County to Hold Workshops on Revised Plan for Lennox

When county planning officials presented their ideas for a revitalization plan for Lennox in April, hundreds of residents packed into a public hearing and accused the county of attempting to wipe out housing and turn the unincorporated area east of Los Angeles International Airport into a commercial wasteland.

County officials are now working on a revised plan, and a series of workshops is being held to gain public comment before a draft is released.

At a meeting Thursday night, members of the Lennox Coordinating Council discussed proposals that their community group plans to make to county officials.

Possible Proposals

Harry Lenczyk said proposals from the group may include invigorating the struggling business districts along Hawthorne Boulevard, Inglewood Avenue and Lennox Boulevard; renovating run-down areas under the airport’s flight path, and even turning Inglewood Avenue, a main thoroughfare that residents say is overrun by drug dealers, into two one-way streets with houses in the middle.

“When we’re through, Lennox will be one of the nicest areas around,” Lenczyk said. “That is the goal of the future.”

The county workshops, which began Saturday, will continue Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Jefferson School, Sept. 18 at 5 p.m. at Whelan School and Sept. 23 at noon at Lennox Middle School.

After a draft plan is produced in the coming months, it must win approval from the Regional Planning Commission and the county Board of Supervisors before it becomes the official policy guideline for Lennox’s future, said Sorin Alexanian, a county planning official.

“We are starting from scratch,” Alexanian said. “We have nothing set in concrete. All we have are ideas, some broad general goals.”

County’s Proposals

Alexanian said the county’s proposals will include renovating businesses along Inglewood Avenue, stabilizing the area’s residential character, and creating a commercial district and high-density area where apartments would be allowed.

The first county proposal outlined a $121-million effort to convert some residential areas under LAX flight paths to light industrial and commercial use; construct replacement housing and schools for residents displaced as a result; soundproof homes, and make other physical improvements such as expanding parks and widening streets.

Residents complained that the plan was an attempt by the county to move industry in and people out to take advantage of the area’s proximity to the airport.