7-ELEVEN PERMIT DENIED
7-Eleven Special Use Permit No. 2019-010 (SP-2019-010) was denied by the planning commission.
7-Eleven has decided not to appeal this decision. This a victory for the neighbors of La Brea & 64th. Stay tuned for information on future development of this corner.
ABOUT
The neighbors of La Brea and 64th have come together to champion the responsible development of The La Brea Corridor - a vibrant residential community at the gateway to Inglewood.
7-Eleven is seeking a special use permit to build a gas station and convenience store that sells beer and wine in a residential neighborhood of Inglewood District 2, an area already oversaturated with gas stations and liquor stores.
This special use request should not be allowed for the reasons outlined below in our letter of opposition. Please make your voice heard by calling or writing to a city councilman as they will ultimately vote on this deciscion. Let's make our home a place we are proud of - a place where developments work hand-in-hand with the community, and don't take advantage of its residents while cashing in on traffic passing through on the way to the new stadiums.
SUMMARY OF CONCERNS
CRIME
7-Eleven has an alarming nationwide trend of not being safe, and the company has no way to address the upsurge in violence at their stores.
3 police municipalities surround the property, which has resulted in jurisdiction confusion and poor police response time. A 24hr 7-Eleven will be dangerous in this location.
OVERSATURATION
There is an abundance of liquor stores, convenience stores, and gas stations in the immediate area surrounding the proposed development. The proposed 7-Eleven has the potential to put Alliance Gas and Nelson’s Liquor out of business.
The planning commission should require a Public Convenience or Necessity Finding (PCN) before allowing another gas station and liquor store.
ENVIRONMENT
The Categorical Exemption (EA-CA-2019-100) prepared was not done in accordance with CEQA guidelines.
Because of high traffic volume and refueling, convenience store-gas stations pose an unusually severe threat to the environment and surrounding residents. In addition, the property in question lies within the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Map.
TRAFFIC
This area is already suffering from increased congestion on a residential, single family street.
A comprehensive traffic study should be completed and shared prior to considering this special use request.
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Letter of Objection
Letter of Objection and Community Petition to Oppose 7-11 on 64th and LaBrea
November 26th, 2019
To: Inglewood Planning Department, Inglewood Planning Commission, and Inglewood City Council
On November 25th, Veronica Ulloa and I spoke to councilman Alex Padilla via telephone. Mr. Padilla informed us that the December 4th public hearing for special use permit number SP-2019-010 will be postponed until early 2020. This special use request concerns the proposed 7-Eleven gas station and 24hr convenience store at LaBrea and 64th street.
Prior to the rescheduled hearing, we want the planning commission and city council to be aware of our opposition to this special use permit request and the main reasons why we oppose it. Please enter this into the record.
Background
SP-2019-010 is requesting two allowances as required by Chapter 12, Articles 7, 21, and 25 of the Inglewood Municipal Code. A representative of 7-Eleven is requesting approval to allow:
1) an automobile service station and
2) the sale of beer and wine for off-site consumption from a proposed convenience market on an approximately 23,100 square-foot, c-2 (General Commercial) zoned property.
A notice of exemption (EA-CA-2019-100) has been prepared by staff, stating that the proposed project is exempt from further environmental review. This exemption, signed by Senior Planner Eddy Ikemefuna, claims to have been prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Section No 15300, and the Inglewood Municipal Code.
The exempt status stated in this notice is, “Categorical Exemption: Class 1: New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures - Section 15303(c)”
The “Reason for Exemption” is “CEQA exempts new construction of commercial buildings not exceeding 10,000 square feet of floor area on sites zoned for such use.”
Reasons To Deny Request
We believe the planning commission should 1) deny Categorical Exemption EA-CA-2019-100 and 2) deny the resolution approving SP-2019-010 for the following reasons:
Reason 1: Categorical Exemption (EA-CA-2019-100) was not prepared in accordance with CEQA guidelines.
An exempt status cannot be both “Class 1” and “Section 15303(c).” These are two different exemptions, making it unclear which exemption SP-2019-010 is claiming.
