“Citrange” 

The Need for New Single-Family Homes

Whittier is a prime location for households looking to buy a new moderately-priced home.  Whittier offers proximity to employment, an established full-service municipality, and a central location within the desirable Southern California market.  Los Angeles County lacks the supply to meet the projected housing demand, and SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments) allocates regional growth share of about 500 new households to Whittier in the next ten years.   Whittier’s housing element identifies a 57% homeownership rate among Whittier households; two-thirds of the existing housing stock is single-family detached.  The proposed project fits this profile and will augment the most common housing type in the City.  The Housing Element also identifies an aging stock, with two-thirds of the housing constructed prior to 1960.  Only 3% of the housing stock is newer than 1990.

Advantages of Infill Development

The reuse of existing development sites, (”Infill Development”), has many advantages over traditional greenfield development.  Placing homes in town near existing jobs reduces commute mileage, makes efficient use of existing infrastructure, City services and utilities; and allows for modern, energy efficient structures to replace older, outdated, and inefficient buildings.  All homes will be constructed with solar photovoltaic systems standard and will incorporate the latest energy efficiency technology as required by the California Energy Commission.  Deficient drainage conditions will also be corrected, and any existing environmental hazards (lead, asbestos) will be carefully removed from the neighborhood during construction.

Brandywine’s Commitment to the Neighborhood

The City of Whittier will collect approximately $420,000 in impact fees from this project, which will be used to enhance capital facilities related to municipal services.  Additionally, Brandywine will provide in-kind improvements to the Floral Drive street frontage, including new sidewalk, landscaping, street-lighting, and removal of overhead utility lines.  Brandywine has extensive experience working within existing neighborhoods and knows how to minimize construction impacts that commonly occur.   The site plan has been carefully designed to reduce privacy concerns with adjacent R-2 zoned homes located on Orange Avenue through the use of privacy windows facing the perimeter. 

Partnership with Trinity Lutheran Church

The future of Trinity Lutheran Church in Whittier is greatly enhanced by this project.   The partnership will provide for:

• removal of the deteriorating school and administration buildings.
• a solution to the ongoing maintenance, crime, and vagrancy
• enhanced safety through fencing, lighting, and modern home security technology.  

Trinity’s long history of serving the Whittier community can be expected to continue with the same worship, community and civic functions operating on a smaller footprint in its historic location.

Preserving Trinity Lutheran Church's Long & Rich History in Whittier

History

Trinity Lutheran Church has had a constant presence in Whittier for over 112 years, beginning in a small home in East Whittier in 1908. Trinity Lutheran formally organized with five families comprising charter membership on January 24, 1909. Over the next half-century, the congregation established deep roots in Whittier, relocating and constructing their school facilities on Floral Drive in 1950; and the eventual relocation of their congregation with the construction of a Parish Hall in 1958 and a large sanctuary in 1964. The Fireside Room fronting on Floral Drive was added in 1983.

The Development of Access Land and Renovation & Expansion of the Existing Sanctuary Will Allow Trinity to Revitalize in Order to Continue Fulfill Its Mission Statement

“Trinity Lutheran Church of Whittier, guided by the Great Commission of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20), is committed to preach and teach the Word of God and administer the Sacraments for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we nurture and equip God’s people to be the light of Christ in our communities and world.”

Trinity Lutheran Church is a “Christ-centered place of refuge for broken sinners to taste and see that the Lord is good!”

Parking Improvements

Minor Traffic Impact

Noise

On-street parking was identified by City staff as a potential impact to evaluate.   Current utilization of weekday on-street parking on Floral Drive peaks at 74% along the north side of the street during the AM school rush hour.  Parking along the south side of Floral peaks at 70% at 11.00am.   Parking in the Trinity lot peaks at 15% capacity during mid-day.  On Sundays, on-street parking peaks at 68% near mid-night along the north side of Floral, while the church lot peaks at 79% capacity during mid-morning services.   Both the church and residential project are providing the required number of parking space (64 residential, 48 church) to meet City code.  It is not anticipated that parking from the proposed project will impact the on-street parking capacity given the orientation of the residential project away from Floral Drive and the ability for residential spill-over parking (if required) to utilize the church lot as temporary overflow.

The project is projected to generate 19 trips during the AM peak hour and 26 trips during the PM Peak hour.  Compared to the current R-1 zoning, the volumes increase by 8 trips during AM peak and by 11 trips during PM peak.  It is important to note that prior to the Trinity School closure, trips to ahd from this location were significantly higher during the peak hour relative to the proposed single-family residential use.  The traffic study found that current traffic conditions near the project are functioning at acceptable service levels, although Beverly/Floral is approaching capacity (81.3%) during the AM peak only.  With the addition of trips from the proposed project, the Beverly/Floral capacity increases to 82.0% during AM peak. All other intersections remain unchanged in terms of level of service with the proposed project.

Infill development involves construction in close proximity to existing residents and businesses. We are familiar with building in close quarters and do our best to minimize impacts. Environmental review of the potential noise impacts during construction identified no significant impacts for ground-borne vibration/noise. Temporary noise impacts during construction are to be mitigated by use of a construction management plan, construction of a 6’ high block wall at the perimeter, and a prohibition on pile driving. Design features include the following measures: working only within approved construction hours; building construction to provide 45dBA sound attenuation for new residents, and use of specified windows, sealing techniques, and mechanical ventilation where required.

Air Quality & Vehicle Miles Traveled

Street Lighting & Overhead Utilities

Stormwater & Wet Utilities

Environmental analysis identified sensitive receptors near the project as adjacent residences and portions of Dexter Middle School within 25 meters of the project site boundary. To ensure mitigation of potential impacts, the project must comply with SCAQMD rules requiring construction best practices to mitigate airborne dust, erosion, exhaust, and VOC’s.  Regarding emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG), the project is required to comply with the City of Whittier’s Air Quality Element, which implements many of the same standards in the SCAQMD rules.  There are no significant long-term impacts related to GHG.

The project is located across from the southern terminus of Westmont Drive.  A single outdated streetlight is located at the intersection.  As part of the project improvements, the overhead streetlight wiring will be placed underground, and three new, modern LED streetlights will be installed along the Floral Drive frontage.  The new lights will provide enhanced illumination at the intersection and greatly improve nighttime safety of pedestrians and vehicles traveling on Floral Drive.  Overhead telecom facilities along Floral Drive will also be placed underground during construction.  Overhead electric facilities at the southwest corner of the project near Orange Avenue will be reconfigured to avoid conflicts with new construction.

Urban runoff from the project will be detained on site and filtered prior to discharge into the public storm drain system to comply with the Regional Water Board’s MS4 stormwater permit.  Stormwater flows will outfall into Canobie Avenue at Dexter Middle School and will be maintained at historic discharge rates.  Sewer capacity has been evaluated by the City and will be conveyed through a private sanitary sewer system to Floral Drive.  Upgrades downstream in Palm Avenue are scheduled for 2023 as part of the City’s capital improvement program and will provide capacity to adequately handle sewer flow from the project.  Whittier Public Works will supply domestic and fire water to the project and capacity has been determined to be adequate.