"Eagle
Rock: Where land use and planning is a contact sport"
THE EAGLE ROCK ASSOCIATION
May 23,
2002
In this issue:
1. WALGREENS ISSUE -- DESIGN REVIEW BOARD MEETS TONIGHT
2. HIDDEN ADDENDA; HIDDEN AGENDA
3. VALLEY PRESS CONFERENCE -- FRIDAY, MAY 24 -- JOIN US
4. THREE OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
PROFESSORS OFFERED FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIPS TO TEACH ABROAD
5. HISTORIC 30s/40s BUILDING FOR LEASE
6. GARCETTI ANNOUNCES INDEMNITY PLAN FOR NEIGHBORHOODS
7. LETTERS AND E.MAILS
8. QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Eagle Rock Branch Library, 5027 Caspar
Avenue, Eagle Rock
TONIGHT, Thursday, May 23, 2002, at 6:00 p.m., the
newly-appointed Design Review Board (DRB), mandated to be appointed at the time
of passage of the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan (the Plan) about 10 years
ago, at last has been appointed and meets for the first time. This
meeting will be held at the Eagle Rock Library, 5027 Caspar Avenue in Eagle
Rock.
The Walgreens proposal, submitted by the developer, FCD
Realty & Development, LLC, will be on the agenda for review by the DRB.
It is the same proposal with the silly "canopy" idea (you know,
"walls" made of nothing but air, for a full view of a sea of parking
lot) that the developer showed us in late March of this year. Please
review the attached images so you can see for yourself.
2. Hidden Addenda, Hidden Agenda; The Ave 57 Specific
Plan TOD (Transportation Oriented District), and Ed Reyes's secret plan (and
postscript)
Council Member Ed Reyes has
secretly changed and amended significant aspects the Ave 57 Specific Plan TOD
going before City Council for approval this Friday. The changes and
amendments effectively gut the plan's original intent by allowing dramatically
higher density development in both his and Council Member Pacheco's districts.
The original plan, the culmination of a year-long joint community and
city department effort, laid out a rational plan that carefully prescribed
development around the new Ave 57 Gold Line station; good planning in the city
known as the antithesis of planning. But unbeknownst to most of the city staff
and community volunteer authors, Council Member Ed Reyes edited the plan and
inserted additional language, an ethically questionable maneuver that may make
the plan illegal without a new review through the Planning & Land Use
Management public processes, and a reevaluation of EIR and CEQA conformance.
Background:
When the Authority for Metro Rail "Blue Line" was created (the
train line itself is now named the "Gold Line" but the authority
remains the "Blue Line"), a station was planned for Ave. 57 and
Figueroa St. in Highland Park. There were a number of community concerns
regarding future development around this new transportation hub. The plan
area is shared by both Council Members Reyes and Pacheco. The creation of
a Specific Plan for a Transportation Oriented District (TOD) was initiated to
address these concerns and set guidelines for future development. Much of this
is spelled out in the original text of the Specific Plan Ordinance for Ave 57
Transportation Oriented District.
Original Plan Model of Community/City Cooperation
The development of the Specific Plan began in 2000. In a period of
just over a year, members of the community, the NELA CPAC, the Highland Park
Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, various city departments and the Reyes and
Pacheco council offices worked together on this project. A series of public and
NELA CPAC meetings were conducted. In these meetings numerous presentations
were made showing what the consequences of various courses of action might be,
including known plans and proposals for the Specific Plan area. From this
very careful and lengthy public process, the details of the original Specific
Plan document were hammered out.
Key Implementation Device: Limit Lot Ties & Square Footage
The resulting Specific Plan document produced from this process has a great
deal of language referencing scale, integrity and preservation issues. Mixed
use and adaptive reuse are cornerstones of this plan. A key device by
which scale appropriateness is managed is through the limiting of lot ties and
square footage. Specifically, the original plan called for a lot assembly
restriction of a maximum of two lots with a combined area equal or less than
10,000 square feet for residential development or a maximum assembly of
three lots with a combined area equal or less than 15,000 square feet for
commercial development. This is, indeed a good part of the
"heart and spirit" of the entire plan and a large part of why it was
created and supported by the public. A rationale for these devices is
presented in the plan at length.
