Hawthorne Press Tribune
Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - September 13, 2018
Inside
This Issue
Calendar of Events.............3
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................4
Classifieds............................3
Entertainment......................2
Food.......................................5
Hawthorne Happenings....3
Lawndale..............................4
Legals............................. 4,6,7
Pets........................................8
Weekend
Forecast
City Council Okays Next Phase
of Underground Tunnel Project
By Derrick Deane
Elon Musk’s The Boring Company got a
unanimous thumbs up from the Hawthorne
City Council Tuesday evening to move forward
with the underground tunnel project running
along 120th Street. The next phase of the
test tunnel that runs underneath 120th Street
from Crenshaw Boulevard to Prairie Avenue
involves the construction of an offshoot spur
that leads to an electric vehicle elevator that
rises into a garage on a property that SpaceX
has purchased at 3834 West 119th Place.
“The purpose of the tunnel is to test
the concept of a zero-emission, alternative
transportation system,” Planning Director
Brian James said. “The Boring Company
has acquired a home and they want to build
a spur and test elevator into the garage. The
purpose of that is to further test the capabilities
of the system.”
The elevator and garage would not be
for public use, but rather for The Boring
Company’s private research and development
purposes. “The tunnel is about 45-feet deep
and the proposal is to take a short spur off
of that test tunnel and run that in to a closed
elevator shaft -- and inside that shaft is a 10-
foot by 20-foot car lift that would reach the
surface inside a closed garage that’s about
975 square feet,” James said.
James added that the property would also
have an 8-foot-tall block wall surrounding it
as well as fencing and 24-hour surveillance
with support from the Hawthorne Police
Department, if necessary. The home that is
on the property will also undergo remodeling
before being rented out to tenants.
“I just want to note that with the garage,
the wall, the fence and the placement of the
garage behind the home, the test elevator will
not be visible on the property,” James said.
“The elevator itself is pretty simple. They’ve
actually already built one on the Crenshaw side
of the tunnel on SpaceX property. It sounds
like a garage door opener, so it’s very quiet.”
The operational plan for the property will
permit a maximum of four onsite employees.
Additionally there can only be a maximum
of five residents living in the house on a
1-year leasing term.
Testing hours on the site will run from 9
a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday,
while construction hours are set from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The City of
Hawthorne permits construction in residential
areas until 7 p.m., so the project is currently
well within the mandated cut-off time.
Additionally, as a means of controlling
traffic on 119th Place, cars will not be able
to enter into the garage. The only entrance
will be from the original Crenshaw side of
the tunnel and will only be for residents of
the property.
While the ordinances to move forward received
unanimous approval, it wasn’t without
a number of questions. Councilwoman Angie
Reyes English first questioned The Boring
Company representatives about the purchase
and relocation of the cabinet business that
was formerly located on 120th and Prairie.
The business was purchased by The Boring
Company and is currently in the process of
relocating.
“We’re not exactly sure where they relocated,”
The Boring Company representative
said. “I know that based on conversations that
we’ve had with them that they’re awaiting
some necessary permits but will be reopening
soon.”
English also asked that the hours of operation
be moved back from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“We worked with City staff to set up what we
described as testing hours to ensure that we
are creating structure to the process,” the Boring
company representative said. “There’s not
really a direct answer except that we thought
that those seemed like reasonable hour to allow
for testing. That was the recommendation
from City staff and we worked with them to
ensure those hours were reasonable.”
English had some concerns with the security
plan that involves the use of Hawthorne police
personnel if necessary. “The concerns I have
with the security plan involve our Hawthorne
Police Department and I have an issue with
liability,” she said. “You’re talking about
not trying to grab the attention of folks in
the community, but at the same time you’re
asking for police on the outside to secure the
property and there is going to be a curiosity
factor that comes with that.”
The Boring Company said that the Hawthorne
Police Department’s role would be to
review the security plan rather than provide
it. The company said it would be responsible
for securing the site.
Community outreach was also one of
English’s concerns with the project -- specifically
the sense that everything is being
rushed. “It is how we do things. Sometimes
it seems rushed, but really what we want
to do is show proof of concept and show
success as quickly as possible,” The Boring
Company representative said. “We’re not asking
to short-circuit any processes and we’re
certainly not asking step around anything in
the process. Yes, we do move fast at SpaceX
and The Boring Company. We are trying to
revolutionize transportation and don’t want
to get bogged down…and want to show to
potential investors, other cities, our employees
and the public in general that we want to and
will succeed.” •
Friday
Sunny
77˚/65˚
Saturday
Sunny
75˚/64˚
Sunday
Sunny
76˚/64˚
The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne
Frances Stiglich 100th Birthday
Long-time Hawthorne resident Frances Stiglich celebrated her centennial last month. She moved to town in 1945 and has been involved in the community ever since (including running for City Council in
her 90s). As part of the milestone, Hawthorne Historical Society presented Frances with the 2018 Norb Huber Good Neighbor Award. Photo: Hawthorne Historical Society.