"You got to meet Lucille Saunders." I must have been told that half a dozen times in the past few weeks. '"She's the one who gets things done."
At the Saving L.A. Project's Bastille Day rally at City Hall I did get to meet Lucille and spend a few minutes with her. My wife spent a lot of time with her and told me later, "You've got to really meet Lucille. She's amazing."
Lucille Saunders, psychotherapist in private practice and longtime community activist, has taken a bead on the No. 1 problem in Los Angeles: Out-of-control development without a coherent plan for making the city better for its residents, workers or businesses.
She's found the fatal flaw -- and she's trying to drive a stake through the heart of City Hall's corruption.
What has been going on for years as anybody who has paid the least bit of attention knows is that our public servants have been selling out the public interest to developers.
What Saunders has found is that City Hall is violating state law and the city's own general plan for development -- and the violations have been going on for a decade.
Saunders and the La Brea-Willoughby Coalition she leads sued the city last month with the help of attorneys Sabrina Venskus and Emilee Moeller. They don't want money, only for the city to obey the law. Here is the suit, click on the link to download:
labrea.pdf.
"We will not be diverted from what we're asking. We will not be co-opted," Saunders told me."There's audits and procedures required by law that must be done... or the city cannot know whether developing is outpacing infrastructure. The city hasn't followed the rules since 1998."
If Saunders wins, we ought to build a statue to her on the South Lawn of City Hall.
Victory would mean the judge imposes a moratorium on city approval of zoning changes and changes to specific community or the general plans until the monitoring and reporting is completed. It also would force officials to sit down at the table of power with the people and figure out what kind of city this is and how the quality of life can be improved for all and make sure new projects enhance, rather than degrade, the urban environment or face the consequences with an increasingly organized and effective electorate.
At the Saving L.A. Project's Bastille Day rally at City Hall I did get to meet Lucille and spend a few minutes with her. My wife spent a lot of time with her and told me later, "You've got to really meet Lucille. She's amazing."
Lucille Saunders, psychotherapist in private practice and longtime community activist, has taken a bead on the No. 1 problem in Los Angeles: Out-of-control development without a coherent plan for making the city better for its residents, workers or businesses.
She's found the fatal flaw -- and she's trying to drive a stake through the heart of City Hall's corruption.
What has been going on for years as anybody who has paid the least bit of attention knows is that our public servants have been selling out the public interest to developers.
What Saunders has found is that City Hall is violating state law and the city's own general plan for development -- and the violations have been going on for a decade.
Saunders and the La Brea-Willoughby Coalition she leads sued the city last month with the help of attorneys Sabrina Venskus and Emilee Moeller. They don't want money, only for the city to obey the law. Here is the suit, click on the link to download:
labrea.pdf.
"We will not be diverted from what we're asking. We will not be co-opted," Saunders told me."There's audits and procedures required by law that must be done... or the city cannot know whether developing is outpacing infrastructure. The city hasn't followed the rules since 1998."
If Saunders wins, we ought to build a statue to her on the South Lawn of City Hall.
Victory would mean the judge imposes a moratorium on city approval of zoning changes and changes to specific community or the general plans until the monitoring and reporting is completed. It also would force officials to sit down at the table of power with the people and figure out what kind of city this is and how the quality of life can be improved for all and make sure new projects enhance, rather than degrade, the urban environment or face the consequences with an increasingly organized and effective electorate.
The single most important issue today is development. Our elected
officials are selling of the city to developers. That's how they raise
millions for their campaigns for office and ballot measures and it's
how they keep cash flowing into the city treasury to keep from being
exposed as the incompetent managers of the city they are and betrayers
of the public trust.
Don't hold your breath but if the mayor and the City Council had an ounce of integrity and concern for the city, they would not bother to meet Wednesday's deadline for filing a response to Saunders suit.
Millions of building permits have been issued during the last 10 years in violation of the law. The population has grown. Traffic has gotten more congested. The environment has been degraded. The quality of our lives and our neighborhoods has gotten worse.
I"The city's failure to perform the required monitoring and reporting while still continuing to approve massive development at break-neck speed, threatens the health, safety and welfare of the residents, workers and business owners of Los Angeles," says the lawsuit.
"Without the required monitoring and reporting, City decisionmakers cannot know whether the population growth facilitated by the sheer enormity of development approved within the last 10 years and continuing, is overburdening or will likely overburden current infrastructure capacity and services delivery...whether planned infrastructure capacity and services delivery will come online in time to accommodate the near-term increase in population that will result from development already approved but not yet built."
In other words, city officials don't or care what the impact of development is on the city. They have flagrantly violated the law. Worse yet they have replaced the rule of law with the rule of money, the cash from developers, contractors and the political apparatus that keeps them in office, selling out the city and its people for their own benefit.
And that's a crime.
Don't hold your breath but if the mayor and the City Council had an ounce of integrity and concern for the city, they would not bother to meet Wednesday's deadline for filing a response to Saunders suit.
Millions of building permits have been issued during the last 10 years in violation of the law. The population has grown. Traffic has gotten more congested. The environment has been degraded. The quality of our lives and our neighborhoods has gotten worse.
I"The city's failure to perform the required monitoring and reporting while still continuing to approve massive development at break-neck speed, threatens the health, safety and welfare of the residents, workers and business owners of Los Angeles," says the lawsuit.
"Without the required monitoring and reporting, City decisionmakers cannot know whether the population growth facilitated by the sheer enormity of development approved within the last 10 years and continuing, is overburdening or will likely overburden current infrastructure capacity and services delivery...whether planned infrastructure capacity and services delivery will come online in time to accommodate the near-term increase in population that will result from development already approved but not yet built."