Reference to Amended Document in Council Procedures
When the Ave 57 Specific Plan TOD was being presented to council last week,
one of our friends was there to give praise to the historic achievement the
original plan represented. As Council Member Reyes presented the plan for
a vote, subtle references to an amendment were made. What amendment was that,
our friend thought?
A vote took place, but since it was the last item on the agenda, several
council members had already left. With 12 votes required, it only
received votes from all 10 council members still in the room. The motion
was tabled for a future date (Friday May 24th), where by some strange twist of
City Council logic, it only needs 8 votes on a revote to pass. Does this mean
that if there are less than 8 council members to vote on Friday, it will need
only 6 votes on its next appearance before council, and carry on until it could
theoretically pass with no votes?
The hunt for the not so "public" document
So our investigation began with an effort to get a copy of the amendment
and Specific Plan document, to see what the amendment was all about. Here's the
gist of our activities and conversations:
First we went to the City Clerk's office. They looked and looked but did
not have it. They thought it was strange.
Next we went to Council Member Reyes's office and asked CD1 staff if they could
give us a copy of the Specific Plan and its amendment. CD1: Can you go
home and we'll call you when we find it? Us: No, we won't go home without
it. CD1: Well we can't find it. Us: Ok, we know the City Attorney
might have it, so we'll go over there. CD1: Hold on a minute, we found
the amendment. Here it is. But we can't find the Specific Plan.
Us: We left with the amendment but thought it was very strange.
Called Bob Sutton's Office - Planning Department Senior Manager who signed off
on the amended and edited Specific Plan. BSO: Sorry, but it has a note on
it that says "Do not give out to public." Us: But it's a public
document! BSO: Sorry.
Went to the City Attorney. CA: Go to City Clerk. Us: Nope, not
there. CA: Should be able to get from Planning, it's public record. Us:
We tried Sutton's office at Planning and they said no go. CA: They can't do
that. Us: Well, they did. CA very nicely printed up the entire document and
pointed out the "Council member's alteration."
We called Con Howe (Head of Planning Department) and left message, Bob Sutton
called back. BS: Never put a hold on that document. Us: Well we can only
repeat to you what we were told.
Us: (thinking) Who's been busy covering trails and then got to the Planning
Department brass?
Secret Amendments and Changes
The amended and edited Specific Plan Reyes introduced on 5/17/02 for his
and Pacheco's districts doubles the original Specific Plan's size restriction
for residential, and triples the original ordinance's commercial restrictions.
The amended language calls for: "A lot assembly restriction of a maximum
of four lots with a combined area equal or less than 20,000 square feet for
residential development or six lots with a combined area equal to or
less than 50,000 square feet for commercial development shall apply to the
entire area included within the Avenue 57 Transit Oriented District (TOD)
Specific Plan."
Double Dip for Developers
There were a number of bonus and incentives put in the original Specific
Plan including a bonus to compensate for restricting the assembly of lots -- a
floor area restriction (FAR) bonus that allowed a 25% increase of square
footage for a number of developments. These original bonuses and
incentives remain in the Reyes plan, effectively giving developers the double
Christmas present of doubled and tripled lot ties and square footages plus the
FAR bonuses and incentives for the restrictive lot ties that are no longer
restrictive.
Highland Park HPOZ Threatened
Almost all of the area of the Specific Plan is in the boundaries of Los
Angeles's oldest Historic Preservation Overlay Zone (HPOZ), The Highland Park
HPOZ. The original document conformed with the Highland Park HPOZ
standards as well as the Northeast Community Plan. Those directives
include specific language that prescribes curtailing the building of large,
out-of-scale apartment complexes, retail "boxes," [like Walgreens]
and "mini-mall-box-like" buildings, while ensuring the integrity of
the historic area by encouraging the preservation of existing structures and
restricting new buildings to be ones that are appropriate in scale and style.
The Reyes amended document conflicts directly with these.
What about Nick Pacheco?
