Rezoning Plan Attacked
A plan to rezone a residential area near the San Diego Freeway and Imperial Highway for commercial uses drew fire from about 20 residents at a meeting of the Hawthorne Planning Commission last week.
Planning Director Michael Goodson said the area is being considered for rezoning because of severe noise expected when the Century Freeway is completed in the early 1990s.
The California Department of Transportation has no plans for a noise buffer at the five-level interchange of the San Diego and Century freeways, which will tower as much as 65 feet over adjacent residential neighborhoods, Goodson said.
Commercial development would provide bulky structures that would buffer sound from the freeway, he said.
The city is awaiting the results of a noise study and may consider the rezoning during hearings in January or February to update the city’s General Plan, he said.
Resident Lambert Moonen is among those who oppose the zone change, which he said would force lower-income families to move. “We don’t care about the noise,” he said in an interview. “We’ve lived with (Los Angeles International) airport noise for years.”
The area proposed for commercial zoning is bounded by the San Diego Freeway, 115th Street, 118th Street and Inglewood Avenue.
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