Timely Real Estate News……………………………………………………1 June, 2007
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Important Notice — Final Public Hearings on Sepulveda Project
The City (DOT) and the State ( Cal trans) are in the process of planning major changes for one of America’s most popular Sigalert areas — the Sepulveda Pass. The project is designed to ease traffic through this bottleneck, utilizing an old program from the 50’s — a reversible lane — plus the ‘same-o’ solutions — widening roads, knocking down houses and business, fixing problem on/off ramps, and a new idea — a traffic lane for wildlife — yup, you heard it here: Foxes, hounds, deer and mountain lions now get their own lane….it’s about time!
Here are the details:
The Sepulveda Project is a two-pronged project — 1) widening Sepulveda from the Mulholland Tunnel to the intersection of the 405 and the Santa Monica Freeway for a reversible lane (DOT); and 2) widening of the 405 for the addition of a carpool lane (Cal Trans). These are major construction projects that will last between four to five years, and needless to say, they will cause some disruption in our lives. The plan is to have the DOT project begin first and then the Cal Trans project will kick in.
There are a few plans from which they will be selecting for the project and the public hearings regarding these plans will be held on June 11 from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. at Skirball. They will have the maps up with all of the proposed changes and plans starting at 5:00 pm
Several key elements of these projects/plans include the following:
• Widening the Skirball overpass which will include (hold on…) a special lane for wildlife. You read that correctly. The concept is that the animals will have their own lane to traverse across the 405 and will keep them off the roadway, and it will be clearly marked for their benefit.
• Partially relocating the Skirball on-ramp (southbound) from the 405 so it will be closer to Mountaingate Drive.
• Reconfiguring the Bel Air Crest entrance
• Eliminating the Montana off ramp.
• Potential removal of some housing north of Mulholland Tunnel and at the intersection Sepulveda and Church Lane possible removal of office buildings…plus houses could be slated for removal in Brentwood Glen as well.
This project is fraught with its ups/downs….the community faced these similar recommendations three years ago, and under fierce opposition the projects were essentially scrapped….until now, after new funding, which is really old funding, has now made these changes probable.
One important question I am already hearing is: Will this impact real estate values? Possibly yes in the short term. No, in the long term. Is this good for our area? It will help us manage growth better. And for sure, if the animals can read the signs, they’ll be happier with their new traffic lane across the 406….beats the alternative!
I want to encourage you to attend….make your voices heard. These changes impact all of us and it is important that the government officials know what we are thinking and want! This will be the only public hearing although you may review all of the issues regarding this project and submit written comments to the appropriate officials via their web site which is: www.lacity.gov/sepulvedaproject.com If you have any questions about this project, don’t hesitate to give me a call.
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The Trojan Horse Is Coming…..Egads for UCLA Auntie!
Her name is Morgan. She is 5 ft., 4 inches tall. She has a great smile, lights up a room when she walks in. My niece is an Honor Student or “AP” — meaning Advanced Placement. She gets straight As, editor of her high school newspaper, among other honor…. but here is where I have trouble….she picked the University of Southern California or rather they picked her and she picked them back!!!!.
While she was accepted at many other fine schools, in the end, it was USC’s biological sciences curriculum and its honors program that tipped the scale. Morgan is pre-med and wants to pursue a medical career, so perhaps four years from now, she’ll maybe matriculate to UCLA Medical School…an auntie can hope. The good news, of course, is that I get to see my darling niece on more often— at least when she needs laundry done. My mother, of course, said “oh, Carole, she wouldn’t do that!” “Oh, get real, Mom. Of course she’ll bring her laundry over, including those grubby USC t-shirts.”
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Watch the next Schiffer Line for more real estate news!
