Downey Enclave Seeks Respect From City Hall : Development: Residents of Little Lake, isolated from the rest of the city, are upset over the council’s approval of plans for a parade float storage facility in Wilderness Park.

Residents of Downey’s isolated Little Lake community claim they don’t get much respect from City Hall.

Sandwiched between Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs, the middle-class enclave on the east side is separated from the rest of Downey by the San Gabriel River. Homeowners say their concerns are often ignored because their community is so distant from the heart of town.

The latest affront came last month when the City Council approved plans to build a 4,000-square-foot storage facility to house the city’s Tournament of Roses Parade float in Little Lake’s Wilderness Park.

The decision angered residents, who said the 24-acre park’s natural setting was a key incentive when they bought homes there.

“They’re taking away the best part of the park, the wilderness, where you don’t feel like you’re in the city,” said resident Lee Cook.

Cook said he fears a decrease in property values and noise from float volunteers flocking to the park the week before the New Year’s Day parade to hammer and glue flowers.

Members of the council disagreed, saying the building will have little impact on home prices.

“If I thought for one second that this would seriously and adversely affect property values, I would be against it,” said Councilman Robert S. Brazelton, who represents the community.

The dispute over the warehouse is only the latest rift involving the park. Ten years ago, the community fumed over a city proposal to turn the park into an auto mall. The City Council rejected the plan after opponents from both sides of the river collected about 2,000 signatures on petitions.

Little Lake residents are also irked by a $2 weekend parking fee that the council approved only for Wilderness Park last year. Residents claim visitors park in front of their homes and block driveways to avoid paying the fee.

Officials said the fee is designed to control parking and collect revenues at a popular park that is used by people throughout the region.

Council members insist that the community is not being ignored.

“They are not stepchildren, they’re part of town,” said Councilwoman Joyce L. Lawrence.

Councilwoman Diane P. Boggs said residents in Little Lake get the same services as those across town.

“We give them the fire, we give them the police, we give them the services that everyone else gets,” she said. “They’re never clear on why they’re ignored.”

Residents agree that most services, such as trash pickup, are adequate. But they have plenty of gripes about the city’s care of the tree-lined park.

They complain that the park’s curfew, which is 8 p.m. in the summer and 6 p.m. in the winter, is not regularly enforced. And recently, they said, the park has been plagued with graffiti, drug sales and prostitution.

Longtime resident Martin Trejo said if Little Lake were west of the river it would get more attention from the city and police.

Downey Police Sgt. Tim O’Brien said Wilderness Park gets as much attention as other parks in the city. The park does not have a bigger crime problem than other areas, he said.

The Little Lake area, which got its name because the San Gabriel River used to overflow and create a “little lake,” was unincorporated until the late 1950s.

Trejo, 73, who has lived on Little Lake Road since returning from the Korean War in 1952, said he remembers when residents decided to join Downey.

“We also had a choice to incorporate with Norwalk and Santa Fe Springs,” he said. “A lot of people thought Downey would give us better service since they were more affluent.”

Trejo said residents may have made a mistake. Neighbor Al Folsom agrees.

“Sometimes, I wish we were part of Santa Fe Springs,” Folsom said. “It’s a better-run city.”