25 can be the top floor. So for a 6,000-square foot property, the house can be as large as 3,600 square feet (1,500 of which can be the second story portion). El Segundo’s current FAR is 0.53, but McClain noted that virtually all surrounding cities are at 0.60 or markedly higher (and in some cases have no FAR limit at all). In the formula, garages up to 500 square feet do not count towards the FAR--nor do porches, patio or decks under that size threshold. Anything above 500 square feet is considered livable area. Meanwhile, second floor covered balconies do count towards the total. Another provision will require a three-car garage for a house built to 3,500-square feet or larger (the current code mandates that size garage at 3,000 square feet). A majority of the Council indicated initial support for the changes (which the Planning Commission also recently recommended), though Mayor Suzanne Fuentes was uneasy about completely scrapping modulation. “El Segundo is a very hilly city—if [a house] is not built just right, you have a monolith that bounces off airport noise,” she said, adding that she felt it premature to limit sizes of garages. During the public hearing, former Planning Commissioner Brian Crowley expressed his concerns about the proposal—worrying that the City might just be “exchanging one problem for another” since it won’t necessarily accomplish the goal of moving “mass away from the edges and towards the center” of a home. Two other speakers applauded the changes. Contractor Craig Maples, also part of the subcommittee See City Council, page 17
Herald_020917_FNL_lorez
To see the actual publication please follow the link above