Residents from two San Bernardino neighborhood associations gathered yesterday to protest a proposed Transitional Assistance Department building near their neighborhood.
The protest was held by residents of two different neighborhood associations – Blair Park and Muscupiabe.
The demonstrators were protesting a proposed welfare office across the street from a residential development, on the corner of 27th Street and Little Mountain Drive in San Bernardino.
They worry that the proposed office will have a negative impact on their community, creating more traffic, litter, and an increased transient population.
Emilia Lopez is a San Bernardino resident and a member of the Muscupiabe Neighborhood Association. She says she believes the city and county of San Bernardino are taking notice of the community’s concerns.
Lopez: “We think they have already taken some notice because I have to say for this group, for all of these residents and the people, and it's been a lot of work on individuals, but we were organized and we were united in our concern and we didn't give up. So we think we've raised the awareness, and I think we've shown that the community when united can be pretty formidable.”
County spokesman David Wert said in an email that the “location was chosen because there is a demonstrated need in that neighborhood for the services that will be provided by this facility, and because the city approved this use for that location.”
He added that the traffic and public safety issues are within the city’s jurisdiction, not the county’s, and that the city conducted a traffic study prior to its approval of the project.