NEWS
14 SIgNAL TRIBuNE cITY Of SIgNAL HILL TST4005 PUBlIC HEARING NoTICE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Tuesday March 13, 2012, the Planning Commission of the City of Signal Hill, California, will conduct a public hearing at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chamber located at City Hall, 2175 Cherry Avenue, Signal Hill, California, to review the items described below. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on Tuesday March 20, 2012, the City Council of the City of Signal Hill, California, will conduct a public hearing at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chamber located at City Hall, 2175 Cherry Avenue, Signal Hill, California, to review the items described below. ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT 12-02 A REQUEST TO AMEND THE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS CONTAINED IN AREAS 3 AND 4 IN THE SP-19, GENERAL INDUSTRIAL SPECIFIC PLAN BY REDUCING THE SETBACK STANDARDS FOR CALIFORNIA AVENUE FROM 20 TO 15 FEET. THE CHANGES WILL ONLY AFFECT THE EDCO RECYCLING AND TRANSFER STATION PROJECT CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT 2755 CALIFORNIA AVENUE AND EDCO ADMINISTRATIVE TERMNAL PROJECT CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT 950 E. 27TH STREET. SETBACKS ON OTHER STREETS, INCLUDING 28TH STEET, PATTERSON AVENUE, 27TH STREET AND MRYTLE AVENUE, WILL NOT CHANGE.
EYE ON CRIME Crimes reported by the LBPD Feb. 21 to 23 Council Districts 6 (North of PCH) 7 & 8 (East of the L.A. River & North to Del Amo Blvd.) Wednesday, feb. 22 Felony arrest 9:30am– 1700 block of E. Pacific Coast Hwy. Officers detained and arrested an adult male felony suspect, who was in possession of an illegal firearm.
Applicant:EDCO Transport Services AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT was previously approved for the project. The Initial Study and material relevant to the Environmental Impact Report may be inspected between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursdays, and 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Fridays, in the Community Development Department at City Hall. PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT Guidelines Section 15162 and 15163, the revisions under the proposed General Plan Amendment and proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment do not result in conditions that require the preparation of a subsequent or supplemental environmental impact report. ALL INTERESTED PERSONS are hereby invited to attend the public hearing to present written information, express their opinions or otherwise present evidence on the above matter. If you wish to legally challenge any action taken by the City on the above matter, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing as described in this notice or in written correspondence delivered to the City prior to or at the public hearings. Written comments may be submitted to the Community Development Department prior to or at the public hearings. You may also email us with your comments and/or concerns at scharney@cityofsignalhill.org FURTHER INFORMATION on the project may be obtained at the City of Signal Hill Community Development Department located at 2175 Cherry Avenue, Signal Hill, California, or by calling Planning Manager Scott Charney at (562) 989-7343. Published in the Signal Tribune newspaper on: March 2, 2012 Posted in accordance with S.H.M.C. 1.08.010 on or before: March 2, 2012 Mailed to affected property owners on or before: March 2, 2012
Have you had your air ducts cleaned in the last five years? do they look like this?
$249
improves efficiencyn a when cle
Duct Cleaning Special Restrictions apply. See LBHA for details. Up to 8 ducts. $15 each additional. Done with the Rotobrush system.
We ServiCe ALL BrANDS Call us for a FREE in-home estimate on new installation!
562-424-4985 Free Estimates for Commercial Facilities
Burglary suspects arrested Noon– 2100 block of Pacific Avenue Officers responded to a report of two adult male suspects breaking into the garage of a local residence. Officers responded, located the suspects and took them into custody without incident.
