"Eagle Rock: Where land use and
planning is a contact sport"
THE EAGLE ROCK
ASSOCIATION
TERA
-- e.letter --
November 22, 2001
In this issue:
WALGREENS
SURVEY DEADLINE : 12 NOON ON TUESDAY,
NOVEMBER 27 -- PASS IT ON TO NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS
COME TO THE WALGREENS
MEETING
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28,
6:00 P.M.
ST. DOMINIC'S PARISH
HALL, 2002 MERTON AVENUE, EAGLE ROCK
COUNCIL MEMBER NICK
PACHECO, A WALGREENS REPRESENTATIVE, AND THE DEVELOPER OF THE PROJECT WILL BE
THERE -- COME AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!
1. WALGREENS PROPOSAL SURVEY -- YOUR INPUT IS
STILL NEEDED!
2. WALGREENS COMMUNITY MEETING -- NOVEMBER 28
--IMPORTANT -- PLEASE ATTEND!!
3. YOSEMITE GYM PROJECT IS STILL PENDING
4. COME VIEW THE SAN PASQUAL STAIRWELL!!
5. LETTERS AND E.MAILS
6. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
7. HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING
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1. WALGREENS PROPOSAL SURVEY -- YOUR INPUT
IS STILL NEEDED!
Thanks again to all who
have responded to our Walgreens survey.
We've had a wonderful response from a wide variety of community members,
and they keep coming in! Please read
what others have to say about the current proposal by visiting our Web site at http://www.tera90041.org/walgreens-survey.htm.
Some
background:
Although
TERA was aware of the Walgreen's project, which was brought up to Council
member Pacheco at TERA's "State of the Town" presentation in
September, we were only recently shown the site drawings of the proposal for a
new Walgreen's drugstore proposed to be built at the site of the One Day Paint
& Body shop (otherwise known as the historic Shopping Bag building) and the
Brick's restaurant near the intersection of Colorado and Eagle Rock boulevards.
Current plans call for both of these existing buildings to be demolished.
The new Walgreen's building will be 15,140 square
feet in size sitting on the farthest corner back in the property which is
85,700 square feet. The building is
set back over 100 feet from Colorado and Eagle Rock boulevards, the proposed
Walgreen's would sit in a sea of asphalt, lacking any pedestrian orientation or
contact to the boulevard. The main traffic
flow will come onto Colorado Boulevard directly adjacent to the Shell station.
This project will have main entries to
both Boulevards and Merton.
Two
small retail buildings approx. 20' wide front both boulevards with over 140
feet of frontage on Colorado Boulevard alone open to the parking lot and
lacking any building wall to the street.
The tenants of these smaller buildings have not yet been identified; it
was stated by the developer that Starbucks may be one of the lessees.
Speaking
of the Shopping Bag building, one vigilant community member phoned me early
this morning to report that there was heavy machinery on the site at issue and
that asphalt had been taken up. It
appears that those responsible for this proposal could be hoping to progress
"beyond the point of no return" before our community has any say
(during the Thanksgiving holiday, no less, when people are most likely to be
gone and not watching) -- all the more reason it is IMPERATIVE that you
respond to our survey and attend the meeting on November 28! Please arrange to leave work early if you
have to -- our community's very future is at stake.
If
you haven't yet participated, there is still an opportunity to let our Council
member, Walgreens, and the developers know how you feel about the current
proposal. Please view the present site
plan attached and answer the four questions below. Keep in mind that the gray areas on the site plan represent
asphalt, the light brown areas are other hardscape (no greenery), and the
purple box is the proposed Walgreens store.
1. Do you
believe that Eagle Rock needs the addition of a large drugstore at this location?
2. Do
you have any concerns about the addition of Walgreens and other tenants to this
area? To this block?
3. Is there another tenant that you would like
to see instead of Walgreens?
4. If you support the proposed project, what if
any changes would you like to suggest as improvements to the project such as
more extensive landscaping, pedestrian walkways, linkages with other businesses
or maintaining the historical facade?