In other words, city officials don't or care what the impact of development is on the city. They have flagrantly violated the law. Worse yet they have replaced the rule of law with the rule of money, the cash from developers, contractors and the political apparatus that keeps them in office, selling out the city and its people for their own benefit.
And that's a crime.
Ron Kaye is the former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News where he spent 23 years helping to make the newspaper the voice of the San Fernando Valley and fighting for a city government that serves the people and not special interests.
Twice in recent years, Los Angeles Magazine listed Kaye among the city’s most influential people, specifically in the area of politics. Kaye has been variously described in the media as the “accidental anarchist,” “the Patrick Henry of the San Fernando Valley” and a “passionate populist.” He is now committed to
carrying on his crusade for a greater Los Angeles as an ordinary citizen. Previously, Ron worked at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Australian as well as papers
in Fairbanks, Alaska and Yakima, Wash. He also wrote for Newsweek magazine, The Guardian in London and the National Enquirer.
There are only two ways we can change business as usual downtown. Find and run our own candidates for City Council. And, raise funds to challenge the city's actions in court, just like Lucille's group did.
All of the odd-numbered council districts office holders are up for election next year. That means those residents have a significant opportunity to change the future of Los Angeles.
opps...meant to add "three ways" to challenge to challenge City Hall...the other is to apply lots of pressure though SLAP.
As a business trial lawyer with over 20 years' experience, I can tell you it will be easier to REPLACE the crooked career politicians than to remedy their misconduct through litigation.
I urge anyone reading this to consider seriously running for City Council. As the other person noted, all the odd-numbered City Council Districts come up for election in March 2009.
I'm running for Mayor. We could also use some good candidates for City Attorney and City Controller.
We don't have to accept the same developers' cronies over and over. They don't give a damn about our quality of life. The developers just want profits -- many don't even live here -- and the career politicians to whom they contribute just want contributions.
If you want to fix this city, you must take action. Let me put it bluntly: put up or shut up.
Walter Moore
Candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles
http://WalterMooreForMayor.com
I like both ideas, of running "clean" candidates, and litigating, but I doubt they'll be enough. As you've said, it's the system itself that's corrupt, and a bunch of new officeholders can't change that by themselves.
I just ran across the Amazon page for a recent book,
"-30-: The Collapse of the Great American Newspaper", and it triggered me to write this. I believe at least a third element must be part of the mix: an effective way to get the word out to the majority of the citizens of LA. Once people understand the details of what "corruption" means in LA, and what it's costing them, the momentum for change may build quickly.
As long as most people are getting their information about the city through the moribund corporate media, this won't happen. Could you, along with other retired/fired/laid off journalists (there must be quite a number of them in LA by now), create a plan for a new, vibrant media, supported directly by LA readers, not beholden to large out-of-city corporate advertisers? With the support of current city and neighborhood activists, it could become a virally growing force. I propose that this should be an early and intense focus of SLAP.
Don: The North Valley Reporter, single handedly edited and published by Nina Royal, is one great little newspaper that is not beholden to advertisers or special interests. Nina Royal is a Sunland-Tujunga resident who publishes the “no-profit” paper bi-monthly, frequently at a loss. The North Valley Reporter has been known to turn away hundreds of dollars in advertising from those commercial entities that do not have the best interests of the community in mind. The North Valley Reporter (818) 563-1962 is a free community newspaper, which can be picked up at libraries, banks and supermarkets in the North Valley. Or send 6 each 9 x 11 self-addressed envelopes, stamped with $1.20 each and mail to North Valley Reporter P.O. Box 674 Tujunga, CA 91043 for a copy. The North Valley Reporter contains in depth stories that keep North Valley residents informed about quality of life issues. You are going to find articles that the mainstream media will not touch. Nina Royal wants readers to make up their own minds on the issues, and she does not editorialize. The North Valley Reporter welcomes well written articles that inform the reader. Nina provides a forum for the facts to get out via her staff of volunteer and guest writers. Ask Ron Kaye-- he wrote an article for the latest edition. The center of the 8 page paper contains a Calendar of community and neighborhood council events. There is a link to the North Valley Reporter website on Ron Kaye's website. However, due to a lack of funding, the website has not been updated in some time. The printing costs for this paper have increased four times since January. This great little paper should not be confused with the many other small commercial papers that have cropped up in recent years. The North Valley Reporter reserves the front page for news, not advertisers. The North Valley Reporter needs articles, advertisers, and support. This is one great vehicle for getting the word out on Ron Kaye’s Save L.A. Project. Take a look.
Please, someone, explain this to me in plain English: http://ronkayela.com/labrea.pdf - what is the nature of this La Brea law suit. It seems to be a very important and possibly a precident setting issue and I would like to understand it better. The City is co-opting the rights of its citizens more and more, just over-running our neighborhoods with under the radar new codes and zoning issues that are ruining us. Please expain this lawsuit as it may pertain to our neighborhood as well and we may want to follow their lead. Thank you.
Lucille Saunders you are my hero! Please post an update and tell us you won your case, so many times city planning justified horrible development agreements over near unanimous community opposition with lies it passed off as facts, all the while not apparently even intending to perform the required monitoring and reporting! I suppose doing so could have curtailed the breakneck pace of development project approvals with those pesky facts!
Please lets next stop the complete and utter destruction of nature that continues to this day here in Sunland Tujunga and other hillside communities on the outskirts of the City of LA!
Planning approvals of developer entitlment requests continue apace here, and will within 3 years have killed all the nature that remains. Justified by multitudes of boilerplate "MND declarations" all documenting how each project's approved death and destruction of all native life was "less than significant" and that the death of all remaining living things native to Los Angeles was, with specified mitigation measures of course, reduced to a level of less than significance!
We thank you, and wish you success,
Ricky Grubb. environmentalrep@STNC.org .