FAIR SITE NEAR DAM OPPOSED KEEP NOISE, TRAFFIC AWAY, HANSEN NEIGHBORS SAY.Byline: James Nash Staff Writer HANSEN DAM Hansen Dam in Los Angeles County, California was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District in 1939 and 1940. The project is located near the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley on Tujunga Wash, about one mile below the confluence of the Big Tujunga Wash - As San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. Fair officials search for a location for the annual event in 2004 and beyond, some residents near Hansen Dam have launched a pre-emptive pre·emp·tive or pre-emp·tive adj. 1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of preemption. 2. Having or granted by the right of preemption. 3. a. campaign against one of the five sites under consideration. The equestrian center site on the east side of the Hansen Dam Recreation Area is one location being considered for the fair's return to the Valley after it was held at Castaic this year. But some dam basin neighbors and local activists say they don't want a permanent fairgrounds n. pl. 1. same as fairground. - and the traffic and noise that would go with it - in their back yard. ``Turning that part of Hansen Dam into a Coney Island Coney Island (kō`nē), beach resort, amusement center, and neighborhood of S Brooklyn borough of New York City, SE N.Y., on the Atlantic Ocean. is not going to benefit kids or anyone on both sides of the (dam) basin,'' said Bart Paul, interim president of the Foothill Trails Neighborhood Council and a resident of the basin area. Robert D. Arias, co-chairman of the fair board's relocation committee, said the fair will definitely return to the San Fernando Valley but called it premature to speculate on a permanent site. Through the years, the fair had been held at several locations in the Valley before it was moved to Castaic Lake. Committee members also are looking at the fair's former location on the west end of the Hansen Dam Recreation Area; at California State University, Northridge CSUN offers a variety of programs leading to bachelor's degrees in 61 fields and master's degrees in 42 fields. The university has over 150,000 alumni. It's also home to a summer musical theater/theater program known as TADW (TeenAge Drama Workshop) that leads teenagers through an ; Pierce College in Woodland Hills; and at the Sepulveda Dam Recreation Area near Van Nuys. ``The Hansen Dam area makes sense because of its expansiveness and the success we've had running community events there,'' said Arias, appointed in June as one of five new members of the fair board. ``No decisions have been made yet. It would be presumptuous pre·sump·tu·ous adj. Going beyond what is right or proper; excessively forward. [Middle English, from Old French presumptueux, from Late Latin praes to make any decisions before we talk to (officials at) California State University, Northridge; Pierce College; Sepulveda Dam.'' Arias said fair directors hope to make a final decision on a location by the end of October. While Valley politicians have applauded the pledge to bring the fair back to the Valley in its 58th year, some share residents' concerns about traffic, noise and the possible destruction of habitat for roadrunners, horned toads and black-tailed jackrabbits. Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. President Alex Padilla, whose district includes Hansen Dam, hasn't taken sides in the location debate, according to his spokesman David Gershwin. ``It's absolutely vital that the San Fernando Valley Fair Board respect the wishes of the area community members so as not to infringe on their quality of life,'' Gershwin said. James Nash, (818) 713-3722 james.nash(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): map Map: VALLEY FAIR LOCATIONS |
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