Larry Buford’s open letter to California governor and mayoral election candidates: What is your clarity of mission?
*Since we are now in the governor and mayoral campaign season, it is with great urgency, and great dismay that I am writing this letter. The urgency is that our neighborhood — like so many others plagued by the homelessness crisis — has been turned upside down with recent low-income housing developments that were approved/greenlighted without proper notification to residents, and no complete and proper impact studies conducted.
The dismay is my ongoing personal and collective efforts to address mutual neighborly concerns to various county entities but to no avail. Cases in point:
- On Avalon Boulevard in unincorporated south Los Angeles between 132nd and 135th streets (90061 Willowbrook/Rosewood community), there are two low-income housing developments two doors down from each other on the eastside of the street — Union Rescue Mission (86 units), and Avalon Projects (55 units) — where, thanks to California Assembly Bill 2097 (AB 2097), state law now “prohibits a public agency from imposing or enforcing any minimum automobile parking requirement on a residential, commercial or other development project located within one-half mile of a major transit stop.” The developers reasoned, even before the bill became law, that “low-income people don’t own cars.” The reality is that these same low-income people have relatives and other visitors who park on the street, limiting parking for surrounding residents. Exponentially, think of how many residents are being affected by the same circumstances throughout Los Angeles County.
- The traffic delineators that were placed in this same section of Avalon a few years ago have done nothing to deter speeding and reckless drivers. If anything, they have created more confusion which is indicative of the fact that there was little thought and planning from the outset. Many of the delineators have been removed due to the confusion they created. Many residents of Union Rescue Mission and the Avalon Projects jaywalk on a regular basis rather than use the crosswalk at 132nd This section of Avalon has had many accidents over the years (see photos included), as well as injuries and at least one human fatality, and several animals killed. My request for a speed bump midway between 132nd and 135th streets was denied by a county official citing “Avalon is a main thoroughfare for commerce.” I contend that since concessions were made for developers, certainly the same can be made in the interest of public safety.
- Besides residents of Union Rescue Mission and the Avalon Projects, there is a 42-unit senior citizen home, and at least 50 street-facing private residences in this stretch of Avalon that are constantly being exposed to loud traffic noise. It is especially alarming and annoying during the night at any given time when trucks — especially empty trailers — hit a bump; it sounds like a bomb explosion! I have counted at least 20 manufacturing and transport companies between 135th and Compton Avenue including the State of California Commercial Test Center; Nexxgen Logistic Partners; Avalon Clean Truck Wash; and Environmental Dynamics; among the other businesses that generate a lot of truck traffic. I propose that trucks be prohibited at night between 10pm and 6am Monday thru Friday in certain residential areas. There are business districts like Rosecrans, Broadway, and others where trucks can be re-routed to get to the 110 and 105 freeways. This needs to be studied in depth (e.g. which businesses run 24/7? etc.). According to PubMed Central (PMC), “In [a] heavily urbanized world saturated with environmental pollutants, road traffic noise stands out as a significant factor contributing to widespread public health issues. It contributes in the development of a diverse range of non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, metabolic dysregulation, cognitive impairment, and neurodegenerative disorders.”
What is your clarity of mission?
So, during your campaigns, will you share with voters the “too big to fail” Dodd-Frank Act that protects the architects of the subprime scheme which caused the homelessness crisis to spike in the first place? Will you discuss at your rallies and town hall meetings similar situations (aforementioned) with your constituents in other districts of Los Angeles County and beyond? Will the city planning committees be more transparent in their decision-making? For more details about the Willowbrook/Rosewood experience please read “Was it a sham?” Voters are weary and leery of empty promises. Enough of the fluff. What is your clarity of mission that is doable and winnable?
Larry Buford is a contributing writer. Author of “Things Are Gettin’ Outta Hand” and “Book to the Future” (Amazon). Email: Lbuford8101@hotmail.com
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