The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 106, No. 25 - June 22, 2017 Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................16 Classifieds............................4 Community Briefs...............3 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Entertainment......................7 Legals............................ 14,15 Pets......................................17 Politically Speaking............6 Real Estate........ 10-13,18-20 Sports.................................5,8 Weekend Forecast Friday Partly Cloudy 68˚/62˚ Saturday Sunny 71˚/63˚ Sunday Sunny 76˚/64˚ El Segundo Mayor Celebrates Historic Gift to Torrance Memorial El Segundo Mayor Suzanne Fuentes, second from left, celebrates the recent announcement of a $32 million gift to Torrance Memorial from Melanie and Richard Lundquist of El Segundo-based Continental Development Corporation. Mayor Fuentes and the Lundquists are pictured with Craig Leach, President/CEO of Torrance Memorial Medical Center; Cardiologist Mark Lurie, MD, Torrance Memorial Lundquist Lurie Cardiovascular Institute; Barbara Lurie; and Sally Eberhard, Senior Vice President, Torrance Memorial Medical Center. Photo Provided by Torrance Memorial Medical Center. • Mayor Concerned About Impacts of Accessory Dwelling Units By Brian Simon Tuesday night’s El Segundo City Council meeting saw the first reading of a new ordinance the majority of the group favored regarding accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on residential New Police Chief Bill Whalen Ready to Hit the Ground Running By Brian Simon Culminating a six-month nationwide search, El Segundo has a new police chief with last week’s selection of Bill Whalen for the position. The 48-year-old will take the reins of the El Segundo Police Department starting on July 3, replacing long-time Chief Mitch Tavera who has retired. A native of Portsmouth, New Hampshire who grew up in Maryland, Whalen moved with his family to Orange County at the age of 13 when his father took a job in defense contracting. He has remained in Southern California ever since. After high school in Placentia, Whalen served in the Army National Guard for a spell and went to work at K-Mart in loss prevention—keeping an eye on potential thieves at the store. But he hadn’t considered becoming a cop. “I fell into it,” he said of his future career. “I met some reserve police officers at K-Mart and found out you could do this part-time, so I went to the police academy and became a reserve officer for the City of Garden Grove.” That was in 1989. In the meantime, Whalen’s goal at the time was to parlay his business management studies at Phoenix University and transition into a banking career with a focus on residential loans. He landed a position at a small bank, but soon learned the branch was to be bought out by Wells Fargo and he would need to look for other employment. “My sergeant See Police Chief, page 3 properties. New state law at a minimum requires cities to allow ADUs on any lot in the single-family R-1 zone if within the space of an existing structure, with a maximum size of 1,200 square feet or 49 percent of the house. It also entails that local agencies (i.e. cities) can no longer enforce parking requirements. Once meeting the above criteria, the Council does have say on what else to allow or prohibit. The item previously came before the Planning Commission--which additionally recommended prohibiting converting garages, but to allow ADUs of up to 800 square feet to be connected to detached garages. The members also thought owners should live in the main house or ADU. The Council directed staff to return on Tuesday with an amended ordinance to also allow stand-alone ADU structures of up to 1,200 square feet on a property. This did not sit well with Mayor Suzanne Fuentes, who again voiced her concerns during the latest meeting. “This will change the characteristic of our neighborhoods,” she said, pointing to potential impacts on parking, public safety, public works and infrastructure. Fuentes indicated that she pulled the minutes from a 2005 Council meeting when “15 to 20 people” spoke about the ADU issue long before it was a state law--and the City ultimately spent $750,000 to “clean it up.” While understanding the Council is now powerless to ban ADUs and realizing that most property owners have good intent in wishing to provide living quarters for family members, the Mayor warned that residents don’t realize the adverse effects of “light, wind, breezes and noise” from the construction of future ADUs. She reiterated her preference to keep ADUs attached to or above garages and to cap the size at 800 square feet. The item will come before the full Council for final adoption on July 5 (note: Carol Pirsztuk was absent from Tuesday’s meeting). In the See City Council, page 15
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