Send
us your survey answers and any other comments you might have by 12 noon on
Tuesday, November 27 by e.mailing them to artburn@earthlink.net. (Or just press "reply" -- DO NOT
press "reply all.") Your
comments will be personally delivered to Council member Nick Pacheco, to
Walgreens, and to the developers of this project. They need to hear from YOU, since you are the ones who would have
to live with this project in our town far into the future.
**Check
out what other communities have to say about Walgreens by visiting this Web
site: http://www.burrows.com/rocknews.html
DEALINE
FOR SURVEY REPONSES: 12 NOON ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27. WE WILL BE POSTING THE RESULTS OF OUR SURVEY
IN OUR NOVEMBER 29 E.LETTER. IMPORTANT:
SEE MEETING NOTICE BELOW.
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2. WALGREENS COMMUNITY MEETING -- NOVEMBER
28 --IMPORTANT -- PLEASE ATTEND!!
There will be another meeting regarding the
Walgreens proposal on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2001, at St. Dominic's Church Parish
Hall, 2002 Merton Ave., Eagle Rock, 90041.
Arrange to leave work early if you have to. The developers will present new renderings at 6:00 p.m., and the
meeting will be from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
We have no idea what these new renderings will show, but we do know that
they were developed because of the many concerns expressed by the community at
the meeting on October 30. Council
member Nick Pacheco and a Walgreens representative will also be there. For further information, please call the
Council office @ 323/254-5295.
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3. YOSEMITE GYM PROJECT IS STILL PENDING
Saul
Traiger has created a website about the Yosemite Recreation Center Gymnasium
project. The address is:
http://www.traiger.net/yosemite/index.html
Please
visit the website to get the latest information on the project and the appeal
pending before the Northeast Area Planning Commission. The only way this
project has a chance of being stopped is with organized community involvement.
On the website you will find pictures,
documentation, a comment area, and a petition. The website also contains the
latest information about the scheduling of the appeal hearing. The appeal is
still alive.
Visit
the website to find out more, or contact Saul Traiger at saul@traiger.net.
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4. COME VIEW THE SAN PASQUAL STAIRWELL!
Please
take the time to visit the San Pascual Stairwell at Avenue 66 and Meridian,
reaching to Hough Street at San Pascual Avenue in Highland Park. It is a
spectacular sight! Volunteers this weekend installed all hundreds of hand-made
tiles on 125 steps, which was a remarkable feat. We also successfully grouted 3
of the 8 landings, but there's more work to do to finish the entire project.
Further announcements will follow.
Many
thanks to all the community members who volunteered their time and passion to this
very special community improvement project.
Nancy
Blaine
Community
Advocate, Administrative Coordinator, NECRCC
(323)
257-9600 x208
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5. LETTERS AND E.MAILS
"It
continues to amaze me that no matter how open the dialogue between city government
and the people living in a city purports to be, too often the people are not
heard and city government is going to do what city government wants to do. What a shame that it can cost a lovely town
its history [regarding the Shopping Bag building and Walgreens proposal]. I appreciate your organization's efforts and
wish you all the best. I know that I
sometimes think that I am stuck in the 60's Eagle Rock, but oh, I long for that
time again. Eagle Rock was truly a
wonderful place to be a kid, a wonderful place to grow up. I would very much
like to be kept up to date and hope that you can add me to your list."
--
Natalie Bellissimo Easley, native Eagle Rocker and Montrose resident, whose
father has been a dentist in Eagle Rock for 45 years
"Thank
you for your leadership here [on the Walgreens issue].
--
Bob Fairman, Eagle Rock resident and TERA member
"Thanks
for the great information you provide to the community. It has always been
towards a positive direction."
--
Ben Gaetos, Eagle Rock resident and TERA member
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6. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Ask
not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your
country."
--
John F. Kennedy, assassinated 38 years ago today
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HAPPY
THANKSGIVING TO YOU ALL. WE HOPE IT IS
PEACEFUL AND FULL OF JOY. CHEERS TO THE
GREAT AND STRONG COMMUNITY OF EAGLE ROCK!
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We
welcome your comments. Please include
your name.
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Joanne
Turner <artburn@earthlink.net>
President, The Eagle Rock Association (TERA)