The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 108, No. 34 - August 22, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................10
Classifieds............................4
Community Briefs...............3
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Film Review..........................6
Legals....................................9
Obituaries.............................3
Real Estate.................. 7,8,12
School Spotlight..................5
Sports.............................. 5,11
Weekend
Forecast
Biggest Car Show Ever Revs Up
Main Street Crowd Last Saturday
Vintage cars, live music, food, drink, shopping and more made for an amazing day at the 22nd Annual Main Street El Segundo Car Show. The event featured classic cars, hot rods, sports cars, trucks,
motorcycles, life-sized Hot Wheels and dragsters that lined the streets. In the shot above, Lilliana Perez gets behind the wheel of one of the dragsters on display. See inside this week’s edition for more
photo highlights from the event. Photo: Gregg McMullin.
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
75˚/64˚
Saturday
Sunny
74˚/65˚
Sunday
Sunny
75˚/65˚
City Council Meetings to Only
Have One Public Comment Portion
By Anthony B. Barthel
Tuesday’s El Segundo City Council meeting
featured a revised format, dropping the second
set of public communications. Councilmember
Don Brann questioned the decision to limit
communications to just the beginning of
the meetings and wondered if this required
a change of ordinance. City Attorney Mark
Hensley explained that the initial decision was
made at the staff level and doesn’t require
an ordinance. It was also noted that people
could speak during the meeting as items come
up. Precedent was set in other South Bay
cities where the public was invited to speak
only in the beginning, making El Segundo
comparable to those communities.
Brann noted that it was difficult for some
in the public to get to City Hall by 6 p.m.
and wanted to be sure that people have an
opportunity to keep their voice heard. Staff
also indicated that the Council can open up
for comments at the end at a specific meeting.
CO and MU-N Zone Setbacks
The Council had approved limited setbacks
in the past that improved growth in certain
areas. This is being considered for the CO
(Corporate Office) and MU-N (Urban Mixed
Use North) zones in the northern quadrants
which would provide uniformity with those
other zones. It was argued that the previous use
was manufacturing and commercial whereas
today it’s more used for social gathering and
retail. An example given was the former Cozumel’s
site. Today, Apollo Landing is there
and the revised setbacks allowed for this.
The El Segundo Planning Commission recently
held a public hearing and unanimously
recommended approval of the ordinance.
A second reading is scheduled for Sept. 3.
Nobody from the public chose to speak on
the issue. All on the Council voted in favor
of the item.
Councilmember Scott Nicol asked if there
were any current projects affected by this and
the answer was yes, with one project that will
be immediately impacted and another in the
works. While this could be implemented on
a project-by-project basis, it was thought that
this would be better done en masse. Mayor
Pro Tem Carol Pirsztuk asked if this would
affect green space and Planning and Building
Safety Director Sam Lee responded that
there should still be plenty of green space.
Amendments to Raytheon Project
Another public hearing on Tuesday addressed
amendments to Raytheon’s South
Campus project regarding the phasing schedule
and timing of infrastructure improvements.
A representative from Raytheon said that
this development will allow the company to
modernize its facilities and increase density
for operations in El Segundo. Raytheon
indicated that it plans to be fully compliant
with the agreement including adding streets as
requested as the various parcels are built out.
Resident Jay Hoeschler spoke in favor of
the park that is part of this development.
The park is 7.5 acres, which is 20 percent
of Raytheon’s sold parcel. At present the
language is that the park may be private or
public. Hoeschler advocated for the park to
be public. Brann pointed out that this issue
was mostly negotiated before he got on the
Council. Mayor Drew Boyles added that this
kind of agreement is what would keep a large
employer like Raytheon in El Segundo and
so he praised the arrangement. The ordinance
will be brought back for a second reading
and potential adoption on Sept. 3.
Treasury Quarterly Presentation
The quarterly investment report presented
by City Treasurer Crista Binder and Deputy
City Treasurer II Dino Marsocci revealed
that the City has $90 million invested with
$443,000 paid in interest based on a 2.5
percent return on investment. Also outlined
were the various classes of investment matching
diversity requirements. It was mentioned
that the investment strategy is designed to
accommodate a recession. Marsocci said
that cash flow goes negative in the coming
months as expected.
A recession is defined as two quarters (or
more) of negative growth. Our last recession was
2009. The economists that the City is speaking
with indicated that unless something significant
changes, a recession is presently unlikely.
Cost-Sharing Agreement
with ESUSD
The City wants to continue a cost-sharing
agreement with El Segundo Unified School
District (ESUSD) to service patrons of
Richmond Street Field. The cost is just over
See City Council, page 9