Attention Westsiders - RE: Sullivan Canyon (Threads Merged)

Good point. I've been involved with cases where the Gas Co. was named as a party. They have a very big team of lawyers working for them. I would be VERY surprised if they did not follow every aspect of the law.

(1) Yes, although I don't know if the "access road" ever extended all the way up to Sully Ridge or Mulholland.

(2) I also do not put much stock into the criticism that the public was not given prior notice unless there is legal support that either The Gas Co. or the city/county had a legal duty to do so.

 

This is sick sh*t!!

For years the Gas Co. would go in and widen the ST. Basically a service road to repair the pipes that became exposed during previous winter storms.
Last time they rerouted the creek so the water would flow in the creek away from the pipes.
A few years ago,we had a huge storm year and the creek reroute was a failure as the pipes became exposed and the canyon was completely flooded.
I figure they are tired of spending money every 5 or 6 years to do only temporary fixes!
In the past, they have spared many of the old trees so this part is really disturbing!
They need to do what they need to do but leave the trees.

 

Sully used to be all fireroad with some paved sections all the way to Dirt Mullholland. Also, there used to be access roads that ran up onto some parts of the ridge line as there are gas lines up there as well.

I have not ridden Sully in a few years so it may look A LOT different now but the last time I road it you could still see parts of the road even when riding the "single track".

 

This is my after work ride, as I work on the West Side. What a royal bummer. I really love this ride. I'm gonna hit the bottle over this one. I can see why the gas company needs to do what they feel they need to do. I just wish there was another way. I'll contact the relevant parties, but I don't have much hope. Damn it! I have the 31st off. I am going to hit the trail as many times as I can that day. What a cruel world.

 

YIKES!!! I had no idea this is in the works to start so soon. Sep 1 is right around the corner. Sully's in good form right now too, bummer. Here's one of the exposed pipes:

Sending out some emails now...

 

We're suppose to get El Nino rains again this winter as well ie 2005. So if they're not done before we get a big rainfall, it could get messy.

 

Seriously depressing. I've been riding the canyon since I was a kid. 12 years later I still hit it up weekly. Pretty sad.

 

Hopefully the gas company starts their 5 year long project slowly with surveys and without closing the canyon.

 

Send letters and email!!!

Please ask the Gas Company and your public officials to suspend the project and meaningfully consult with the community BEFORE they start work. Once they start work, the trees will be gone and it will be too late.

Here is the contact information:

Councilman Bill Rosendahl
1645 Corinth Avenue
Room 201
West L.A., CA 90025
(310) 575-8461
Fax: (310) 575-8305
[email protected]
[email protected]

California Department of Fish & Game
Jamie Jackson, Staff Environmental Scientist
Streambed Alteration Team
4949 Viewridge Ave.
San Diego, CA 92123
(626) 296-3430
[email protected]

California Regional Water Quality Control Board
Valerie Carrillo
320 W. 4th Street, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA
(213) 576-6600
Fax: (213) 576-6640
[email protected]

Southern California Gas Company
Deanna Haines
Sharon O'Rourke
9400 Oakdale Avenue, SC9314
Chatsworth, CA 91311-6511
(310) 578-2669
So'[email protected]

OTHER IMPORTANT PUBLIC OFFICALS TO CONTACT:

Assemblyman Mike Feuer
9200 Sunset Boulevard, PH 15
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tel: (310) 285-5490
Fax: (310) 285-5499
[email protected] Senator Fran Pavley
2716 Ocean Park Blvd.
Suite 3088
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-5214
Fax: (310) 314-5263

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
821 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 974-3333
(213) 625-7360 fax
[email protected]

 

Sullivan Canyon Alert!

From the Corba Website:http://www.corbamtb.com/issues/Issue...vanCanyonAlert

Sullivan Canyon Alert!

August 22, 2009 Resources

From Michael R. Leslie, Director, Brentwood Hills Homeowners Association

Many of us in the community who hike, ride horses, and bike in Sullivan Canyon in Brentwood know that this canyon is a unique natural resource, with its huge oak and sycamore trees, pretty stream and wildlife. Because of its beauty, shady paths and easy access, Sullivan Canyon gets regular and constant use by kids, adults and senior citizens from all over West Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, and beyond.

Yet, without any meaningful CEQA review or public notice to the community, the Southern California Gas Company plans a major five year long pipeline project starting September 1, 2009. This project will have the following irreversible environmental impacts:

Cut, prune and otherwise impact 185 protected trees, including the removal of 31 sycamore trees "up to 50 inches in diameter and 95 feet in height";
Grade a 12 foot wide road with wider turn-outs all the way up Sullivan Canyon from Queensferry to Mulholland;
Import 3100 cubic yards of fill and use 2100 cubic yards of in-situ cut material for the road bed;
Use articulated concrete mats and ungrouted rip-rap on 22 pipeline exposures and "backfill" 15 eroded sections on the road where it intersects the main stream and intermittent side streams;
Involve at least three excavations of 40 feet long by 15 feet wide at various depths;
Involve extensive brush cutting and vegetation removal, including the application of herbicides, all along the road construction and pipelines;
The road construction, brush clearance and tree cutting will be done first, starting September 1, 2009.
There was no meaningful review of this project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Gas Company claims it is entitled to a categorical exemption from CEQA review because the project is only a repair and maintenance project, with negligible or no expansion of use. Yet the many admitted irreversible environmental impacts make clear this exemption is inapplicable. Furthermore, the Gas Company did not notify our local homeowners' groups or the Brentwood Community Council that it was seeking permits to conduct this project, despite the fact that many of us either live immediately adjacent to Sullivan Canyon or frequently hike, bike and ride there.

