Letter to Mayor Villaraigosa to Keep DWP Out

Dear Marquez Charter Parents, Concerned Neighbors and Friends:

We have started the process of reaching out to Mayor Villaraigosa to urge him to tell DWP to take Marquez off the table from consideration as a potential power distribution site.  As evidenced by the positive responses we've received thus far from Councilman Rosendahl, LAUSD Superintendent Dr. John Deasy, LAUSD Board Member Steve Zimmer and many others, a forceful community opposition—in large numbers and with consistent voices—is the only way to keep DWP from putting its power station next to Marquez Charter Elementary. 

We, therefore, urge you to email the Mayor the sample letter of concern below or something else you draft on your own.  The Mayor's contact information is also listed below.  

INSTRUCTIONS:

(1) FORWARD the sample letter below in an email and cut and paste the email addresses listed below into the "TO" and "CC" lines of your email.  In the "SUBJECT" line write: No DWP Power Station Next to Marquez Elementary School

(2) Before SENDING, don't forget to delete this entire intro message from us to you!

(3) Please Note:  The first few words of the sample letter below need your editing—depending on whether you are a Marquez Charter parent and/or Palisades resident, etc. Please write your name and address at the bottom of the letter. 

LETTER TO MAYOR VILLARAIGOSA:

TO:  mayor@lacity.org, larry.frank@lacity.org, joseph.hari@lacity.org

CC:  councilman.rosendahl@lacity.org, Ron.Nichols@ladwp.com, steve.zimmer@lausd.net

SUBJECT:  NO PROPOSED DWP SITE NEXT TO MARQUEZ SCHOOL

Office of the Mayor

Los Angeles City Hall

200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

mayor@lacity.org

Re:       Proposed LADWP Electrical Distribution Station Next to Marquez Charter Elementary School in Pacific Palisades

Dear Mayor Villaraigosa:

I am a [resident of Pacific Palisades] [and a parent of [a] student[s] at Marquez Charter Elementary School in Pacific Palisades].  I write to inform you about the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s proposed electrical distribution station to be located at 16931 Marquez Avenue, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272, in the heart of a quiet residential enclave, right next to our local public elementary school, Marquez Elementary.

I strongly oppose, and am gravely concerned about, the DWP’s proposal.  It will seriously jeopardize the health and safety of the school’s students, teachers, staff, and community, as discussed below.  I ask that you please call upon DWP to eliminate the Marquez site from further consideration and immediately re-direct its focus to an alternative site.   

At a Town Hall meeting on February 29, 2012, DWP presented its plans to build a large electrical distribution station next to Marquez Elementary.  DWP has indicated the station will be 23 feet both above and below ground, and will have multiple structures spanning at least 1.5 acres.  The community has widely objected to DWP’s proposal and has submitted to DWP a petition, now with 500+ signatures, to oppose the proposed distribution station.  The Marquez Elementary community has also circulated its own petition opposing the DWP’s proposal, garnering hundreds of parent signatures and still counting.

My major concerns with the proposed distribution station include:

• Fire Hazards and Risks of Explosion – Fires and explosions at electrical distribution stations are common occurrences, rendering it a question of “when” and not “if.”  The Marquez site lies above a canyon of dry vegetation, and the entire area is located within a “red zone” fire area – the highest fire hazard zone risk category.   If an explosion occurs or a fire erupts at the Marquez site distribution station, it can easily set the canyon or the school ablaze.  On top of this, recent cut backs to the City Fire Department budget have further compromised our community’s fire protection services.  Under these circumstances, introducing new risks of electrical distribution station fires and explosions to a residential community within a red zone fire area, right next to an elementary school, is reckless.  

• Evacuation Route Problems – The Marquez site is located on a residential avenue where traffic conditions are already severely stressed, especially during Marquez Elementary’s drop-off and pick up times, when carpool and parked vehicles ensure a daily bottleneck.  The other surrounding narrow residential streets can support only limited ingress/egress for emergency vehicles and responders to any fire or other emergency occurring at the proposed distribution station.  Under these circumstances, any necessary evacuation of the surrounding area – including all of Marquez’s 600+ students, 100 staff members and numerous volunteers; the additional 200+ students and staff of the preschool and childcare facilities in the immediate vicinity; as well as nearby families (many with young children and elderly people) – would promise pandemonium. 

