South Bay : Restaurant Dispute Has Cities Simmering
The city of Lomita owns the stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard, but the land on which the Crossroads shopping center sits--and the site of a proposed Claim Jumper restaurant--is in Torrance.
And therein lies the problem, says Lomita Mayor Dave Albert. He maintains that the Torrance Planning Commission’s decision to allow the chain restaurant will mean more traffic on Crenshaw, which according to the mayor already handles an average of 55,000 cars a day.
“The center has grown beyond our expectations,” Albert said. “I don’t think the plans meet the [specifications] of the original environmental impact and traffic studies.”
Albert has asked the Torrance City Council to review the guidelines and conduct another study. He said he would like to look into ways of solving the problem, including widening surrounding streets to accommodate the traffic flow.
Torrance officials could not be reached for comment.
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