Troubling Element Number Seven
Harvard Westlake’s Application for Their Sports Campus
This is the seventh in our ongoing weekly series of News & Notes that explores key parts of the Harvard Westlake Sports Campus Application at the Weddington Golf & Tennis location.
Gym / Spectators
A new 80,249 sq. ft. gymnasium complex, to be used for a “variety of sports programs including special events” will also include 2 basketball courts, 1,026 bleacher seats, ‘flex-meeting’ room spaces, locker rooms, sports conditioning and training rooms, concession space, and an athletic merchandise store. HW campus already has two gyms on the main upper campus with one, the Taper Gym, which was recently renovated as recently as 2016, even having a dry-cleaning facility.
Adding up the spectators, athletes, coaches, students, and staff, you could have as many as 2,500 people at the Sports Campus during peak times. Actual numbers could vary greatly, we just do not know by how much since the Environmental Assessment Form, under the Occupancy Limits section, shows a lack of specificity with responses ranging from either ‘To Be Determined’, ‘N/A’, or just blank! Conceivably, during peak usage, there could be as many as 500 cars exiting the underground parking garage onto Whitsett.
This gymnasium complex on Whitsett (HW’s terminology), along with all the other athletic amenities slated to be included on this property, does not support their claim that ‘‘the project will enhance” or be “beneficial to the community”.
* The above is based on the initial Application filed with the Department of City Planning by Harvard Westlake. We will keep you updated as the process moves forward.
We welcome your comments and encourage you to do what you can. Forward this email to your friends and neighbors. Should you have any questions, please email us at SaveOpenSpace2020@gmail.com and we will respond to you.
If you have missed any of these weekly emails, you can find our series of emails on our website, www.StudioCityResidents.org.
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Volunteers Welcomed!
The Harvard Westlake Sports Campus has the potential of disrupting the residential area around it and impacting already notorious traffic patterns. Save LA River and the Studio City Residents Association are seeking the best result possible and, we are looking for volunteers for specific areas:
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- Use your contact list to notify your neighbors
- Help put out lawn signs / distribute flyers
- Create graphics for flyers
- Expertise in technology
- AND any other talent that you can bring to the table
For information and updates visit www.savelariveropenspace.org
Next week: Pool