Politics & Government

Ambulance Service May Have to Relocate

A County Fire Department contractor that provides emergency medical services to Altadena residents has been given notice that its Lake Avenue location is in violation of zoning codes.

A private ambulance service that is used to respond to emergencies in Altadena has been notified that it is violating zoning codes by operating at its current Lake Avenue location.

Schaefer Ambulance, a private Southern California emergency services company, contracts with the County Fire Department and operates two ambulances from a commercial development at 2525 N. Lake Ave. 

They do not have the necessary permit to operate at that location, according to a letter from the County Department of Regional Planning (which can be viewed at right).

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Unless it applies for and receives a conditional use permit, Schaefer would need to relocate, a decision that could increase the company's emergency response times for Altadena residents, according to Dave Rathburn, Schaefer's field supervisor for the location.

While the local county fire station is still the lead responder for any medical emergency in Altadena, Schaefer provides secondary support and is contractually obligated to respond to an emergency in a timely manner.

Find out what's happening in Altadenawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Parking Issues

Someone in the business community appears to have taken issue with the ambulance parking outside of its designated spaces in the commercial development it shares with several businesses: there have been discussions between the Altadena Chamber of Commerce and Schaefer representatives about the parking problems, according to Chamber representative Ed Meyers.

Rathburn told Patch that there have been some parking problems; sometimes the ambulances are parked outside its designated spots, but usually because someone else has parked in them.  Rathburn said he is unhappy with how the issue has been handled.

"I find it insane that we do these kinds of things.... it is just one of those NIMBY issues," Rathburn said.

The county policy on zoning issues is complaint-based, which means that somebody contacted the County Department of Regional Planning about Schaefer, according to Edel Vizcarra, the planning deputy for Supervisor Michael Antonovich.

Ambulance Response Time

What happens to Schaefer now is uncertain: The company has until Jan. 22 to relocate or apply for a conditional use permit, a costly process that could result in opposition from community members.

Relocation could be a concern for ambulance response times, Rathburn said.  Contractually, Schaefer is required by the Fire Department to be able to make it to any Altadena address in nine minutes.

That was a challenge at Schaefer's old location at the intersection of Los Robles and Woodbury, Rathburn said.  The company moved up to Lake Avenue about two months ago, and part of the reason was to be more easily able to serve East Altadena locations.

The County Fire Department is still the lead responder to any emergency, but paramedics from Schaefer work with the department in emergency situations, according to Fire Department Capt. John Knowles, who serves at Altadena's fire station.

Knowles said that department officials are not being apprised of what is happening with Schaefer and said the station would be able to maintain their normal response times no matter what happens with the company.

Hard to Find a Good Location

Rathburn said that when Schaefer relocated several months ago, they examined Altadena locations and did not find any available spots that are zoned for industrial use--if true, that means that to stay in Altadena would require relocating to another commercial area and applying for a conditional use permit.

If the branch was to shut down in the interim, the next closest branch is in Glendale, he said, which would significantly slow down response times.

Rathburn added that company representatives had met with officials from Antonovich's office to discuss the Lake Avenue location before moving there.

However, Antonovich's planning deputy, Vizcarra, told Patch that while the meeting did take place, Antonovich's representatives told Schaefer to be certain that the location they chose would be zoned for emergency services.  Vizcarra said Schaefer never specifically discussed the Lake Avenue location the company ultimately moved to.

The issue of where to locate the ambulance service never came before the Town Council or any elected county body: Because Schaefer is a private company, its relocation does not require a public hearing, even though it is contracted with the county to provide public services, Vizcarra said.

As a private company, Schaefer's owners must decide whether to go through with the permit process or relocate, he added.  But, Vizcarra said, staying at the current location could be difficult if there is public opposition to granting a permit.

Whether or not there would be is also uncertain at this point: Meyers wrote in an email that the Chamber's concern is with straightening out the parking issues; according to Meyers, the Chamber has not been asked about whether it would support a permit for the location and wrote that "the Chamber doesn't oppose Schaefer operating in Altadena."


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