A considerable part of the area inside the Specific Plan is in Council Member
Pacheco's district. His staff had worked side by side with Reyes staff on
the original plan in detail. Nick and his staff had a copy of the amended
language set before council, and when it came to a vote, Nick voted
affirmatively for approval. Is this because it is in his district where
conditions may be most favorable for the oversized development [a la
Walgreens] that would be allowed if the secretly changed plan was passed?
Is Nick getting Ed to do a favor for him?
Is It Legal?
Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee, headed by Council
Member Reyes, gave an affirmative disposition to the original Specific Plan at
a public meeting on April 24th 2001. There are substantial differences
between this document and the one slated to come before City Council Friday,
5/24/02. Statements of Purpose, Statements Strengthening the Public
Input, the HPOZ Jurisdiction, and many other more "community"
oriented elements are gone from this document.
We spoke to Planning Department senior management. We asked if, given the
substantial nature of these changes, the EIR was revisited, the document was
sent back to PLUM, or if it was re-examined for CEQA conformity, and were these
reviews documented? Senior management acknowledged that there had been no
further review, and that while those reviews were not done, they were
"sure it falls within them." When asked if they thought this was
proper, they stated they thought it would "probably be ok." When
asked how they could have signed off on the document, they stated, "Well,
staff did not give me any reason not to." This abdication of
management responsibility, in effect hiding behind "staff," speaks
for itself.
There are huge ethical and legal issues exposed here.
The amount of good faith on the part of the public and the city agencies
that Council Member Reyes's secret actions voids is staggering; to say nothing
of the financial investment in time and expenditures that is burned here. The
ramifications of actions like this strike at the very heart of public
participation in the planning process, and lay to waste the ideals of
transparent government.
Please forward this exposé through your e-mail lists and message groups.
Please write, fax, or e-mail your Council Member to "Vote NO" for
the Reyes amended and edited Ave 57 Specific Plan TOD. We need to pass
the original document as it originally passed out of PLUM, draft Feb. 2000.
Further Information:
For copies of The Ave 57 Specific Plan TOD and amendment, please contact
Bob Sutton (senior manager at the Planning Department) at 213 978 1244
For any other information please contact me at this e-mail address or by
calling me at 323 665 7670
Thanks:
andrew garsten
Postscript:
As a courtesy, I called Council Member Reyes on Wednesday morning to speak with
him about this report. In the afternoon we spoke, and as a result of this
conversation he said he would "table" his amended and edited Ave 57
Specific Plan TOD, and that we would run this report and include this
postscript.
We greatly appreciate that Ed has seen the light. Thank you, Council
Member!
However, we must remain vigilant. Council Member Reyes now has a
"heads up" and we can expect all sorts of interesting spin control.
Also, it is still imperative that this report be forwarded to others and
letters be written to council members in case the amended Ave 57 Specific Plan
TOD ends up still being put up for voted on Friday.
-- Andrew Garsten, Spokesperson, The Coalition to Save Van de Kamp's, savevandekamps@ixpres.com
3. Valley Press Conference -- Friday May 24th
-- Join Us
Today the Mayor held a press conference at Los Angeles City Hall with several
of the well known downtown billionaires to announce how they are going to work
together to block the Valley from its drive for Independence.
The San Fernando Valley will respond by having a press conference on the steps
of Van Nuys City Hall with leaders and residents from across the Valley.
Yesterday's approval of a Vote on San Fernando Valley Independence was a great
victory for the people. The City of Los Angeles is the people's City and the
people should be able to decide how it is structured.
As people across Los Angeles are learning the facts support for a new Valley
City and a smaller more manageable City of Los Angeles is growing. People in
both areas benefit.
As a result, the media is suggesting that the mayor appears desperate and his
rhetoric is being rejected by the public as not believable. Join us, in a
Valley show of support to the Mayor that the people should have a right to vote
on San Fernando Valley Independence and he should not block the vote with his
money or his lawsuits.
The press conference will be held at:
Friday, May 24, 2002 10:00AM
Van
Nuys City Hall Steps
14410 Sylvan Ave.
Van Nuys, California
Join Us
On May 22, the Los Angeles County LAFCO approved the question of creating an
independent Valley City going on the November 5, 2002 ballot by a vote of 8 -1
with the only desenting vote being a vote by Cindy Miscikowski, the only voting
member of LAFCO from the City of Los Angeles.
