Courthouse Effects on Neighborhoods Is Called Minimal : Chatsworth: A study says Plummer Street will separate facility from homes. Critics call the report a whitewash.

An environmental study reviewing the impact of a municipal courthouse proposed for a Chatsworth industrial park concludes that the project would have few negative effects on surrounding residential neighborhoods.

But opponents of the courthouse contended Tuesday that the report whitewashes crucial issues, such as buffer zones and alternative sites for the courthouse.

Los Angeles County Municipal Court officials want to build the 16-courtroom facility on the southeast corner of Plummer Street and Winnetka Avenue, but residents along nearby Oakdale Avenue have long complained that the building will bring criminals into their tidy neighborhood of single-family homes.

But a summary of the environmental impact report’s conclusions says the effects on the neighborhood will be minimal because the courthouse would be separated from the neighborhood by busy Plummer Street and because access will be restricted to the south side of the 9.3-acre property.

Also, the summary says, the area will be patrolled by marshals to prevent people from wandering into neighborhoods from the courthouse.

Any extra traffic could be controlled by restriping streets, the summary says.

Marvin L. Rudnick, an attorney for the Chatsworth Homeowners Committee, complained that the report did not adequately address the question of buffering the courthouse from the nearby neighborhoods.

Three other sites have been proposed for the 297,500-square-foot facility, but Rudnick said the report fails to consider the alternative sites thoroughly because it wants to put the building on the Winnetka-Plummer site.

County officials could not be reached for comment late Tuesday, and only a summary of the report could be obtained.

Harry Godley, the committee chairman, said he had not yet received a copy of the report and could not comment on its contents.

He did, however, restate his group’s position against building a courthouse so close to a residential neighborhood.

“We’re not opposed to a courthouse in Chatsworth at all. That’s fine,” Godley said. “But what goes on inside a courthouse and what goes on inside a home are diametrically opposed and they should be buffered.”