Save Our Neighborhood Torrance sontorr.com

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The purpose of this fund raising effort is to help raise money to oppose the approval of the 248-unit Butcher Hill apartment complex being proposed for the southwest corner of Via Valmonte and Hawthorne Boulevard in south Torrance. The City of Torrance is presently considering approval of this high density apartment complex.

Why Oppose This Project?
First and foremost, this project will transform the neighborhood we know and love from a quiet residential haven to an urban thoroughfare crawling with cars. As we all know, traffic on Hawthorne Boulevard has been increasing steadily over the years and is congested at the best of times; gridlocked at the worst.

Dramatically Increased Traffic
This development is estimated to add an additional 500+ cars and more than 1,500 trips daily. Because of this increased traffic, drivers will look for less congested traffic routes resulting in increased traffic on side streets such as Newton Street, Mesa Street, Via Valmonte, Paseo De Las Tortugas, Vista Montana, etc. These streets will become cut-through streets that will transform our quiet residential streets to much busier urban-like thoroughfares.

The effects of this massive increase in traffic will have many other far-reaching effects as well. Safety will become an issue for children playing in their front yards and neighborhood street areas. Residents of the surrounding community will experience longer commute and trip times, and there will undoubtedly be increased accidents and injuries.

This Area is not Zoned for High Density Housing and Will Drive Home Values Down
Since The Butcher Hill Project is a high density apartment complex, it is not compatible with the surrounding area of residential homes and is not in compliance with the Torrance General Plan, as it changes the zoning from agricultural to high density apartment zoning, with the impact being that this zoning change will potentially lower the home values in the surrounding neighborhoods. As we are all aware, home values are affected by the increased traffic, decreased air quality, increased noise, dust and pollutants that come with higher density housing.

Serious Health Hazards
The Butcher Hill development will also cause increased air pollution and envirnomental hazards. Reports and sampling data show historic contamination of this site. Soils and debris contain benzene, toluene and other cancer-causing dumping wastes. During construction and after, the site is expected to be a source of these cancer-causing chemicals.
Additionally, it should be noted that excavation of this site at the base of Butcher Hill is not only situated directly on the Palos Verdes fault-line, it is the site of a former diatomaceous mine, which has been also used as a dump for tons of unknown “dirt.” Diatomaceous particles are minuscule (down to 10 microns) and when inhaled, these particles are known to cause silicosis (a cancer similar to mesothelioma). Since these particles cannot settle like most dust, they will rain an invisible cloud of cancer-causing particles over the community for the years of construction and beyond. No matter what preventative measures are put into place by the developers, they will not be able to completely control the potential affects of these cancer-causing wastes.

Why is funding needed to oppose The Butcher Hill Project?
The Butcher Hill Project is well funded by developers. The opposition to the project is spearheaded by Josey Vanderpas. She was the first to recognize the potential fallout and went from a lone voice in the wilderness to the force that has raised awareness, which is now gaining momentum. However, it is very expensive to raise awareness and galvanize opposition to a well-funded project by a developer with deep pockets.

Very importantly, funds are needed for traffic surveys as well as legal and soil contamination opinions to combat those offered up by the developer. In addition, the detrimental aspects of the project must be conveyed to the surrounding neighborhoods via a comprehensive awareness campaign involving a number of communication tools such as signs, flyers, mailings, postage, web sites and social media, all of which carry costs.

Josey Vanderpas is an incredibly hard worker and has worked tirelessly to get us where we are now. However, she and the group of concerned citizens helping her cannot financially compete against the deep-pockets of the Butcher Hill Project developer without matching funding. Accordingly, we are asking you to dig deep into your pockets to help stop the approval of this high-density complex in your neighborhood. Your contribution is essential. Any amount is greatly appreciated. Please check our Web Page

sontorr.com

Save Our Neighborhood - Torrance