Objections to Porter Ranch Project

It is hard to believe that the city of Los Angeles is considering a huge project by the owners of Porter Ranch for their 1,300-acre site in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley. Their outrageous proposal calls for a development of 2,195 single-family homes, 800 multifamily units and 7.7 million square feet of office and retail space. It also proposes construction of 10-, 12- and 15-story buildings, fast-food restaurants, hotels, motels, auditoriums and numerous other structures. This enormous project would add 9,325 residents to the San Fernando Valley.

Every Valley resident should be concerned about this project. It will generate more than 168,150 trips per day and have an enormous impact on Valley traffic. The project will swamp adjacent freeways, secondary highways and other roadways. One look at Warner Center will quickly show what this kind of project will do to the streets south of Porter Ranch. De Soto, Mason, Winnetka, Corbin and the east-west streets will become clogged with traffic.

The city should reject such projects and instead pass a moratorium on development until the current problems can be corrected. There is no way that the infrastructure in the Valley can handle a project of this magnitude. History has proven that this city is not capable of providing the necessary infrastructure in advance of project approvals.

Let me cite specific objections to the project, which cannot be mitigated satisfactorily. It will result in 1.38 million gallons of sewage per day. The Hyperion plant is at capacity and cannot handle the proposed load, nor can it be easily expanded. The project will generate 34.6 tons of solid waste per day. The city’s dump sites do not have the capacity to handle this extra waste. The air quality in the basin does not meet federal standards nor can attainment be achieved in any reasonable manner. There is not enough fresh water available in the basin for a project of this scope.

There is not enough fire, police and library capacity in the Valley to service this project. Twenty-eight additional police officers will be needed for the project. There is not enough budget available to serve the present residents. Lack of airports, City Hall services, county health services, schools, etc., preclude Manhattan-style projects in the Valley. The city should tell the developer to build his project where it is needed and where it is environmentally sound to do so.

GERALD A. SILVER

Encino

Silver is president of Homeowners of Encino.