RESIDENTS UNITE TO PROTECT HOMEOWNERS & FIREMEN

Who: Residents of Sherman Oaks
When: Tuesday, September 17TH, 2013 - 6:30- 8:00PM
Where: Sherman Oaks/East Valley Adult Center
5060 Van Nuys Boulevard, Building A (Large Meeting Hall) Sherman Oaks, CA 91423

Residents are requesting consideration of an alternate location for Proposed Van Nuys Fire Station 39 that is safer for both community members and our extremely valued fire fighters.

The proposed site is within 50 feet of the bedrooms of private homes, and the large and ethnically diverse community includes an autistic child with severe auditory sensitivity, as well as other sensitive receptors. The community is also a pathway through which hundreds of students walk daily to and from school.

The fire station anticipates up to 50 calls per day, and experts have stated that the sound produced by the sirens will be equivalent to a steady noise level of 78 decibels, which far exceeds residential sound standards. In addition, the proposed station includes a 4,000 gallon above-ground diesel fuel tank, which, in addition to the emissions from the emergency vehicles, would increase diesel particulates in the air and pose a significant health risk.

The city provided inadequate notification of the proposed fire station to residents of the community, who were provided no opportunity for input.

The negative declaration, which was created four years after the property was purchased with the sole intention of building the fire station, was inadequately distributed for community response.

The negative declaration failed to mention the existence of an adjacent community or the potential negative environmental impacts on that community. It failed to mention any evidence of an environmental review of the land, or any cumulative environmental impacts from adjacent facilities (including auto body shops, auto body paint shops, chrome painting facilities, a DWP substation, a Chevron re-fueling plant, cement mixing companies, & stucco companies).

Residents are requesting consideration of an alternate location that will avoid the numerous negative environmental impacts on both this community and the future occupants of Fire Station 39.

“The safety and health of residents and our first responders are our greatest concern,” said resident Jeffrey Lynn

For further information:
Jeffrey Lynn : 818.370.3216
Beverly Simpson: 818.430.4683