4. THREE OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE PROFESSORS OFFERED
FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIPS TO TEACH ABROAD
Three Occidental College faculty members -- associate biology Professor Elizabeth
Braker, associate Spanish Professor Salvador Fernandez and assistant
anthropology Professor Jeffrey Tobin -- have been offered prestigious Fulbright
Fellowships to teach abroad.
The trio accounts for the most Fulbrights offered to Occidental faculty in a
single year since four professors won the fellowships during the 1974-75
academic year. Their proposed assignments are as follows:
Elizabeth Braker, who has taught at Oxy since 1991, plans to spend six months
affiliated with the ecology department at Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Chile in the Chilean capital of Santiago. Starting in August, she could teach a
graduate course and conduct a collaborative research project on vulnerable,
threatened and non-threatened plants in Chile's San Carlos de Apoquindo region,
an area whose abundant plant species are threatened by urban encroachment and
non-native European grasses.
"Central Chile and California contain relatively similar proportions of
the world's endemic species; however, in contrast to California, with 39.2
percent of area protected, only 10 percent of Central Chile is protected,"
Braker said. "This study will allow me to compare conservation strategies
and biodiversity protection in the two regions at a broad level, while focusing
attention on a clearly defined research question relevant to the conservation
of threatened plants and their insect pollinators."
Salvador Fernandez plans to spend up to five months as a senior lecturer at
Spain's Universidad de Barcelona and the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona,
where he expects to teach American literature beginning in February. He has
taught at Oxy since 1992. Fernandez will teach a Latin American/Mexican
literatures and theory course and a Mexican-American/Latino cultural and
literary studies course.
"Spain provides an excellent academic and social environment for my
lecture-teaching project because of its historical and cultural importance for
Latin America," Fernandez said. "Its influence in the literatures and
cultures of the Americas, which includes Chicano/Latino literatures in the
United States, continues to be as vital as it was 500 years ago. For the
Americas, Spain serves as an ideal cultural avenue for our scholarly
exploration into newer areas of Spanish-language studies and cultural and
literary productions, generally associated with trans-Atlantic studies."
An Oxy faculty member since 1998, Jeffrey Tobin will travel to Buenos Aires in
July to teach and conduct research on Jewishness at Argentina's National
Institute of Anthropology. Tobin, who is the recipient of a summer stipend from
the National Endowment for the Humanities that covers the same project, will
remain in South America through December.
"I'll teach a graduate seminar exploring connections between
anthropology's roots as a so-called 'Jewish science' and the recent blossoming
of 'native anthopology' practiced by Latinos, Indian-Americans and other
'outsiders' in U.S. society," Tobin said. "I'll also conduct
ethnographic research on how models of masculinity that circulate in Buenos
Aires' Jewish community compare to the models of masculinity that circulate
in the dominant Argentine society and in Jewish communities in Europe and
the United States."
The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by
former Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. About 234,000 scholars, 88,000 of
them from the United States, have participated in the program since its
inception. About 4,500 new grants are awarded annually. They are funded chiefly
by an annual appropriation from Congress, with additional contributions made by
foreign governments.
5. HISTORIC 30s/40s BUILDING FOR LEASE
2000+ sq. ft. (41x49) with back patio/trees. Great frontage and
visibility at 1948 Colorado Boulevard in the burgeoning dining-shopping-arts
area of Eagle Rock. Now divided into small offices/can reconfigure.
Next door to upgraded/remodeled liquor/deli shop and (potential) upscale
restaurant/coffee house. Looking for one tenant, good credit, long-term
lease. Asking $3,400.00 a month, will negotiate. Please call (323)
660-3753.
6. Garcetti
Announces Indemnity Plan for Neighborhoods
May 8, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved today a new indemnification
policy to ensure neighborhood groups can improve their neighborhoods without
fear of costly litigation.
Council member Garcetti stated: "Every day we are asking City residents to
partner with us in making our City a cleaner, healthier, more livable place.
