Cerritos College will hold a public forum for community members to discuss the college’s ongoing attempts to convert property at 166th Street and Studebaker Road into an automobile storage facility.

The public forum will be open to local community members and Cerritos College students, faculty and staff, and will be held on campus in FA134 on March 16.

This facility houses cars from Norm Reeves Honda and was formerly a Manassero Farms strawberry field.

Jennifer Gallardo, a nursing major, expressed frustration with the change, saying “I preferred the strawberry farm. And people worked there.”

Norm Reeves, as of 2017, is paying $35,000 a month to use the facility.

Gallardo questioned this deal, wondering “It’s all about the money, right?”

While considering attending the forum, Mari Mata, a criminal justice major, doesn’t see the facility as a problem, describing it as “not a big deal.”

“Yeah, I’ll think about going,” Mata said.

The corner lot in question was granted a Temporary Use Permit by the city of Cerritos in Sept. 2017 only after measures were taken by the college to address issues raised by community members.

In a press release published on March 2, Cerritos College claims to be continuing to “work closely with the City of Cerritos to meet the requirements outlined in the TUP.”

These requirements include addressing issues raised by community members like dust and lighting mitigation and landscaping.

Other issues brought up are related to the daily operations of the potential parking facility like security and hours of operation.

As stated in the Cerritos College press release, “parking passes are available in Parking Lot 10 for $2.00. Email the Public Affairs Office (grijalva@cerritos.edu) for a free parking permit.”

For more information, contact the President’s Office at (562) 860-2451 ext. 2204.