The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 107, No. 49 - December 6, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................10
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................3
Legals.............................. 6,10
Obituaries.............................2
Pets................................ 11,12
Police Reports.....................2
Real Estate.......................7-9
Sports....................................5
Weekend
Forecast
Guaymas Visitors See Some
Magic During El Segundo Trip
While visiting the UCLA Health Training Facility (home of the Lakers) as part of their tour of the town, visiting officials from the sister city of Guaymas got to meet the one and only Magic Johnson. Just a
little Showtime in the Gundo! Photo by Luz Matilda Ruiz Valencia.
Friday
Sunny
65˚/52˚
Saturday
Sunny
65˚/53˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
65˚/53˚
High-Density Housing, Emergency
Protocols Highlight Council Talk
By Brian Simon
On a Tuesday evening that featured a whopping
nine presentations (including a welcome
to the visiting mayor of Guaymas) before the
members even took roll call, the El Segundo City
Council discussed the possibility of high-density
housing just west of Pacific Coast Highway.
Concerned about the heavy demand for housing
in town from potential business tenants,
Councilmember Scot Nicol asked his colleagues
if they would want to consider the prospect of
larger residential complexes in the area adjacent
to or abutting Washington Park (a buffer zone
where there are no single-family homes). He
noted that the last condominium and apartment
facilities built in El Segundo go back to 1984
and 1979 respectively and wondered what led
to the stoppage of this type of construction.
The concern expressed is that lack of available
housing stock will deter major businesses from
coming here. The Council ultimately directed
staff to work with the Planning Commission
to explore the matter and put together a feasibility
study on what it would take to allow
high-density housing, mixed-use developments
and recycling of properties. At the same time,
none of the members expressed actual support
for the concept at this juncture – just a
willingness to, as Mayor Drew Boyles put it,
“seek to understand the drivers for the local
housing market.” Councilmember Don Brann
was against the idea altogether, stating that he
has no interest in increasing density west of
PCH. However, he said he is open to at least
have a conversation about housing east of that
major artery.
Also on Tuesday, the Council heard a report
from the El Segundo Fire Department’s
Environmental Safety Division on response
to hazardous waste materials incidents and
recent interactions with Chevron during a
flare event in September. The division oversees
the Certified Unified Program Agency
(CUPA) responsible for regulatory oversight,
administration, permitting, inspection and
enforcement for local businesses that handle,
use or store certain chemicals. Environmental
Safety Manager Victor Morales explained that
his division’s mission is to “protect public
health, the community and the environment.”
Safety areas under the CUPA purview include
Hazardous Material Emergency Response Plans
for businesses, Underground Storage Tank
Program, Aboveground Petroleum Storage Tank
Program, Hazardous Waste Generator Program,
and California Accidental Release Prevention.
Morales emphasized that recently approved
regulations mandate increased oversight at refineries
in order to reduce incidents/accidents
at those facilities. He summarized the CUPA
response to the September flare at Chevron
where the division pre-event conducted inspections,
reviewed documentation and confirmed
proper training from operators. During the
event, his staff responded to verify there
was no explosion, no liquid release and no
unit malfunction. They contacted the proper
agencies to report the event and worked with
Chevron to conduct air monitoring at specific
locations in town, finding no toxic readings.
After the event, staff met with Chevron twice,
requested copies of the incident investigation,
and reviewed emergency response plans to
identify any gaps and make recommendations
for improvements in the future. CUPA
does not handle air emissions, work safety
issues or industrial accidents, groundwater
contamination clean-up, pipelines, or coastal
water contamination since other agencies are
responsible for those areas.
On a related note, Assistant City Manager
Barbara Voss received Council direction to
update emergency communication notification
protocol to improve what is currently in place
and ensure that accurate and timely information
gets to the public. Her presentation included
an overview of significant events, with the
“Type 1” category listing incidents that pose
an imminent threat or require immediate action
(e.g. hazardous waste spills involving
injuries/evacuations, major fires, active shooters,
earthquakes or flooding that overwhelm
City resources). The “Type 2” events are less
severe, with potential for public concern or
disruption of routine. Examples include road
closures, traffic issues, and officer-involved
shootings. Voss then listed communication tools
to be utilized: a prepared holding statement
to announce the event before more concrete
information is available; Nixle alerts, reverse
911, social media posts, City website homepage
statements, a temporary website page dedicated
to the event in question, press statements,
press releases and media interviews. Incident
commanders (the fire chief, police chief or
highest-ranking department management staff)
will be responsible for disseminating the information,
with Voss serving as the back-up
source if any of the above are not available.
In fine-turning the new policy, Voss and staff
will also determine the necessary training for
personnel as well as develop standards for how
to speak to the press.
See City Council, page 10