Residents urge Baldwin Park to preserve Florence Flanner site as park, oppose Storm Properties housing plan

Dozens of residents and community advocates told the Baldwin Park City Council on Aug. 6 they want the Florence Flanner school site kept as public open space and opposed a proposal by Storm Properties to redevelop the site for housing.

“Florence Planner is on public public land use, open space, and recreation,” said Francisco Arena, who urged the council and the Baldwin Park Unified School District to “preserve and protect the Florence Planner School but as a public land.” Arena and several other speakers cited the Los Angeles County park-needs assessment and the city general plan’s parkland goals as reasons to retain the property for community use.

Speakers from the Bassett neighborhood said southern Baldwin Park is park-scarce and urged the city to turn the site into a park, community center or recreation facility rather than approve residential development. Juanita Whitley, a longtime resident, said, “Don't let storm property have this zone. We need it for the public that which it stands for, for the schools.”

Residents raised public-safety and evacuation concerns if dense housing is built on the site. One speaker said the developer’s draft contemplates roughly 105 housing units on about 2½ acres and warned that narrow surrounding streets and existing congestion could impede emergency egress. Multiple speakers also cited ongoing problems with homelessness, parking shortages and the sheriff’s response in the Bassett area as factors that weigh against high-density housing on the parcel.

A representative for Nature for All and other advocates urged the council to pursue state and county grant programs that fund park creation and improvement. The representative pointed to potential funding sources including Proposition 68, the Land and Water Conservation Fund and other county grant streams and community benefit funds.

Speakers asked the city to coordinate with the Baldwin Park Unified School District and Los Angeles County on use and ownership questions and to ensure residents would know which law-enforcement agency to contact if the site changes hands. Several residents stressed that the site historically provided green space for local children and that the community lacks a nearby park for senior activities, sports and playgrounds.

The meeting record shows these comments were part of the public-comment period; the council did not take a formal vote on the property during the Aug. 6 meeting.

The council did not announce a scheduling decision or action on any rezoning or entitlement application that would permit Storm Properties to build housing on the parcel; residents requested that the city preserve the property for public use and examine park funding options.