The DRRA's Land Use Committee recently sent the following letter to the LA City Planning Department:
Mr. Kenton Trinh
City of Los Angeles Planning Department
Re: ADM-2024-2795-DB-SIP-VHCA
12120 W. Wagner St., Del Rey 90230
Dear Mr. Trinh:
The Del Rey Residents Association has not yet taken a formal position on this proposed
project. However, we would like to go on the record as being strongly concerned about
one potential impact of further densification of this segment of Wagner Street.
Currently, there is a permanent wall just west of the Allies for Every Child (“Allies”)
property which splits Wagner St. between Inglewood Blvd. and Wagner’s terminus as a
cul-de-sac just west of Farias Avenue and Sanford Drive. The wall protects the
immediate community against some of the cut-through traffic that would otherwise
greatly magnify an existing problem for Sanford Dr. / Farias Ave. (See map at
118.4174832,339m/data=!3m1!1e3?authuser=0&entry=ttu.)
Many years ago, an applicant seeking to replace the then-industrial use of the 12120
Wagner site with a fairly dense condominium development caused the Los Angeles Fire
Department (LAFD) to suggest that the wall would have to come down to give fire
apparatus room to maneuver. The project was defeated, and the wall remained.
In the years since, the proliferation of GPS navigation tools and increasing traffic
volumes attributable to the Playa Vista development have caused the narrow Sanford
Drive, and Farias Ave., which bisect the Wagner St. cul-de-sac, to become an
increasingly popular cut-through route for commuters attempting to avoid traffic on
Centinela Avenue or Inglewood Boulevard. Addition of the Allies project and loss of the
wall undoubtedly would result in even more cut-through traffic on Wagner Street,
Sanford Drive and Farias Avenue. The streets are already too narrow to safely allow
opposing vehicles to pass each other when there are parked cars alongside.DocuSign Envelope ID: 4051DADB-373E-402A-9E9F-E4D9987A7EB0
Mr. Kenton Trinh
Re: ADM-2024-2795-DB-SIP-VHCA
June 4, 2024
Page 2
In addition, loss of the wall would likely increase the overall noise transmission into the
Sanford-Wagner neighborhood from neighboring properties and streets. Opening
Wagner Street as another route of ingress/egress could also increase the rate of
property or other crime in the neighborhood.
In any consideration of this application, we strongly request that approval be
conditioned on avoiding any modification or destruction of the dividing wall and on the
applicant obtaining written assurance from LAFD at the appropriate leadership level that
the wall can remain intact without impacting emergency response times.
Respectfully,
Elizabeth Campos Layne
President
Cc: Heather Carrigan, executive director
Matthew Halden, Del Rey deputy, C.D. 11