The Coming City Superstorm
For far too long, the masses napped while Los Angeles was plundered. They're awake now, grouchy and suspicious, and ready for a fight.-Steve Lopez
You know that I am generally in favor of the type of real estate development being pursued in Los Angeles. However, that's not the focus of this piece.
No, its sort of a warning and it may be one that's too come late - the masses are pissed and the politicians need to watch out.
A series of significant real estate developments and planning decisions have various communities up in arms. Even when some residents may support various developments or some aspect of the projects, they're annoyed, bothered, upset and downright disappointed in their elected leaders. They're showing up to public meetings in droves and making their voice heard. And their voice says we vote and we're not happy. These residents are distressed by - whether real or perceived - a lack of transparency, candor and dialogue with their elected officials. Yet developers and moneyed interests seem to be able to buy the type of access to government officials taxpayers feel they deserve.
At the same time many real estate developers and business interests behind these controversial projects have failed to adequately engage the surrounding communities and in many cases have actively alienated neighbors. A notable exception is developer J.H. Snyder who has worked closely with local leaders in creating three separate projects to revitalize North Hollywood and has received high praise from every corner from the local Chamber of Commerce to very active and aggressive homeowner associations.
At the opposite end of the extreme is Home Depot, most notably with their plans to open a controversial store in Sunland-Tujunga. The retail chain has failed to enter into conversations with community leaders, was caught in a major phony astro-turf effort and most recently decided to file a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the City, leading to a secret backroom deal with City Attorney Rocky Degladillo.
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Among a few of the most controversial developments in Los Angeles:
Metro Studio@Lankershim
NBC Universal announced plans to create its West Coast News and Content Center at Metro Studio@Lankershim, and also intends for Metro Studio@Lankershim to serve as home to NBC Network News’ Los Angeles Bureau, KNBC, KVEA, and Access Hollywood. Nearby residents are concerned about traffic and the resulting changes to the local skyline. Historical advocates are worried about the fate of the nearby Campo de Cahuenga, the site where the agreement was signed between the US and Mexico leading to the eventual end of the Mexican-American War in the 1840s.
Universal Studios Expansion
NBC Universal announced plans to create a long-term vision plan for the approximately 400-acre Universal City property, home to Universal Studios, the largest motion picture and television production studio in the world, CityWalk and Universal Studios Hollywood. Again, traffic, noise and other potential annoyances have neighbors in an uproar.
Southwest Museum
Site of a controversial move to merge the venerable museum with the Autry National Center in Griffith Park. Supporters of the museum say the Autry wants to loot the Southwest's collection and its property could be developed.
Autry National Center
Home of the organization some folks are saying is going to loot the Historic Southwest Museum; and possible future real estate development such as a hotel.
Sunland-Tujunga Home Depot
The controversial site where the national retailer has attempted to build an outlet in a former K-Mart has become ground zero in the battle between residents who want to control the destiny of their community and the city officials and developers they are battling.
The Las Villas Entertainment Center
The Las Villas Entertainment Center in Lincoln Heights is a proposed themed-restaurant with a banquet facility component and video arcade. The building permit application to the City of Los Angeles includes a conditional use permit for a "full liquor" license and zoning variance for 140 video games (which will be open to youth during school hours).
Las Lomas
Las Lomas, a proposed community of 5,553 homes and 2.3 million square feet of commercial space, lies in unincorporated Los Angeles County territory.
Developer Dan Palmer wants the city of Los Angeles to annex the land so his Las Lomas project - opposed by the neighboring city of Santa Clarita and nearby residents in the City of Los Angeles - can move forward.
There are but only a few of the "hot spots" in the coming superstorm over development in the City and the growing feeling by residents that their elected leaders are not hearing them. Though it appears these are all isolated projects in isolated neighorhoods, residents are getting smart and realizing there is strength in numbers, particularly through creating alliances via Los Angeles' system of Neighborhood Councils.
A few weeks ago the Mid Town-North Hollywood Neighborhood Council teamed up with Councils in Valley Village, Valley Glen, Toluca Lake and Studio City to hold a town hall meeting attended by nearly 700 residents to discuss various developments planned for the region. The result of this collboration was an agreement amongst the Councils to partner and support each other's goals and aims.
At a hastily called meeting following the revelation of the secret backroom deal on the Home Depot in Sunland-Tujunga, nearly 200 residents showed up to ask questions, make their voices heard and to affirm their resolve. Representatives of the community surrounding Southwest Museum were in attendance, and like the signers of the Declaration of Independence who promised that they would "mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor" both sides swore to assist one another in their battle against a common foe.
This scene has and will continue to repeat itself all over the City. And if the Mayor is concerned about his re-election chances, he needs to know is that this environment will make it very easy for a "white knight" like Zev Yaroslavsky - who has significant street cred on standing up to over-development - to come along and ride the wave of dissatisfaction to Getty House.
Labels: home depot, las lomas, mayor antonio villaraigosa, neighborhood councils, real estate development, rocky delgadillo, Southwest Museum, summer of hate, sunland-tujunga, universal city, zev yaroslavsky
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 3/17/2008 12:30:00 AM
14 Comments:
Zev is also the one who single-handedly prevented L A from getting a subway to the Westside back in the 80's. Allegedly because of the methane spill at Ross/Fairfax, but the methane problem didn't extend further west -- the Cheviott Hills NIMBY's active today, and other groups, didn't want "those people" coming through their neighborhoods.
There was also a sense that "if we build it, they will come." Well, now even Zev realizes that "they" will come anyway -- but "they" aren't coming from Ohio and Denver, except a handful of Hollywood hopefuls who aren't the financial bedrock of the city. (When he spoke to us in the Valley, this is where Zev said "they" were coming from -- he can't admit the un- PC fact that Americans are exisiting L A by the hundred thousands every year, as more illegals move in and have their huge, impoverishe families.)
