Signal Tribune
Signal Hill Police Chief Christopher Nunley announces retirement
Your Weekly Community Newspaper
VOL. XLIII NO. 39
see page 3
Serving Bixby Knolls, California Heights, Los Cerritos, Wrigley and Signal Hill
WRIGLEY
Friday, September 24, 2021
DEVELOPMENT
Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune
Constructions signs were erected around the dirt areas for the proposed Wrigley Greenbelt Project seen on July 1, 2021. The completion date was listed as winter 2021 and has since been pushed back to spring 2022.
Permits issued, funding secured: Wrigely Greenbelt is back on track with estimated completion Signal Hill scales back Hertiage Square plans, but in spring 2022 neigbhors still object to traffic and housing density
City of Signal Hill
Current rendering of Heritage Square, a planned mixed-use retail and residential development at Cherry Avenue and E. Burnett Street in Signal Hill.
Emma DiMaggio
T
a M naging idE tor
he Wrigley Greenbelt—a project plagued by years of failed bids and, more recently, expired permits and expiring County funding—is moving forward after a flurry of permit approvals and grant extensions from Los Angeles County. The greenbelt faced an uncertain future earlier this year when work at the project site was halted when the City realized its flood control permit had “unknowingly” expired, Director of Public Works Eric Lopez said earlier this year. Rather than request a permit extension, L.A. County directed Public Works to resubmit its plans. Requirements changed since the permits were first issued and the department needed three permits to move forward. Earlier this week, Public Works received confirmation that the third and final permit was approved. It will be issued shortly, according to Public Works Community Relations Officer Joy Contreras. “We want to thank the community for their patience and understanding,” Contreras said, noting that the project
has been a positive learning lesson. Along with the permits, the City also requested an extension for $1.625 million in grants from L.A. County—a critical funding source for the project. The funding was set to expire in July of this year. The County approved an extension on the grants, which were first issued in 2008. The City has until May 31, 2022 to spend the funds and complete the greenbelt. “That was previously unexpected. We have been told in the past that they weren’t going to be able to extend it since they were originating from old programs from the last decade or so,” Project Manager Adrian Puyolt said. The City had already taken steps towards preparing the land, as well as filling a longstanding funding gap in the project through a collaboration with the Conservation Corps of Long Beach (CCLB). CCLB was able to leverage their own grants for the greenbelt—including $250,000 in Prop 68 funds, $50,000 in Active Transportation funding and an existing CalFire grant. “I think that was a really positive sign to L.A. County,” Puyolt said.
see WRIGLEY GREENBELT page 2
S
Anita W. Harris
eS nior Writer
Emma DiMaggio | Signal Hill
Signal Hill must create 517 housing units of varying affordability by 2029 via State housing requirements.
ignal Hill’s long-planned Heritage Square mixeduse retail and residential development—a joint project between the City and Signal Hill Petroleum—has undergone yet another revision and there may be more. The only development currently on that site at Cherry Avenue and E. Burnett Street is a Mother’s Market, which would remain as the surrounding oil field is developed into homes, restaurants and other businesses. In response to public input during a 2018 community meeting and an August public workshop, the City has twice reduced the project’s housing density, building height and commercial space. During a Tuesday, Sept. 21 Planning Commission public workshop, Community Development Director Colleen Doan shared the new scaledback conceptual plans to solicit input, not only on Heritage Square, but three other planned new-housing sites. Most
public comment, however, focused on Heritage Square. The City first revised Heritage Square development plans following a Planning Commission community meeting in December 2018 when nearly 50 residents objected to the scale and density of the project—which originally included 199 apartments and a six-story parking structure. Residents also expressed concerns about traffic, parking and safety because of “transient” renters. The City reduced the plan’s housing units from 199 units to 72 mostly townhouse-style homes with no rental units. It further reduced that number to 60 units—54 townhomes and 6 single-family homes designed for above-moderate income earners—after more resident feedback during an August public workshop. John Moreland, developer KTGY’s director of planning, said the townhome plans include two to four bedrooms in 1,200 to 2,100 square feet, with two-car garages. Each unit may also have its own private roof deck. see HERITAGE SQUARE page 3