Lawndale Tribune AND lAwNDAle News The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - April 23, 2015 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................2 Classifieds............................6 Community Briefs...............3 Food.......................................8 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals............................4, 6-7 Letters...................................2 Looking Up...........................6 Police Reports.....................2 Seniors..................................2 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Friday Partly Cloudy 66˚/55˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 66˚/55˚ Sunday Sunny 70˚/57 South Bay Connects with the City A commuter steps onto the Metro Rail. Photo by Peter Thornton, jp.thornton58@gmail.com Debate over Hawthorne Restaurant Site Continues By Laura Sorensen On April 14, the Hawthorne City Council met with all the councilmembers in attendance at the beginning of the meeting except Mayor Brown. However, the Mayor did attend the meeting, arriving about two hours in. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Pro Tem Olivia Valentine. The first part of the meeting was reserved for the public to speak, and most citizens put in pleas for another hospital in Hawthorne area: residents of Hawthorne have signed a petition for a new medical center in Hawthorne, and speakers wished for the city council to approve a resolution in support of opening a new hospital. Speakers referenced the slow reaction of emergency vehicles and the time it takes for people to reach emergency rooms. 2,000 residents have signed a petition, deploring the time and effort that are wasted when people need medical care. Residents, responding to a recent newspaper article, questioned the misappropriation of funds and travel expenses of the mayor, worried about the possible misuse of city funds. Though excited for new development in Hawthorne and the revival of the community and strong economic growth, as well as the great school districts, speakers were worried about the town’s reputation and where public money was being spent. The bulk of the 6-hour meeting was spent discussing an appeal from Primestor Development, Inc., who filed to have the City Council review a denial of building permit. Much of the debate had to do with the location of the lot, which is adjacent to Hawthorne Airport and is debatably in the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ) and therefore subject to oversight by the FAA. Primestor maintained that the FAA has determined that grading the development – which is slated to be a Farmer Boys restaurant -- does not affect airport use, and that the restaurant would join many other businesses that are in the same zoning area. The City, however, argued that splitting the lot was a concern, because it isn’t certain what Primestor would do with the rest of the lot, and because the intention to parcel the lots violates the Subdivision Map Act, which regulates the subdivision of city lots. The airport representative also upheld the city’s decision, citing concerns with grading the lot and proximity to the flight path of the airplanes. After almost three hours of testimony, and many questions asked on both sides of the debate by the council members, Mayor Pro Tem Valentine made a motion to uphold the building director’s decision to deny the permit. The motion failed, and Councilmember Reyes English motioned for a continuance, so that the council could have more time to understand all the issues at stake. The motion passed unanimously and Mayor Brown promised that the decision would be made in a reasonable period of time. At that t ime, Mayor Brown and Councilmember Reyes English left the meeting, and Councilmember Vargas then responded to the queries about Mayor Brown’s use of public funds. Vargas proposed the following action items: A public report for the City Website “detailing expenses of each Elected Officials’ (including City Manager) trips, conferences, meetings and seminars, including plane fare, taxis, meals, drinks, room service, movies and other entertainment expenses” for the period of January 2014 to present; a report of the Status of elected officials’ use of city vehicles; and a report from city manager re whether city staff and city resources are being used to create press releases for Mayor. The Mayor returned to the meeting and Councilmember Michelin asked for an action item that established “policy on going-forward basis for City to have full-recruitment process for all City Hall employees, whether permanent, temporary or seasonal,” and an item which discussed whether the City Reimbursement Policy needs to be updated to require preapproval for travel, meal, lodging and other actual and necessary expenses. Mayor Brown noted that this action item has already been discussed and voted down within twelve months and cannot be discussed again. Councilmember Michelin then noted that the Mayor Pro Tem is a term of a year, and he had not served in that position yet, and he nominated himself for the position. The reorganization was refuted by Mayor Pro Tem Valentine, who noted that she would like to continue in her position. The motion had two yes votes and two no votes. Other action items during the meeting were as follows: The City of Hawthorne proclaimed that April is “Sexual Assault Awareness Month” and April 23rd is “Denim Day” in Hawthorne; parking “Ts” (painted lines marking out spaces) will be enforced in the city’s residential areas; 2-hour parking restrictions will be removed on the west side of Hawthorne Blvd from 13023 Hawthorne Blvd to 131st Street; street lighting assessments will be levied for fiscal year 2014-15; and the City Council adopted “Balance Calories,” an “initiative to help fight obesity by encouraging Americans to balance what they eat and drink, including beverages, with what they do.” •
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