COUNCIL OKS CHATSWORTH PROJECT.Byline: Harrison Sheppard Staff Writer The Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. on Tuesday approved a controversial Chatsworth development by Airport Commission President Ted Stein Stein , William Howard 1911-1980.American biochemist. He shared a 1972 Nobel Prize for pioneering studies of ribonuclease. , despite neighbor complaints it has not undergone proper environmental reviews. Stein plans to build 21 houses on the seven-acre property at 22101 Chatsworth St. originally zoned for 16 homes. Neighbors fear it will harm the equestrian equestrian a rider of horses. nature of their community. But the council approved the project 13-0, after requiring Stein to add an equestrian trail along 280 feet of the property on Topanga Canyon Boulevard so horse riders will not continue to face the hazards of riding on the road's dirt shoulder. ``It allows the project to move forward, but it makes public safety a priority in how we are lining the path for the horses that are coming down a very busy street,'' said Councilman Ed Reyes Ed P. Reyes has served on the Los Angeles City Council since April 2001. A native of Northeast Los Angeles, Councilmember Reyes represents many of the neighborhoods he grew up in including Lincoln Heights and Cypress Park. , chairman of the council's Planning and Land Use Management committee. ``We've been able to establish a pathway which we're trying to make as safe as possible.'' The council proposal represents a compromise from an earlier one in which the council said Stein had to provide seven feet of the 12-foot-wide trail only if Caltrans also agreed to provide five feet from the road's right of way. Under the new plan, if the California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is a government agency in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems in California. refuses, the trail would still be installed, but only at seven feet wide. Neighbors said the new compromise was an improvement, but they still have a lawsuit against the city, challenging the decision to waive To intentionally or voluntarily relinquish a known right or engage in conduct warranting an inference that a right has been surrendered. For example, an individual is said to waive the right to bring a tort action when he or she renounces the remedy provided by law for such requirements for a full environmental impact report. Other complaints include a lack of grading plans and a threat to old oak trees in the area. ``To me, it's (the bridle trail is) like putting a Band-Aid on a broken leg,'' said local resident Susan Eskander. ``It's not going to fix the problem.'' |
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