Courthouse Study Finished

Los Angeles County staff has completed its environmental review of the proposed Chatsworth courthouse and has determined that all the negative impact can be mitigated.

But Harry Godley, chairman of the Chatsworth Homeowners Committee, said Monday that the group will continue to battle the project.

“We are terribly disappointed and we think it’s wrong,” Godley said. “They haven’t thoroughly considered the alternate sites at all and they are in total disregard of the community and its feelings.”

The final environmental impact report is scheduled to go before the Board of Supervisors for certification on March 24. Certification is considered a significant step toward approval of the project.

Godley and other homeowners have long maintained that the site the county wants to use near Prairie Street and Winnetka Avenue is too near their residential area and that a more industrial location should be sought. City officials have supported many of their objections, in particular singling out traffic congestion. A city traffic engineer said traffic problems would be exacerbated because the courthouse entrance would be on a cul-de-sac.

environmental review