City restrictions and construction delays over the summer have raised concerns about anticipated completion dates of building projects at Biola, as well as the relationship between the city of La Mirada and Biola University.

Delays on Talbot Construction

“Delays on the Talbot building have been the most substantial, putting plans several months behind schedule,” said Ken Bascom, senior director of facilities planning and construction. “After possessing the building permit for the new Talbot building for over a year, construction began on June 1.”

On Aug. 27, building proceedings were cut short when construction procedures were deemed inadequate.

“The original project schedule is in the trash now,” Bascom said. “We were supposed to be done by July 14, 2013, but it doesn’t look like that is going to happen.”

La Mirada’s Restrictions

Bascom said La Mirada must first approve all building permits prior to the start of any construction. There are two major factors Biola must adhere to when planning on building. First, Biola must not build too close to the property line, and second, it may not build too close to neighborhood residents. These restrictions have led to many delays on construction projects over the summer, Bascom said. Wanting to keep a peaceful and harmonious relationship with the city, however, Biola has continued to act in accordance with city regulations.

Biola has made an agreement with the city in regards to its FTE number, or the number of full time enrolled students, as well. La Mirada has set the FTE number to 5,000 students. Although the FTE agreement seems to prohibit Biola’s future growth, Bascom said there is still room for negotiation. Over 5,000 students are currently enrolled.

“It all depends on who Biola wants to be in the future,” Bascom said.

Disagreements between universities and the cities in which they preside are not uncommon, Bascom said.

Parking Causing Neighbor Complaints

“With Biola University, the most predominant issues are public parking, traffic, and neighbor complaints,” said David Peters, professor of political science and public administration.

Peters also served on the La Mirada City Council for 25 years and served as mayor for 6 years.

“At present, the issues on public parking and neighbor complaints have put the greatest stress between the La Mirada City Council and Biola University,” Peters said.

Peters said this has led the city to mandate parking permits in certain areas, causing about a mile of street where Biola students may no longer park.

“Compared to most university and city relations, Biola University has a great relationship with the City of La Mirada,” Bascom said.

Biola’s Influence in the City

Biola is La Mirada’s largest employer, and performs numerous community services. The nursing department at Biola hosts a health clinic for the elderly and a substantial number of student teachers come from Biola.

Several students, like sophomore Kyle Mueller and freshman Ciara Dines, agreed.
“I thought it was really cool how all the ministries had tables out trying to get kids involved [in the community],” Mueller said.

“The school makes strides to getting connected in ministry,” Dines said. “There’s an effort made to reach out. It’s pretty effective. Growth can always be made, but Biola is doing a good job at trying to reach out.”

Branching Out from the Biola Bubble

Dines said many students are in a “Biola bubble” and need to become more involved in the community. These continued efforts on the part of the school likely have a positive affect on the school’s relations with the city, she said.

“I would think it would make the correlation between the school and the city more evident and cause Biola to make more connections with the community,” Dines said.

“In my six years as La Mirada’s mayor, not many issues were brought up between Biola and the city of La Mirada,” Peters said. “Biola is an exemplary resident within the city and helps bring distinction to the community by its world-renowned name. Furthermore, the economic impact Biola has on the city is staggering, as it generates millions upon millions of dollars in commerce.”

-Harmony Wheeler contributed to the reporting of this article.