And every day, neighborhood heroes respond to that call with
neighborhood clean ups, neighborhood re-greening and beautification projects
and graffiti paint outs."
Garcetti continued: "Today dawns as a bright new day in the City's
partnership with our neighborhoods. Our neighborhood heroes no longer
will fear financial ruin from litigation which may arise from their
neighborhood work. Instead, we are creating a city insurance policy for
neighborhood projects at NO cost to community groups which will indemnify
against litigation losses."
The City's new neighborhood indemnification policy was created by a
public/private working group created at the request of Council member Garcetti
and the City Council. Garcetti thanked the members of the working group
for their hard work. Garcettis motion is attached.
Garcetti concluded: "I know that this is an important issue for the
residents and businesses of Silver Lake who were unfairly faced with litigation
for their great work improving the Gateway to Silver Lake (Silver Lake 2000).
The Council's action today makes clear that this is not merely a
"Silver Lake 2000" issue. I am pleased that the City today is
standing for protection for all of our neighborhood activists."
For further information, contact Garcetti's Chief of Staff, Rich Llewellyn, at
213/473-7013.
7. LETTERS AND E.MAILS
"My husband and I went on the Eagle Rock Home Tour yesterday and had a
wonderful time. It was such a pleasant day. The tour was so well
organized and the homes were so lovely. My thanks to the Eagle Rock
residents who opened up their homes for this lovely event. And, my thanks
to TERA for organizing such a wonderful community event."
-- Esther Gillies, Eagle Rock resident and TERA member
"Sorry that Kelly and I did not make it to the party after the tour
yesterday but we had a limited child care situation. I missed seeing you
and John and Tracy et.al. But we did get out to see four of the homes in
the afternoon and they all seemed well-attended.
A favor: could you give me the phone number for the owners of the Johnson House
at 1615 Hill? I want to ask them a question about a detail I saw that
relates to our own house. The brochure looked great, as usual.
Thanks --"
-- Sean Mitchell, Eagle Rock resident, TERA member, owner of one of the homes
on TERA's 2001 Eclectic Eagle Rock Home Tour, and one of the writers for our
2002 Home Tour
"I made a point at the [Home Tour] party [for volunteers] of talking with
each of the docents who were there to ask them what kind of experience they
had, and every single person replied strongly in the positive. Today I
received a bunch of e-mails from docents telling me the same thing. Most
of these folks are new to the tour, and many of them are younger. This is
a great sign."
-- Wanda Kuenzli, Home Tour docent coordinator, Eagle Rock resident, TERA
member, chair of the Eagle Rock Community Cultural Association, and an
incredibly hard worker
"Whom did they [Walgreens] hire as developers? I haven't seen
schematics like this since the early 80's. Computers are an amazing
invention. In Phoenix, from my recollection, the Walgreens buildings tend
to be at the street with the parking behind. I thought they were supposed to be
a 'community oriented' organization. I'll do my best to be at the meeting
on Thursday.
I'll see if there are pictures of the RiteAid in Long Beach that was built in a
completely rehabbed pharmacy building. They did an amazing job with it,
totally keeping the character of the building while turning it into a completely
modern store."
-- Thom Brennan, Eagle Rock resident and new TERA member
" Thanks so much for the info.
You have worked so hard that I understand the frustrations you must be
feeling. I wonder how Walgreens would react if we had petitions signed by
hundreds of community members who vowed never to shop there once they built it.
It seems to me they might think twice about stocking their shelves just
to have their merchandise sit there! Thanks again for keeping us
well-informed."
-- Terrye Munday, 46-year Eagle Rock resident
[Editor's note: Many of the people who signed our 2,000+ petitions
commented that they would refuse to patronize Walgreens if the company did not
respect the community's wishes by restoring and reusing the Shopping Bag building.
Those petitions were sent to the CEO of Walgreens.]
8. QUOTE OF THE
WEEK
"There is a principal in physics that says if a
thing cannot be distinguished from any other thing it does not exist. If
your town cannot be distinguished from any other town [because of
encroaching big-box development], sooner or later it will cease to
exist."
-- Donovan Rypkema
Joanne Turner <artburn@earthlink.net>
President, The Eagle Rock Association (TERA)