RESIDENTS RAIL AGAINST HOMES, SCHOOL PROJECT.Byline: James Nash Staff Writer Some West Hills residents have mobilized to oppose a developer's plan to convert an abandoned hospital into a school and build 18 homes on adjacent undeveloped land, saying the project would bring congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. and has already caused construction headaches. The developer, California Home Builders, is nearly finished with converting the former Pinegrove Hospital into a site for the Kadima Hebrew Academy. The academy is being displaced displaced see displacement. from its Woodland Hills campus by the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. , which owns the property. The developer hasn't yet built the 18 planned homes on three adjacent acres off Shoup Avenue, and some residents say they still hope to halt or scale back the development. ``I understand that once someone purchases the property, it's his property, but you're really not thinking about the neighborhood,'' said Carolyn Greenwood Greenwood. 1 City (1990 pop. 26,265), Johnson co., central Ind.; settled 1822, inc. as a city 1960. A residential suburb of Indianapolis, Greenwood is in a retail shopping area. Manufactures include motor vehicle parts and metal products. , a neighboring neigh·bor n. 1. One who lives near or next to another. 2. A person, place, or thing adjacent to or located near another. 3. A fellow human. 4. Used as a form of familiar address. v. resident. ``They're just cramming The unauthorized addition of services to your telephone bill such as an 800 number that you never ordered. The charges are usually noted on the bill, but are identified in a cryptic manner and/or are printed in a place that is easy to overlook. See slamming. (homes) in. You can go anywhere in the Valley and this is happening. This isn't the way the Valley is supposed to be.'' Other residents say the construction and grading so far has disrupted dis·rupt tr.v. dis·rupt·ed, dis·rupt·ing, dis·rupts 1. To throw into confusion or disorder: Protesters disrupted the candidate's speech. 2. life in their formerly quiet neighborhood. They say construction vehicles are stirring up dust and causing noise as early as 6:45 a.m. - even though work isn't supposed to take place before 8 a.m. ``Day after day they continue to demonstrate their bad faith,'' said resident Roger Best. Shawn Evenhaim, the president of Canoga Park-based California Home Builders, said workers have brought in a second water truck to alleviate Alleviate To make something easier to be endured. Mentioned in: Kinesiology, Applied dust and are not working before the allowed times. During the approval process, California Home Builders took into account the residents' concerns by scaling back the project from 25 to 18 homes and agreeing to build only single-story houses, Evenhaim said. But he said he can't placate pla·cate tr.v. pla·cat·ed, pla·cat·ing, pla·cates To allay the anger of, especially by making concessions; appease. See Synonyms at pacify. residents who want no homes built at all. ``We're trying to be as good neighbors as we can be,'' Evenhaim said. ``It's just one of those things where you can never make everyone happy.'' Evenhaim and Councilman Dennis Zine, who supports the project, cited the endorsement of the advisory West Hills Neighborhood Council. In January, the neighborhood council gave its support on the condition that the land be zoned at a lower density - but opponents charge that the developer and city violated vi·o·late tr.v. vi·o·lat·ed, vi·o·lat·ing, vi·o·lates 1. To break or disregard (a law or promise, for example). 2. To assault (a person) sexually. 3. that condition by allowing higher densities. The neighborhood council did not review or take a position on the final version of the development, said Ed Youngblood, vice president of the advisory panel. The Hebrew Academy is scheduled to open Sept. 13 with about 200 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, said Principal Barbara Gereboff. Zine said there's a demand for both schools and homes in the Valley and that the West Hills project is compatible with its surroundings, unlike other developments that convert virgin land into homes and buildings. Zine said it's unrealistic for residents to expect residentially zoned land on the Valley floor to remain undeveloped forever. ``We're not going backwards,'' he said. ``What we're trying to do is developments that are compatible with the community.'' James Nash, (213) 978-0390 james.nash(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): map Map: New school and homes Gregg Miller/Staff Artist |
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