Zev is trying to put himself at the head of a movement that he set in motion negatively, hoping L A has no institutional memory. (Waxman halted subway funding at the fed level, but at Zev's insistence.) Only now that his old enemies at MTA are gone, is he pushing for that long-overdue subway-to-the-sea that could have been easy to fund in easy times.
So he's no "white knight," just sounds like he's listening. But he IS justifiably outraged at how much total power developers have over neighborhoods -- like he told us, some of them buy land on sheer spec, and that's no guarantee to build, or to trump the rights in loss of quality of life and property values of everyone else.
One problem though, and which was probably a big reason the local pols went for SB1818 so hot and fast, was the way some homeowners stall every project. The group in WLA that shook down the developer for a cool $7.5 million, gave L A the rep of being hostile and out of control, that HOA's and not the city make the decisions. Frankly, some of those leaders got haughty, nasty and said as much over who should wield power in this city.
Maybe that's why the city is so unsympathetic to ST over HD too -- they don't want to set any more precedents, so every neighborhood will stop or shake down every project, generating lawsuits. (Too bad because ST sounds like good people, not like some of the WLA bunch.)
Residents need to sue the city. It's the only chance of holding their feet to the fire. Otherwise, the developers all win.
Mayor Sam you need to change the title to "The State SuperStorm has arrived". With a recession looming and the state budget in shambles, expect to see many cuts. I wonder when more U.S. citizens will revolt against the non-existent immigration enforcement. California and Los Angeles is paying schools and other services for too many poor illegal aliens.
Who could not see this coming, if I invite all my poor relatives into my house and they don't have good paying jobs and aren't contributing to the household budget; guess what I will go broke. Any idiot with a 3rd grade education could see this coming.
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/14/MN6UVJBJH.DTL
More than 10,100 teachers will see pink slips in their mailboxes over the next few days as districts up and down California meet a Saturday deadline to warn staff of anticipated layoffs due to the state's budget crisis.
It wouldn't surprise me if some public interest law firm steps into back up the Sunland-Tujunga people to sue the city.
Mayor Sam why are you not taking a look at why the Disney Family is opposed to the Universal Project. That seems more business related yes?
I couldn't help noticing that the Ponte Vista project in San Pedro was not on your list of mega projects. At 1950 (marked down from 2300)units on 62 acres it ranks up there near the top especially with regard to the the infrastructure problems it would create (traffic being the first and foremost as there is only one way in and out of the project site on Western Avenue which is already heavily impacted).
What is notable is that Harbor area NC's and local HOA'S got together to create an informal organization called RNeighborhoodsAre1 (www.rneighborhoodsare1.org)to help drum up support for the current site zoning of R-1. Over 11,000 signatures were collected and Councilwoman Hahn got the message. She says (at this point) that she's has been given no reason to change it. It does, however, remain an on going process.
Just4fin -
Thanks for the heads up and the details on that project. I wanted to just focus on some of the most well known and often discussed (especially here on the blog) projects around town. For sure, they are not the only ones.
Please tell your neighbors to feel free to come here and post their views on the project you mention or any others we may have missed; we will for sure check them out for future posts.
you don't understand that no matter how much the white people of Sunland-Tujunga huff and puff, the Home Depot will be built. So will Las Lomas. Its all about Latinos and money putos. You white people should either move or die. Where are the young white people? Do you see any at NCs? No! You see young Latinos and old white people. White people stopped birthing babies and we Latinos are taking you over via the vagina.
So shop at your home Depot you old nasty white person because soon we will own your land too.
Dear Fat Mayor Sam,
Fat Jew Zev will never be Mayor. This is a Brown city pinche puto.
Hasta luego joto!
Great, taking shots at Zev because he is Jewish - Hey Mayor Sam, way to encourage dialogue. This is even more compelling than the Lincoln-Douglas debates.
Signed,
Juan Epstien's Mudder
Mrs. Epstein,
How about contributing something instead?
Just4fin lists Ponte Vista as a project that should have been considered.
Perhaps if he had used the name of the project's overdeveloper, Bob Bisno, more ears would have perked up.
There are two blogs concerning Ponte Vista and overdevelopments or "weapons of mass developments" a phrase first penned by Just4fin, and they are www.pontevista.blogspot.com and www.rneighborhoodsare1.blogspot.com.
These two blogs also deal with Bob's fiascos in Baldwin Park and Santa Ana, and his attempts to come into areas and tell residents and business owners that he know what is best for them, but he really doesn't listen to what the residents and business owners know what is best for them.
Yes, I am plugging my two blogs, but we here, down on the peninsula have a lot more problems with overdevelopments than some other areas have.
You have to come to San Pedro and not go through San Pedro. We are a peninsula of the L.A. Basin, which is part of the Great Basin of the Mojave Desert.
We are now at the point when organizations opposed to overdevelopments will finally band together and put a stop or a big slow down on all attempts of overdevelopments and greedy overdevelopers who want to fill OUR basin to overflowing, take their profits, and run away.
Whether it's R Neighborhoods Are 1 in the San Pedro area or the C.A.R.A. group in Baldwin Park, we will all come together to fight the good fight against overdevelopments no matter where they are proposed!
No one is speaking up about the new condo/apartment development being brought into Taylor Yard in Cypress Park.
No community involvement has allowed this project to sneak in and probly be built. It will be built right next to train tracks and the new school. More traffic on one lane and two lane streets. Real smart, those planner idots in city hall and Ed Reyes.
Uncle Sam:
Nailed it.
Erin Farrell
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