Appeal This!
On Sept 18th,
The No Home Depot Campaign
filed an Appeal with the City arguing against their issuance of "Tenant Improvement" Building permits to Home Depot so that they can open a store in Sunland-Tujunga.
The community has fought for almost 2 years to keep Home Depot out, and fought instead, to bring in a much needed general merchandise store. The site of the proposed Home Depot formerly housed a K-Mart, and is the only site left, of this size, that could possibly ever host a general merchandise store in the area. Currently, residents must travel to the neighboring cities of Burbank, Pasadena, Glendale, and even Santa Clarita for basic household needs.
This Appeal was filed on behalf of the community, and the document itself is a powerful, complete and persuasive argument that the City should have never issued these permits to Home Depot in the first place.
How will the City respond?
Well, the Appeal was filed with the Department of Building and Safety, and they will have the first say-so in whether they agree or disagree with the community's arguments. They are also the City department that issued Home Depot the permits in the first place!
This is similar to walking into the wolves den and asking " So who killed the chicken?".
Fortunately, the Appeal Process is multi-tiered, so even if LADBS refuses to recognize their mistake, the chain of command provides many opportunities to pass the buck and the responsibility and the decision making onto someone else.
This brings me to a simple request.
I am posting a link to our Appeal, and I would appreciate if the denizens of Mayor
Sam would give it a once-over.
I realize that I may endure the brilliant, surly, and incoherent comments from the dum-dums and the Home Depot shills, but hey, what's a day without dum-dums and shills in this town?
Enjoy and Thankyou!
The Appeal
Posted by Unknown @ 9/19/2006 08:03:00 PM
35 Comments:
This posting further illustrates the unique mindset of L.A. in 2006: the homeless can use the sidewalk as their toilet, but a reputable company that pays good money to use a building, and wants to put people to work, must overcome an expensive and time-consuming legal challenge merely because it wants to refurbish the building's floors and air conditioning.
Gee, I wonder why so many businesses are flocking to Nevada, Arizona, Texas, China, etc. instead of California. . . .
My God Walter, just about the time one thinks you are sane, you behave like a madman.
Whose time do you think is being consumed in putting together this appeal? We No2HomeDepot people are not paid for our efforts, but these city employees are paid by the city for just such events (and by whom else, one wonders.)
At least you do understand that they intend to strengthen and to extend the life of the building by replacing the slab and reinforcing the roof.
And that is the point.
This very kind of construction and its' cost which exceeds 50% of the replacement cost of the existing building make it a project not tenant improvements.
You just don't get it do you?
This is not about stopping some arrogant corporation. It is about saving our community from being openly industrialized through an abuse of discretion.
It is about this damned city obeying its' own laws.
It is not about developers nor politicians.
It is about us, the voters - the citizens who live here every day in our homes in our community.
We desire to guarantee that peace, safety, and beauty continue in our environment where we live for us and for our kids.
Get it together, Walter. This has nothing to do with businesses flocking to other states nor countries. It is about businesses flocking to Sunland - Tujunga.
12: 37 AM
What are you talking about?
12:37 expresses my feeling toward WWM's post precisely. You just don't get it, do you, Walter? The main street (Sunland Bl and Foothill Bl)is not the place for an "industrial" business. We are a small community and the loss of a general merchandise store in the area is devastating. Don't go off on a tangent claiming I am pushing KMart -- but it did fill the needs of the community -- which is more than I can say for a Home Depot. We want socks and underwear -- not 24/7 tractor-trailer rigs tearing up and clogging our main boulevard. Lumber doesn't get it, Walter -- do you? Go Joe B. (and Abby and Paula, etc.)
Hey Walter, as far as I'm concerned, Home Depot is welcome to open their next store in China. They probably need one there. We don't need yet another one around here. Have you no sense of the environmental impact this will have on our area? Or are you one of those non-thinking individuals who still thinks it won't make that big of a difference? Socks and underwear, that's what we need, not industrial traffic. Wake up and open your eyes Walter, and stop your wondering about businesses flocking to other states, you'll give yourself a headache AND you are wrong. Plenty of businesses are still opening right here, under your nose, in California. Stop trying to mislead people, we the residents of S.T. just want a store that makes sense, not something that will drive our property values down, and bring all the other undesirable effects.
Walter you just don't get the world that Joe B. and the Tujunga wackos live in.
WalMart = bad
HomeDepot = bad
Costco = good
WalMart and Home Depot are southern companies with Republican connections (though the Clintons have a financial interest in WalMart).
Costco is run by an old bay area liberal.
Now do you get it?
Home Depot industrial??? Uh, I thought it was a store?
