We are fighting for you, for what’s fair and for our survival. We need your help and support. We have been there for you during times of crisis. Now, we need you during our time of crisis. A developer, the Serrano Development Group Inc., has submitted a plan to the Santa Clarita City Council to build a five-story apartment and retail complex with subterranean parking. This massive development will be within one-eighth of an inch against our offices and studios on Main Street. This behemoth will take more than two years of construction. If the city does not insist on mitigation measures and/or the developer does not agree to our modest requests, we will be out of business!
All we want is what is fair, what is reasonable. We asked the developer and the city of Santa Clarita not to blast and core between the hours of 6 and 9 a.m., Monday through Friday, and 30 minutes for lunch to allow us to broadcast our highest-revenue programs. Even with this reasonable and modest request, our programming will be disrupted. The request for a mere three and a half hours to broadcast uninterrupted or impeded is more than fair, especially when you consider the developer can still perform other construction during those hours, and blast to their hearts’ content the other 150.5 hours in the week.
OK, if that’s too tough for the developer and the city, then find us a home where we can broadcast. Is it unfair to also ask the developer to pay for the out-of-pocket expenses we will incur to move our studios because of them?
Sounds like a reasonable request, right? But not if you have the support of City Councilwoman Laurene Weste. According to previous articles in The Signal, she bulldozed the project through city staff by creating a backdoor deal to have the city be paid $750,000 to demolish one of Santa Clarita’s historical buildings to make way for the project.
According to the city’s noise ordinance, the normally acceptable outside noise for an office building is between 50 to 70 decibels. Experts agree the noise next door to construction drilling will be between 90 to 114 decibels, almost double the threshold in the city’s code and loud enough to cause hearing damage with prolonged exposure. During the Planning Commission hearing, Serrano’s spokesperson, Jason Tolleson, deceptively claimed the Metrolink train toots its horn while passing by our offices many times a day at a similar decibel level. Not true. What Tolleson didn’t reveal is the train is more than a football field away from our microphones. He will be blasting and drilling less than one-eighth of an inch away from our wall! Think there’s a difference?
Tolleson distorted his superficial efforts to engage us. During his Planning Commission testimony, he claimed he’s had many discussions with KHTS to try and work things out. Not true. My wife, Jeri, initiated conversations with Tolleson, not the other way around. Tolleson has not acted in good faith or been serious about trying to be a good neighbor and do the right thing. First Tolleson made a grossly under-market offer to purchase our building knowing it would be summarily rejected because it was not fair market value. Then, he poo-pooed every proposal Jeri made to mitigate the disruption. He made no suggestions. He subscribed to Nancy Reagan’s mantra: ”just say no,” and he did! Why should he make a reasonable and fair deal if he had Councilwoman’ Weste’s ear?
Jeri and I have owned KHTS radio since 1990. We have lived and breathed this valley. There is hardly a charity or cause we haven’t supported or championed. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone in this community who has done more for this valley. You can read about our accomplishments during those years from our bios, Jeri Seratti and Carl Goldman. But, this isn’t about us or about us slapping us on our backs. This is about keeping YOUR radio station broadcasting and recognizing the community needs the radio station.
In 1998, we sold the radio station to the largest radio group in the world, now iHeart, because our partners wanted to sell. iHeart promised to keep it local. They didn’t. Jeri and I would go grocery shopping or to a charity event, dozens of people would approach, upset that Santa Clarita no longer had a radio station. They really missed it after there was no longer the radio station they may have taken for granted. Kind of like some marriages. Five years later we bought the license back and built KHTS from scratch.
KHTS survives because of advertising from local businesses. It is your support of these local businesses that allows Santa Clarita to have a vibrant radio station and local news website. KHTS won’t be able to remain in business without an accommodation from the developer.
Your actions matter. We need your help! We are asking you to write a brief one- or two-paragraph letter, addressed to the Santa Clarita City Council, in support of our radio station and to either condition the project with the modest conditions and relocate us at developer expenses so we can continue to broadcast. We also need you to show up to the Santa Clarita City Council meeting on April 22 at 6 p.m. to voice your opinion and support. You may email or mail your letter of support to: [email protected], KHTS Radio, 24320 Main St., Santa Clarita, CA 91321
We appreciate your support. Thank you for helping us keep local radio alive!
Carl and Jeri Goldman
Santa Clarita