• Electromagnetic Fields (“EMFs”) – The health effects of prolonged and consistent exposure to EMFs have undergone continuous studies and debate in the medical and scientific community since the 1970s.  Even with conflicting reports about direct causation, epidemiological studies have shown a consistent connection between EMFs exposure and increased risks of childhood leukemia and asthma.  In the absence of any concrete proof that EMFs are unequivocally safe, DWP should not gamble with the health and safety of our public school children nor that of the community.  Our children should not be the guinea pigs in the study of the effects of EMFs.

• Construction Air Quality Impact and Health Risks – The multi-year construction of the distribution station would cause significant air quality impacts, including emissions from on-site construction equipment as well as particulate matter from dump trucks and concrete trucks traveling through the neighborhood.  Hundreds of Marquez students and staff as well as families with very young children and the elderly (some home-bound) would be subjected to these pollutants for many hours a day, five days a week, for at least 18-24 months.  The effects of these pollutants on children and the elderly, especially those with asthma and other respiratory conditions, could result in serious health problems.  Additionally, the hundreds of children and constant traffic of construction vehicles in close proximity to each another would create a serious safety risk.     

• Noise Impact During Construction & Operation – Noise from the proposed massive construction project lasting at least 18-24 months, and the operation of the station, would certainly compromise the learning environment of the hundreds of Marquez Elementary students as well as disrupt the neighborhood’s peace and quiet.

• Impact on Marquez Charter Community – Marquez Charter is one of two public elementary schools in Pacific Palisades.  It is a classified as a “Distinguished School” with an outstanding Academic Performance Index score of 936.  Marquez Charter could not have achieved this without the support of its committed parents.  During the 2010-2011 school year, the school’s parents raised $580,000 to support its curriculum, more than 70% of the school’s budget.  Many families move to the area in order to send their children to Marquez Charter, making it an important part of the local community.  In addition, approximately 20% of the students choose to come from other areas of Los Angeles to attend Marquez Charter.  If the electrical distribution station is built next to the school, parents will seek to transfer their children to another public school or send their children to private school.  This loss of students would undoubtedly cause a huge financial hit to the school and adversely impact its academic achievements. 

• Impact on Local Area Emergency and Public Safety Resources – For many local area families as well as other schools and daycare facilities down the road, Marquez Charter is the designated place of reunion and emergency assistance in the event of a natural disaster.  If the distribution station were itself to be at risk in the event of a natural disaster, this would render Marquez’s designation as an emergency reunion and assistance location impractical.

The above concerns are widely shared by other community members as well as many elected representatives and decision-makers.  Councilman Bill Rosendahl, LAUSD Superintendent Dr. John Deasy, Los Angeles School Board Members Steve Zimmer and Bennett Kayser as well as the LAUSD Office of Environmental Health & Safety have stated their unanimous opposition toDWP’s plan, and they all have publicly urged DWP General Manager Ron Nichols to eliminate the Marquez site from further consideration.  Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, City Controller Wendy Gruel and staff from Councilman Eric Garcetti’s office also have expressed agreement with the many health and safety concerns stated here, and have pledged their support in efforts to oppose DWP’s proposed electrical distribution station.

To date, despite the numerous calls from the community and elected representatives and decision-makers, DWP has refused to remove the Marquez site from consideration.  While DWP asserts that it is continuing to explore additional potential sites and alternate approaches, it has refused to provide any updates, even though the public has requested them repeatedly and DWP has promised transparency of process.

Thus, I now ask you, as our Mayor, to call upon DWP General Manager Ron Nichols to definitively remove the Marquez site from further consideration.  Time is of the essence.  DWP’s search for additional potential sites and alternate approaches can continue after the Marquez site is taken off the table.  The school’s high rankings and much needed funding are in jeopardy – families pondering a move to the area in order to send their children to Marquez Elementary are thinking twice before doing so.  Many current and prospective parents are already applying to other public schools and considering private school options, rather than risk their children’s health and safety.  Merely saying “DWP is looking for alternatives” is simply not sufficient at this point.

So that parents, teachers, and the principal can return focus to school programming, learning, and fundraising, and to stop the damage to the school that has already begun, I ask you to call upon DWP to take Marquez Charter Elementary off the table from consideration now.  

Sincerely,

Name:  _____________________________________

Address:  ___________________________________

• Geological Problems and Risk of Landslides – The area is known to be geologically unstable and has a history of landslides.  Construction of this scale 23 feet above and below ground and covering 1.5 acres will require serious alterations to the landscape, and may destabilize the geology of the area.  A resulting slope failure in a heavily populated residential area and a location next door to an elementary school is a risk not worth taking.