Walter - in Antonio Villaraigosa's world you indeed can piss on the street but you can't:
pray (unless you're Muslim)
smoke
drink
kiss girls
Scratch that, for Antonio three out of four ain't bad right?
Where is the straw man on this one? Talk about sub-one percenters! Nowhere is it bigger than in Tujunga. About 20 or so old, fat, white, lower class morons are obsessed with this store. Most of the folks that live there don't give a shit and do want the store.
How we will know that? They will vote with their feet and shop there. Then Joe B. and his moron crew will be standing there looking like idiots.
Joe, it sounds like you might do well to sell socks and underwear out of the back of a van in ST than to crap about WalMart and Home Depot all day.
Walter Moore, Please don't even think about running for public office again. If you do, I will personally do everthing in my power to support your opposition!
It's apparent that you just "don't get it". How much stock do you own in Home Depot? That could be your only salvation for wanting to ruin Sunland-Tujunga! We understand how money and greed can cloud common sense.
Yours is definitely lacking.
You don't live there so do us a big favor and stay out of our business.
Hey anonymous - I'm not old, or fat, and I'm certainly not a moron. And when I've asked my neighbors up and down the street it seems ALL of them are opposed to HD. Some are not white, but none of them could be described in the put down manner you've proposed. And we do give a shit. If you haven't seen the strong opposition in this area, then you are just not paying attention. To suggest there are only 20 people opposed to this is in itself a very moronic thing to even say. One other thing, before you call anyone a moron, check you're own English, because yours ain't so hot itself.
You now Walter, spin it somewhere else, putting people to work and the homeless using streets as toilets, and paying money. Wow people of Sunland & Tujunga I guess we don’t pay any money and we use our streets as toilets. Now I would like to explain what Walter really said:
The city doesn’t listen to the community, the community where the homeless are use the streets as toilets don’t want them there, but the city isn’t listening, as the city isn’t listening to Sunland & Tujunga about not wanting Home Depot, in fact the city is down grading the problem with regards to the homeless as they are down grading the issues with submitting permits to Home Depot. I am glad you agree with No Home Depot, Walter…
I have had plans for my addition passed by the city after I had so many calculations requested and when I started building it, the field inspector had me build it his way which at the end of the project my original plans didn’t change much at all, as for the structural part which I had to have calc’s done didn’t change, but where the desk clerk made me change the field inspector made me do it his way which was the original way I had it. This is small but the mire fact that it happened at this level gives you though what happens at the larger level, like the permits for Home Depot.
Home Depot will destroy the city and the property tax revenue will fall. Home Depot’s tax money will not stay in Sunland, Tujunga, the tax revenue will go to the city of LA and Sunland & Tujunga will take on the cost of the Business operating here. You thing the day labors on Sunland Blvd. near the Tujunga Cyn is a lot, wait until Home Depot opens at the old K-Mart.
Sunland's population is quite diverse and the fact that 90% of its residents oppose HD means that this includes a very large proportion of "non-whites" so quit trying to make this a race issue. Also, obesity is a problem for 60% of U.S. pop. so the point of that comment is . . . ? (In fact, many No2HD supporters are svelt and fit!). But seriously, all we residents want is to be able to purchase general merchandise without driving to another town. Wal-Mart and Costco are way too big for this lot - we would welcome Target, Sears, Penneys or even K-Mart. The General Plan has an economic element which includes protecting our local economy. LA is (once again) failing to abide by it in the issuance of this permit, AKA as abuse of discretion.
check you're own English, because yours ain't so hot itself.
Typical example of a Sunland-Tujunga idiot. Is there too much horseshit in the water out there?
See you at Home Depot - we'll have a hot dog!
Anytime someone tells you that 90 percent of any population opposes something you've been snowed.
Guaranteed, there are not actual statistics that prove that, anywhere.
You want to sell socks and underwear? Fine: YOU buy the store. But as long as it's someone else's property, the owner is entitled to use it for any lawful purpose for which it's zoned. I hope you're not paying someone good money to prosecute that appeal.
And, as for not wanting my opinion, the posting specifically asked for people to express their opinion. If the author wanted to hear only from people who agree with him, he should have said so.
I hear that Joe B's obsession with Home Depot is breaking up his marriage.....
I see you made it to work early this AM, Home Depot Shill.
I have two questions for you. How do you live with yourself or don't you have mirrors in your house?
And I have one statement for you Home Depot Shill. For you, this is your wages; for us, this is our lifestyle.
Truly, Walter, you do sound more and more like a person in the pocket of Home Depot. Surely, by this time you should have realized that Home Depot does not own this property.
You are totally unable to hear the truth of this matter, Walter. Therefore, you are terribly suspect.