WRD continued from page 1
money collected from the RAs to replenish underground aquifers because the amount of water percolating underground from annual rainfall is not enough to keep pace with the amount of water being pumped. According to Quilizapa, several studies presented to WRD revealed that the agency was overcharging the Central Basin cities, but WRD still refused to lower the RA for the Central Basin. Albert Robles, president of the WRD’s board of directors, strongly disagreed with Quilizapa’s insistence that the agency must comply with Proposition 218. “The proposition has a number of requirements, and it is our position that none of the requirements apply to WRD and the water rights,” he said. “The travesty here is that if Proposition 218 is found to apply to WRD, that will mean higher water rates for all our constituents.” He explained that the complex financial analysis and notice requirements of Proposition 218 would likely add tens of millions of dollars to WRD's annual expenditures and those costs would eventually show up in the water bills paid by residents and businesses in the region. Quilizapa denounced WRD’s lawsuit as a “delaying tactic” that the agency was using to avoid complying with a court order resulting from the
MARcH 2, 2012
Protest the protesters’ flier. The standard is defined as the wage negotiated in the collective bargaining agreement, which includes health care and pension benefits to the contractor’s employees. The Signal Tribune contacted the Hale Corporation on Feb. 28 for comments regarding the dispute but only received “no comment.” CS Drywall had not responded to calls by press time. “I want the temple to accept responsibility for hiring these contractors that aren’t paying their employees their health care and taking advantage of them,” Littlejohn said. “By not paying their employees and not taking care of their health care, that puts the obligation and burden on the local community. That’s why we’re here.” The Carpenters Local 2361 has stated that the reason for their labor dispute has to do with the fact that Temple Israel-Long Beach should not be able to insulate themselves behind “independent” contractors. The union previously spoke with Rabbi Steven Moskowitz and the Temple Israel-Long Beach Executive Committee in regard to its obligation to the community and is asking them to see that the area wage standards are met for the construction work on their new
project. In a statement released in response to the labor dispute, Temple Israel said they are not engaged in a labor dispute with any union. The temple stated that with the assistance of an independent project manager, the Board of Trustees of Temple Israel selected the lowest responsible bid, which was that from the Hale Corporation. The temple specified that it does not have any contractual relationships with any subcontractors. CS Drywall’s most recent accusation of violations occurred in August of 2011. The Los Angeles Community Development Commission (LACDC) found CS Drywall in violation for not paying their employees correctly. Last December, the LACDC ordered restitution in the amount of $50,000 in response to the violation. Jacob Saas, 23, whose father is a carpenter, is protesting in support of union workers. “I’m here because Temple Israel is hiring non-union workers, and they are not getting paid the standard,” he said. “We’re hoping that they switch their subcontractor to a union contractor so they are getting paid the right wages.” The union is now hoping that the public will respond to the dispute and help correct the situation at hand.
lawsuit filed in 2010 that the cities won. “We did get a court order in April 2011,” she said, explaining that the court invalidated the RAs going back to 2006 and ordered WRD to comply with Proposition 218 from that point forward. “That meant that any new RA would have to comply with the proportionality requirements of 218 specifically,” she said, explaining that WRD could no longer charge Central Basin Water pumpers more than what it cost the agency to replenish groundwater in the Central Basin. “We told WRD that we could not pay the RA because it was in violation of the court order and, therefore, they did not have the authority to collect it,” she said. “Paying it would constitute a gift of public funds.” Elsa Lopez, WRD’s manager of external affairs, disagreed with Quilizapa’s rationale. “This interpretation misrepresents the effect of the court ruling by suggesting that the decision is final. The fact is the judicial process remains open,” she said. “Case law recognizes that a final court decision requires that the judicial process run its complete course. This case may go on for up to two more years” Quilizapa noted that the RA has consistently increased since 2006, when it was from $138 per acre-foot to the current $245 per acre-foot. (An acre-foot is slightly more than 325,000 gallons.)
Robles noted that 43 cities are in WRD’s jurisdiction and the overwhelming majority of them have not protested the RAs because they understand the importance of what WRD does for the region and the fact that the cost of doing anything is rising. “If anyone living in Downey, Cerritos or Signal Hill stopped paying their water bill to the city for even three months, these cities would turn off the resident’s water,” he added. “Ironically, these cities are continuing to charge and collect from their residents for the very same groundwater for which they are refusing to pay.” Lopez added that the cities of Bellflower and Pico Rivera have also not paid the RAs to WRD for the past several months, but those cities are currently negotiating with the agency in regard to the bills, thus a lawsuit against them is not necessary. According to Lopez, the breakdown of accrued unpaid bills to date is as follows: Downey owes WRD $4,134,853; Cerritos owes $2,496,601; Pico Rivera owes $1,281,324; Signal Hill owes $392,837; and Bellflower owes $39,183. The total is $8,344,798 The next court hearing on this matter is scheduled for March 15 at Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles. Quilizapa said the hearing pertains to a refund requested by the five cities for RAs paid from 2006 to 2010.
continued from page 1
HARBoR AREA FARMERS MARKETS Major credit cards accepted
CONTR LIC #168999
Senior discounts available
2517 Cerritos Avenue, Signal Hill • www.longbeachair.com
Next week in the Signal Tribune:
Spruce Up Your Home for Spring!
• Thursdays in Bixby Knolls • Fridays in Downtown Long Beach
• Saturdays at the Cerritos Towne Center • Sundays at the Alamitos Bay Marina since 1980
• Local farm-fresh produce • Food artisans
GOODVEG.ORG
• Plants & flowers • Baked goods, honey, and more!
866-GOODVEG
We gladly accept EBT food stamp cards!