Residents urge commission to preserve Florence Flanner open space, cite park scarcity and outreach gaps

Speakers during oral communications at the Jan. 22 Baldwin Park Planning Commission meeting urged the commission to preserve a 4.3-acre open-space parcel at the former Florence Flanner School, saying proposed redevelopment would remove much-needed recreational land in an area they described as park‑scarce.

A speaker identifying themselves as a stakeholder in Bassett said a developer, Storm Properties, working with a lease partner from Bassett Unified School District, is proposing to redesignate the parcel for residential use and build five condominiums, none of which the speaker said would be affordable to current residents. The speaker said the school had formerly provided two baseball diamonds and a track and community access outside school hours, and that subsequent uses had closed off access to the neighborhood. The commenter raised concerns about ingress and egress and said a past fire on the property required neighbors to intervene.

Two nearby residents, Alonso Rodriguez and Jorge Del Real Carlos, told commissioners they had not received adequate notice of the proposal. Rodriguez said he learned about the project only two weeks before the meeting when a neighbor knocked on his door; he said the mail notice list did not reach some nearby households. Del Real Carlos said he received a letter only one day before the meeting and repeated concerns about public safety and lack of green space.

The first speaker framed the issue as one of civil‑rights and Title VI concerns tied to long‑term access to recreational space in underserved neighborhoods; the speaker asked the city to keep the land designated as open space. Commissioners did not take action on the matter at the Jan. 22 meeting; the remarks were part of oral communications and will be part of the public record if or when a formal application is filed.