I doubt highly that their appeal will be successful and I hope to speak against it at an upcoming meeting.
The group was adamant that no on-campus housing be built at the site on Palos Verdes Drive East and I was with them on that issue.
But it seems they want to appeal the Grading Permit to try and keep the big gym and large field from being built, along with other grading issues.
The group may still be holding out for their intentions of having more off-campus housing built at the college's Palos Verdes North site.
It was probably unwise to place a Junior College up on The Hill in the first place.
It made matters worse when we recently learned that a 19-year old Marymount student lost his live while driving along Palos Verdes Drive East, just below the campus, with a blood alcohol level of between .17 and .21. The legal limit in California is .08.
However, the college is where it is and kids still drink and drive.
I feel that the appeal by CCC/ME demonstrates that some in our city really do not with to work with the college and are instead trying to have it closed down.
While I agree that no on-campus housing should ever come to that site, I think there are many ways to improve the facilities and having a large gymnasium and field, along with the rest of the currently approved plans.
Are you ready for what comes next? Let's assume the Marymount wins this round, increases the size of the campus by 50% - 75% and has a real 18hr - 7 day a week operation. If I were a Marymount official, I could fashion a good argument after spending all of that construction money that the City of RPV would be unfairly denying the Marymount its rights if it did not then allow it to build dorms.
ReplyDeleteIf you are willing to spend enough money, you can buy government approval. Look no farther than our State Capitol.
Why not accept that the school is misplaced as a residential campus and build facilities for the students where they live off PV North. Marymount previously owned the property that is now a form of residential campus for the Salvation Army College off Hawthorne. That campus is all by itself and has an efficient main artery road serving it. By moving into a tight single family home residential community on PV East, Marymount needs to figure out how to live with it's decision, not force the residents into submission.