The notice of exemption calls this a “Class 1” exemption. Class 1 (15301) applies to “existing facilities,” not “new construction or conversion of small structures.” The proposal is not to renovate an existing facility, so this exemption should not apply.
The notice of exemption also references “Section 15303. New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures.” This class 3 exemption consists of construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures; installation of small new equipment and facilities in small structures; and the conversion of existing small structures from one use to another where only minor modifications are made in the exterior of the structure. A new gas station where one does not currently exist should not be considered “small facilities” or “small new equipment” or “minor modifications.”
Categorical Exemption 15303 also states the structure should not involve the use of significant amounts of hazardous substances. We believe that (approximately) 24,000 gallons of gasoline stored underground and over an Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zone should qualify as significant hazardous substances.
The notice of exemption ignores “CEQA Section 15300.2. Exceptions.” In particular 15300.2(a), 15300.2(b), and 15300.2(c).
○ 15300.2(a) - Location - states that a project ordinarily insignificant in its impact on the environment may in a particularly sensitive environment be significant. In this case, the property in question lies within the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Map.
○ 15300.2(b) - Cumulative Impact - states that all exemptions are inapplicable when the cumulative impact of successive projects of the same type in the same place, over time is significant. In this case, there are (8) automobile service stations within .6 miles of this location, including Alliance Gas across the street.
○ 15300.2(c) - Significant Effect - states a categorical exemption shall not be used for an activity where there is a reasonable possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances. In this case, SP-2019-010 could have a significant effect on air quality and ambient noise, as well as other unforeseen effects of installing gasoline tanks on a property that lies within the Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Map.
Reason 2: A Public Convenience or Necessity (PCN) finding should be required to approve the sale of beer and wine for off-site consumption.
According to Section 12-95.5 of the Inglewood Municipal Code, there shall be no dispensing or sale of gasoline or other motor fuels from the premises on which liquor sales are permitted.
Although there is only one active off-sale license in the Census Tract, there is a gross oversaturation of off-sale beer and wine within one mile, including Nelson’s Liquorland across the street. Some local liquor off-sale stores:
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Nelson’s Liquorland (.01 miles away)
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7-Eleven at Centinela & Eucalyptus (.05 miles away)
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Ralph's at La Brea & Centinela (.05 miles away)
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Liqourette (.06 miles away)
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Hyde Park Jr Liquor (.08 miles away)
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CVS (Slauson & Overhill) (.08 miles away)
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7-Eleven at Slauson & Angeles Vista (.09 miles away)
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7-Eleven at La Brea & Beach (.09 miles away)
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Windsor Hills Wine and Spirits (.09 miles away)
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Ralph's at Ladera Center (1 mile away)
Alliance Gas, located next door (within Census Tract 6009.11), applied for a beer and wine license but was denied.
Granting approval to sell beer and wine between 6am and 2am will cause the liquor store across the street (Nelson’s Liquorland) to extend their hours in order to compete, putting undue pressure on law enforcement after midnight.
Reason 3: Security not sufficient.
There is a historically poor police response time in the proposed area; (3) police municipalities surrounding the property has resulted in jurisdiction confusion. The security cameras outlined in the special use permit request will not be satisfactory and 7-Eleven should not be allowed to operate a 24 hour convenience store in this area without a security guard during the night shift.
Reason 4: A comprehensive traffic study should be completed and shared prior to approval.
As a rough rule of thumb, each proposed pump at a gas station generates about 100 to 130 trips per day. The convenience store will generate 800 to 1,200 trips per day per 1,000 square feet.
This area is already suffering from increased congestion on a residential, single family street. Cars, including trucks, detouring through this neighborhood to reach the gas station will only make things worse. There are already issues with cars being clipped in and around the current gas station and alleyways.
In Summary
We believe the disclosed findings should compel the planning commission to deny the special use permit request (SP-2019-010). Our views represent those of hundreds living within this area of Inglewood District 2. Many of those citizens have signed a petition that summarizes the concerns laid out within this letter. That petition can be seen at this website: https://bit.ly/37xfgfG
Contact
If you would like to discuss any of the items in this email, please contact Joseph Saroufim or Veronica Ulloa via email at labrea64th@gmail.com.
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