Tuesday, September 1, 2015
"Chapman U" continued from page 1
a Chapman request for a haul- ing permit to move 76,000 cubic yards of dirt. The item appeared on the council’s Aug. 11 consent calendar, which contains com- monplace administrative tasks that typically require no discus- sion and are summarily approved in one vote. Alvarez pulled the Chapman University request from the consent calendar be- cause he had questions about pe- destrian safety, truck traffic vol-
ume and hours of operation. “It seems like Chapman is not
reaching out to neighbors being impacted by students, traffic and construction. At least not the way I’d like. I want Chapman to see there’s one councilman, who for the first time, can’t really sup- port what they’re doing.” Alva- rez may well have been the first crack in Orange’s penchant to approve almost every expansion request made by the university. As part of its construction plans
for a new science and technology center, the university will exca- vate an area 140 ft. wide, 560 ft.
Foothills Sentry
long and 26 ft. deep to accommo- date a two-story parking garage nested below the new buildings. Plans for that construction have already been approved, but mov- ing more than 30,000 cubic yards of dirt requires the city council to approve a separate hauling permit.
No slam dunk Alvarez pointed out that 40 to
60 trucks going back and forth all day long might present a safety issue for residents, noting that a pedestrian had recently been killed at a blinking yellow light
nearby. He also pointed out that the hours specified for hauling, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., overlapped the hours when school let out. The new underground parking structure will adjoin the existing Lastinger parking facility located below the sports complex. Earli- er in that council meeting, sever- al residents reported that vehicles exiting that parking structure of- ten used Orange Street. Orange Street is residential, and neigh- bors say speeding traffic coming from the lot creates problems for the neighborhood. Alvarez ques- tioned the wisdom of enlarging
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a parking structure that was al- ready a source of neighborhood complaints. His reluctance to rubber stamp
the hauling permit, Alvarez said later, was an attempt to get the university’s attention. For sever- al months, community members have appeared at council meet- ings to decry the negative impact Chapman students have wrought on their formerly quiet streets. He wanted Chapman officials to know they needed to slow down. The council voted 4 to 0 to approve the permit; Alvarez ab- stained.
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