The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 108, No. 36 - September 5, 2019
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............2
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................4
Classifieds............................7
Community Briefs...............2
Crossword/Sudoku.............7
Legals.................................6,7
Letters...................................2
Obituaries.............................2
Real Estate.................... 5,6,8
Sports.................................3,4
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Mostly
Sunny
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Saturday
Sunny
76˚/66˚
Sunday
Sunny
73˚/66˚
Fire Units Respond to Accident
Over the weekend, El Segundo Fire Department units responded to a vehicle on its side with reports of patient entrapment at the intersection of PCH and Hughes Way. Photo: ESFD
Raytheon Offers Park Usage as
Council OKs Project Changes
By Brian Simon
Talks are underway for the local community
to have access to “new” park space in the near
future, thanks to a pending arrangement with
Raytheon. The topic consumed a large chunk
of Tuesday night’s El Segundo City Council
meeting, as the members voted 3-2 (with Mayor
Pro Tem Carol Pirszuk and Councilmember
Don Brann dissenting) to adopt an ordinance
allowing amendments to the development
agreement for Raytheon’s long-awaited 142-
acre South Campus project.
Though the Council originally approved
the project (at the southeast corner of PCH
and El Segundo Boulevard) in early 2016, the
item came back last month after the applicant
requested notable changes to allow for four
phases instead of two and to assign certain
improvements and mitigation measures to the
appropriate phasing. At the Aug. 20 Council
meeting, staff outlined the overall deal points
– which Planning and Building Safety Director
Sam Lee again summarized on Tuesday. Among
those, Raytheon agreed to provide the City $4
million over five years; pay a $5 million penalty
to the City of El Segundo if the company does
not build out Nash Street within 10 years;
remit to the City 50 cents per square foot for
each building permit issued; pay a fair share
(estimated $3.3 million to $4 million overall)
for nine intersection improvements; build out
Nash Street (app. $15 million) and Continental
Boulevard ($10 million); make improvements
to El Segundo Boulevard with dedicated land to
the City to build a Class 1 bicycle lane and add
a fourth lane on the street at certain points;
and provide funds for a bicycle facility and
pedestrian easement into the Green Line station.
In return for subsidizing a series of traffic
improvements, Raytheon will receive fee credits.
The deal also includes a 20-year irrevocable
offer for the City to (if it so chooses) take
possession of a 7.5-acre park site that gets
triggered by the project’s Phase 3 -- and that
topic rose to the forefront on Tuesday. Raytheon
Director of Facilities and Real Estate Scott
Pozza spoke of the need to “solve” the park
issue. “I understand the passion around the
park,” he said, but added, “I would love to
stand here today and tell you what the solution
is, but I cannot.” The reason, he explained,
is that it is “impossible to do” this until he
has more details on Phase 3 and the potential
security implications. To address the park now
would, in his estimation, put the company “in
a position to not do Phase 3.”
Instead, Pozza offered a temporary fix – to
work with the Recreation and Parks Department
to coordinate ways for the City to use Raytheon’s
existing park for various activities. Mayor
Drew Boyles noted that he and Councilmember
Scot Nicol discussed the idea with Raytheon
officials last Friday. Pozza issued a caveat
that the current park falls under the auspices
of his organization, but mentioned successful
past test cases (e.g. the Little League utilized
field space and people parked in the lot for a
cross country event). He envisioned usage for
sports, picnics, craft fairs and adult leagues
if coordinated properly, although it won’t fly
“to have people walk their dog” on the site.
Pozza reported that Raytheon employees
currently use the park space for several types
of activities. It features two softball fields, a
large open field ideal for soccer, tennis courts,
a canopied area for picnics, and horseshoe pits.
Most usage, he said, is during daytime hours,
though a few company softball leagues are out
there at night. Though he stressed the importance
of going through the proper request channels
and making sure not to overtax onsite security,
Pozza otherwise thought there was no reason
why the City can’t use the space when the
site is available. He added that he would also
be willing to invest in park improvements to
make it more usable for both the community
and Raytheon.
During public communications, Planning
Commission Chair Ryan Baldino warned that
the City still doesn’t have a solution for the
7.5-acre park even though the provision for
the space is in the development agreement. He
urged the Council to “have the big questions
answered” now since Raytheon will ultimately
sell the land to another developer – and that
there “has to be a public benefit” given all
the traffic the project will bring to town. Jay
Hoeschler, also on the Planning Commission,
called Pozza’s new suggestion a “great offer
for measured use,” but not a solution. He saw
the future park as “the most obvious, largest
public benefit” that also carries “quite a price
at today’s market rate.” He asked the Council
to hammer out the details before approving
the development agreement.
Nicol ultimately voted for the item, though he
expressed concern about a clause to extend the
expiration date of the development agreement
from 10 years with a five-year extension to
Raytheon’s requested 15 years plus five. Pozza
said the extra time will allow more opportunity
to do Phase 3 given the unknowns of market
conditions in the future. He additionally
opined that Phase 2 will move much faster
than Phase 1 did, but that “you will be at 10
years very quick.”
Councilmember Chris Pimentel said he
was “pessimistic” on the Phase 3 timeline,
but fully supported moving forward to get
the project “unstuck.” Boyles warned that he
doesn’t want El Segundo to be perceived as
a city that “nickels and dimes” the businesses
that generate almost all of the general fund
revenues. Pirsztuk was wary about the future
park clause. “It’s almost like we’re losing the
teeth of the agreement,” she said, describing
the park provision as a nebulous “gentleman’s
handshake” type of arrangement based on if
See City Council, page 4