As to 90% of the community supporting No to Home Depot, that figure is wrong. It is 95% of the people who oppose Home Depot, and who better would know that than those of us who are getting petitions signed, selling T-Shirts, and discussing this with the general public all over town? (An extremely diverse public I might add.)
We had 450 people attend our last town meeting on this subject. Except for the shill above and Home Depot's attorney, every single person of the 450 people who took their precious time to show up opposed this Home Depot including Wendy Greuel and her staff!
Walter, it has just dawned on me. You really are confused. We are not appealing in court. We are appealing through the city process.
It will not cost the city much more than a dime (city employees are on salary) nor Home Depot - unless of course they spend money on the building during the appeal and lose as we expect they will.
City law has been violated through an abuse of discretion on the part of Daniel Scott in City Planning and we plan to prove it.
Everybody I have spoken to is against, Walter most be talking about the day labors up on Sunland Blvd, near Tujunga Ave, they want Home Depot of coarse, but then again they don't pay into the cities fund, they take from it...
Walter Moore may as well give up the idea of running for any public office since he has such a rigid mind-set and obviously has no interest in looking at this issue from the viewpoint of the residents.
The other bloggers that use this forum to display their ignorance and racist prejudices about the S-T area don't even deserve space to spew their venom.
Do the research on Home Depot and you will find a very unethical company that exploits communities and ignores environmental and qualitly of life concerns. If you don't live in the community then hold your comments until you educate yourself.
Well said;
"Do the research on Home Depot and you will find a very unethical company that exploits communities and ignores environmental and qualitly of life concerns. If you don't live in the community then hold your comments until you educate yourself."
Walter I would hold your picture form entering the blog's.
Look at the Hollywood store, does anybody remember what it looked like the first year it was openned? Look at the store of the 118 and 210, that store is the pitts... Imagine one year after Home Depot opens in Sunland, imagine 3 years after it opens, scary...
Walter made this point:
"Gee, I wonder why so many businesses are flocking to Nevada, Arizona, Texas, China, etc. instead of California. . . . "
It's not because of this issue and that's why Walter Moore should stay away from the public office.
Good Day!!!
Typical example of a Sunland-Tujunga idiot? It's called a joke, and guess what? ZZZZZING! It went right over your head! And that makes me an idiot? Horse shit in my water? Seriously, you can't do better than that? You calling me an idiot is really lame. You have no idea of who I am or what I do for a living, so to lash out blindly is simple ignorance. That means ignorant or unaware.
You are all fools. Home Depot cut a deal with the council two weeks ago. It will build in S/T and then later in Glassel Park- so support or oppose the project, either way you are useless. This is a done deal.
But don't let that piss you off. HD had to sell their American Spirit to make the deal. Both stores will include a state of the art day laborer shelter, that includes air conditioning, lounge area,kitchenette and a full service bathroom with showers. Ah...to be an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles...life doesn't get better than this.
Fools? Just watch, and learn.
Well, whoever is spewing the City Council deal does not know what they are talking about.
The only way HD can build in S-T without an EIR is to stay within the original footprint. All the community is asking for is an EIR, because of the impending air and noise pollution and the severe increase in traffic.
However, HD has decided to play around that by piecemealing a renovation of the store on its' original footprint - the city planner in whose hands this decision lies has decided this is tenant improvements and not a project - whereas a project would generate an EIR.
We believe this is what the city would label as an abuse of discretion.
Because the original footprint is smaller than is required to allow a Day Laborer Center to be built, frankly, you are full of crap.
and where's our peripatetic Mayor??? He proclaimed a year ago that he was unequivocally against Home Depot in the S-T community. He has been strangely silent on this ordeal ever since. Of course, with LAUSD and the upcoming trips to England, Asia, Japan and South Korea (at a $500,000 tab) he would have time to notice such a trivial issue as Sunland-Tujunga. I am also disturbed by the numerous recent photos of Wendy Greuel at the Mayor's side at every photo-op. Don't sell us out Wendy!! And where's Antonio on this issue????
Hey, j.c. you wrote; "Typical example of a Sunland-Tujunga idiot? It's called a joke, and guess what? ZZZZZING! It went right over your head! And that makes me an idiot?" The answer is yes. The S&T people are real.
People scoop this this level when they have nothing and see how this little town has made it hard for HD. Use some more BS...
did that make any sense?
What's with the freakishly large forehead???
That's photography and brains!
Hey, S-T No Home Depot people, hasn't anyone told you how close the Mayor and Home Depot have become? Do you have his support in writing? On tape? Or video?
If not, better kiss your ass goodbye!
Kiss our ass goodbye? That makes as much sense as putting a HD here in the first place. Your a shithead.
HD has a picture with the failing Mayor of LA. The Mayor is driving the city into the ground so to have him back you is a death sentence anyways...
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