Mt. San Antonio College 5-story parking structure sparks debate in Walnut

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Mt. San Antonio College parking structure sparks debate in WalnutMt. San Antonio College has plans for a five-level parking structure on their Walnut campus, but area residents say it would negatively impact their quality of living.

WALNUT, Calif. (KABC) -- Mt. San Antonio College has plans for a five-level parking structure on their Walnut campus, but area residents say it would negatively impact their quality of living.

The school, which is one of the largest junior colleges in the country, has grown considerably over the past decade. As with most growing campuses, parking is at a premium.

"Regardless of what time it is, you've got to show up a lot earlier and it's just really hard to find parking," said Christopher Nguyen, Mt. SAC's student body president.

That's why administrators at Mt. SAC are moving forward with a controversial plan to build a five-story parking garage that would accommodate more than 2,000 cars on the north end of campus.

"Ask anyone on campus, and they'll say getting a parking spot here is tough," said Bill Scroggins, Mt. SAC president.

But several Walnut residents who live near the proposed parking structure are coming out against the $40 million project.

"The community has made its point. It has stated its opposition," said Mansfield Collins, an area resident.

Collins said the added air pollution and congestion in the area would have a serious impact on residents.

"We aren't against the students having a place to park. We just don't think that it's proper to place a parking structure that's five stories within 120 feet from residential homes," Collins said.

Layla Aboutaleb is the co-chair of a resident's group that's is trying to stop the structure from being built.

"The traffic here is going to increase by threefold at least," Aboutaleb said.

However, Scroggins said the school has tried to address residents' concerns, while still addressing the need for more parking.

"We understand the neighbors have some issues with that. We've tried to mitigate the issues that they've brought forward. We've done each of the required steps in terms of environmental impact, traffic studies, the construction design and approval by the state," Scroggins said.