Please read the attached excerpts of the various project documents. We were only able to obtain these documents after making Public Records Act Requests to the various agencies. By the time we were able to obtain these documents, the Gas Company contended that it already has the requisite permits for the work. Their plan was to notify the community only after all permits were issued and the work is ready to be commenced.

Our only hope to have any time to review and understand this project before the bulldozers and chainsaws are unleashed in Sullivan Canyon--and our only chance to have any meaningful input into mitigating the serious environmental impacts of this project--is for all of us to immediately write, email and call the offices of Councilman Bill Rosendahl, Assemblyman Mike Feuer, Senator Fran Pavley, the California Department of Fish & Game, the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Gas Company.
We are including contact information and email addresses below for your convenience.

Nobody opposes the Gas Company's efforts to properly maintain and ensure their pipelines are safe, but we are very frustrated that they just ignored the community and only planned to notify us only after the permits were issued and the project was underway.

The Gas Company should welcome reasoned community input, not be afraid of it. They should agree to pause the project, hold a community meeting, and take advantage of the opportunity to educate and involve the many smart and committed people in the community, including the Brentwood Community Council, the many homeowner associations whose members will be affected, and interested environmental groups.
Please ask the Gas Company and your public officials to suspend the project and meaningfully consult with the community BEFORE they start work. Once they start work, the trees will be gone and it will be too late.

Here is the contact information:

Councilman Bill Rosendahl
1645 Corinth Avenue
Room 201
West L.A., CA 90025
(310) 575-8461
Fax: (310) 575-8305
[email protected]
[email protected]

California Department of Fish & Game
Jamie Jackson, Staff Environmental Scientist
Streambed Alteration Team
4949 Viewridge Ave.
San Diego, CA 92123
(626) 296-3430
[email protected]

California Regional Water Quality Control Board
Valerie Carrillo
320 W. 4th Street, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA
(213) 576-6600
Fax: (213) 576-6640
[email protected]

Southern California Gas Company
Deanna Haines
Sharon O'Rourke
9400 Oakdale Avenue, SC9314
Chatsworth, CA 91311-6511
(310) 578-2669
So'[email protected]

OTHER IMPORTANT PUBLIC OFFICALS TO CONTACT:

Assemblyman Mike Feuer
9200 Sunset Boulevard, PH 15
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tel: (310) 285-5490
Fax: (310) 285-5499
[email protected]

Senator Fran Pavley
2716 Ocean Park Blvd.
Suite 3088
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-5214
Fax: (310) 314-5263

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
821 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 974-3333
(213) 625-7360 fax
[email protected]

Thanks for your prompt action! Please circulate this news to your action networks and interested people.

 

I've been riding sully for 15 years, and it's one of the few fun trails left within reasonable driving distance of the south bay beach cities.

If sully gets trashed, this is yet another reason to leave california, IMHO.

 

Sullivan has been "graded" a few times over the last few years.
And I've ridden up there in a foot of water before, which inevitably changes the landscape as well.
But I don't think the canyon has seen a construction project like this one planned - ever before. Or a proposed tree removal of their proposed scale. I've seen the trees they marked. owch.
Even bigger than when they initially installed the gas line way way back, trenching, bridging and building an access road. Tre Tragic.

But just think of the raw piles of dirt and lumber to be modified for riding use!!!
Berms, ladders, bridges, and double jumps galore...
Just watch out for the earthmovers and pipe welders.

Maybe there's a way to create a new, dedicated trail alongside the new works? SUBARU Trail crew anybody?

 

Anyone care to post the letter(s) they have written?

TIA

 

Gotta pay attention...

note my post from over a year ago:

http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/trail-conditions/21874-survey-sullivan-canyon.html

Any time one sees this type of activity they should start asking around.....

 

Damn, I remember that. I wish I would have ridden it more. The big drop still eludes me.

 

Now you have more reason to hit it :bang: It's pretty easy, just don't say Eff the landing and hit it at full speed... you will be removing gravel from you shoulders :lol: Not that I'd ever done that...or anything.

 

Just in from Canyon Back Alliance:

Notice of Public Meeting Concerning Work on Pipelines in Sullivan Canyon
Significant concerns have been raised about Southern California Gas Company's planned work in Sullivan Canyon. Mike Leslie, on behalf of the Brentwood Hills Homeowners Association, a group that partnered with Canyon Back Alliance in protecting the public trails passing through the Mountaingate area ("WHOOPS" access), has explained those concerns in the email below. (The Gas Company's response is attached as SullivanGasCo letter.pdf.) In response to the concerns raised in Mike Leslie's email, the Brentwood Community Council has coordinated with representatives of the Gas Company and the Office of Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, to give the public an opportunity to ask questions and express concerns regarding the Gas Co's plans.

-- Tom Freeman, Canyon Back Alliance

DATE and TIME:
Monday, August 31, 2009
7:00pm

PLACE:
West Los Angeles Municipal Building
Second Floor Hearing Room - Room 200
1645 Corinth Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90025

 

So does that mean the work that has been scheduled to begin the next morning has been postponed?

 

^^Good question.

 

My guess is it's just a courtesy to the public. After reading the SoCal Gas Co. letter it sounds like this is a done deal. I still think that it's a good idea to show up to the meeting to see what they have to say. Hopefully some of you will be available to attend as well. I've been riding Sully for the last 10 years and will miss having it in my regular local rotation for a while.