PALOS VERDES ESTATES : Revised Memorial Plan Will Be Considered

The design of a proposed memorial for two slain police officers and local veterans will be considered for the second time Monday when the city’s Art Jury meets with members of a citizens memorial committee.

The Art Jury, a private committee of six architects, planners and engineers who approve building plans, recommended design changes to the memorial at its Sept. 12 meeting.

Located in a park across from City Hall, the proposed memorial would include benches, a reflecting pond and a sundial illuminating the names of Sgt. Vernon Thomas Vanderpool and Capt. Michael Tracy, the officers slain by a gunman in Torrance. The estimated cost, to be paid for with donations, is $226,000.

The Art Jury recommended that the memorial not overshadow an existing, small memorial to World War II veterans, and that it be more pastoral and classical in design. “We just asked them to restudy it, and we’ll probably approve it, and they’ll probably build it,” said Corwin Eberting, Art Jury president. He added: “We’re all for the memorial.”

The memorial was approved by the City Council in August despite the complaints of some residents that it was too elaborate for the quiet city of 14,000.