Facts

The following concerns were posted by the Old Agoura Homeowners Association (“OAHA”) on their website. Each concern is followed by facts that demonstrate Heschel West’s commitment to our community, our neighbors and the environment.

Traffic

Concern: "Heschel proposes a new road that would funnel in excess of 2600 trips per day of new school traffic; their traffic studies provide for an F rating during peak hours at the local stop sign."

The Facts:

  • Over 70% of the 2600 trips (approximately 1300 vehicles driving round trip) occur at non peak traffic times when there is plenty of excess roadway capacity and free flow of traffic. As a result, only 421 additional cars would be on the roadway during the morning peak hour as a result of development of the school project, and fewer than 1 in 5 of those would use Driver Avenue.
  • Heschel West proposes to improve the Driver/Canwood/Chesebro intersection with left turn pockets increasing the intersection's traffic capacity far beyond the minimal number of trips Heschel West contributes.
  • The morning peak hour rating for the intersection, after Heschel West's mitigation, is an acceptable "C" level of service.
  • The "F" rating for the intersection is during the evening peak hour, after the school day is done, and is caused by rush hour traffic unrelated to the 12 cars that Heschel West contributes during this time period. The "F" rating is entirely the result of other potential future projects, not yet built. Taking into account only the Heschel West project with its mitigation, the intersection improves from a current rating of "B" to a rating of "A" in the evening peak. In other words, because Heschel does not contribute more than 12 cars to the evening peak hour, but is improving the intersection for the morning peak, the effect is to make the intersection work better than current conditions for the evening peak.

Noise

Concern: Heschel West's entrance road "will remove the natural buffer of the hillside that virtually eliminates the noise generated by the 101 Freeway."

The Facts:

  • There is no direct path for freeway noise to travel to Old Agoura Homes created by this project. Heschel West's entrance road is located at an elevation substantially higher than the nearest residences and also higher than the freeway . Also, the entrance road is located over 500 feet east of the closest residences.
  • Freeway noise does enter Old Agoura west of the Chesebro exit, where the topography is flat. The Heschel West project has nothing to do with that existing condition.
    Concern: "If the school was to be built as now proposed, the noise from the schoolyard would prevent the neighboring residents from enjoying the peaceful use of their own property."
  • According to the Environmental Impact Report, ambient (background) noise levels will not be changed noticeably by this project. This is due to a number of factors. The first is distance – the play areas are located approximately 1,000 feet from the nearest property line. Also, the school buildings themselves, located between the play areas and the homes, will block noise.

Lighting

Concern: "Athletic field lights will glare at night."

The Facts:
There will be no night lights on the athletic field. That fact has been known for more than two years and is clearly stated in the Environmental Impact Report.

Aesthetics

Concern: The Heschel West school will be "constructed on a massively graded artificial hill that will loom 30 feet over the adjacent homes."

The Facts:

  • No portion of the developed area has a fill depth of 30 feet.
  • Residents will have a hard time seeing the school from their homes. The school is set back more than 300 feet from the nearest residences. The slope facing the residential area will be planted with native plants and trees to provide a landscape screen between the school and the residences.
  • This is a small school on a large property. The surrounding natural topography of this 70 acre property will dwarf the school.

Wildlife

Concern: "The proposed school will DESTROY a natural wildlife corridor and habitat."

The Facts:

  • The Heschel West project has no direct impact on the Liberty Canyon Wildlife Corridor or on wildlife movement.
  • Heschel West has met with staff of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy on several occasions to get input on the design of the campus. Design elements have been included to address any potential impact on the wildlife corridor These design elements include a large open space buffer area incorporating habitat such as oak and black walnut trees and scrub vegetation.

Storm Water Runoff

Concern: "The subject area suffers substantial run-off and flooding. Changes will thereby raise the water table adversely affecting the septic systems (of) those homes immediately adjacent to the proposed school."

The Facts:
The homes adjacent to the school are already in low lying areas. During heavy rains, due to lack of a storm drain system, there is inadequate drainage near these homes. Heschel West's on-site drainage system will reduce by more than 50 % the amount of storm water flowing toward the homes from the school site.