AV2006-00003 City of Hawthorne
Case Description / Summary
The proposed project is the redevelopment of approximately 24 acres of property located east of the Hawthorne Municipal Airport in the City of Hawthorne with 176 single-family condominiums and a 130,704 square foot retail building. The proposed development would replace a vacant 375,000 square foot, former Northrop Grumman electronics research and development building. The project would be implemented through a specific plan, the proposed Central Park Specific Plan, which will establish the permitted uses and development standards for the site. The new community is to be called “Central Park”.
Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) review of this project is necessary because a portion of the project site is located within the Runway Protection Zone (RPZ) established for Runway 25 of Hawthorne Municipal Airport. The RPZ makes up part of the airport planning boundary that also consists of the combination of the 65 dB Community Noise Equivalent Level (CNEL) noise contour and the airport property boundary. To assist the City of Hawthorne in its approval process, the ALUC must determine whether the proposed land use changes by the City of Hawthorne are consistent with the adopted Los Angeles County Airport Land Use Plan (also known as the CLUP). The City of Hawthorne proposes a general plan amendment, a zone change and other discretionary actions to provide the entitlements for the Central Park project. Only a portion of the 24-acre project site is within the ALUC review authority, the portion of the site located within the RPZ. Issues associated with development in RPZs relate to safety, both for aircraft and people on the ground. The ALUC review of this project is therefore primarily focused on the safety aspects of the retail component of the project and it’s consistentency with the Los Angeles County Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP).