Of all the crimes committed against the people by City
Hall, the greatest is what they have done to the city’s neighborhoods and the
quality of life – and what they are now planning to do.
For that, they deserve the political death penalty – they
should be voted out of office unless they can make an overwhelming case that
they have stood against corruption and incompetence, stood against giveaways to
the rich and influential of untold millions intended for the poor, stood
against the endless increases in rates and fees to pay for unaffordable labor
contracts, stood against the lies and deceit.
Name one of them who has stood up for the four million
people of this city instead of pandering to the developers, contractors, unions
and other special interests that feed their campaigns with cash in exchange for
favors.
They posture and preen and cover the nakedness of their
crimes with the fig leaves of fictional narratives that have nothing to do with
what is going on behind the scenes in back rooms.
The battleground now – one that will determine the future
of Los Angeles more than any other issue – is approval of the Hollywood
Community Plan (HCP) that goes before the Planning Commission at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Room 350. (http://cityplanning.lacity.org/ search CPC-2005-6082-CPU)
Given how the commission system has been politicized just
like the upper echelons of the bureaucracy, the approval is a mere formality
even if hundreds of people show up to protest.
It will take a well-organized and sustained protest movement to stop
this – or the resources to file a lawsuit against the numerous failings of the HCP.
The Planning Commission was put on notice Monday that the
plan will end up in court.
Long-time activists Jim O’Sullivan and Mike Eveloff sent
the commission a letter on Monday outlining in great detail the numerous “fatal
flaws” in the plan, accusing officials of “municipal malpractice” and threatening
prompt legal action.(LA Planning Commission Letter_Hoilywood CPC- 2005-6082-CPU.pdf) (serious_impacts_Final.docx)
“While the growth-inducing policies contained in the HCP
are certainly a matter of opinion, our comments do not address the policy
aspects of the HCP. Rather, we focus on
the insufficiencies of the environmental review provided in the FEIR,” they
said.
“The flawed nature of the FEIR renders each of its
conclusions baseless and without merit.
Per State CEQA guidance a Statement of Overriding Consideration must be
based on substantial evidence which it defines as follows:
Substantial
evidence includes facts, reasonable assumptions predicated upon facts, and
expert opinions supported by facts.
Substantial
evidence is not argument, speculation, unsubstantiated opinion or narrative,
evidence which is clearly inaccurate or erroneous, or evidence of social or
economic impacts which do not contribute to or are not caused by physical
impacts on the environment.
“The “facts” used by the FEIR are out-of-date and are not
as specified in the General Plan Framework.
Speculation abounds throughout the FEIR and its mitigations.”
In sending out the letters, O’Sullivan said in his email that ”what we found … is there is no there,
there. None of the mitigation’s listed in the Hollywood Plan FEIR have any
funding attached, which is a CEQA no-no. It looks like they are looking to set
up mega development fees to cover some things but that we believe opens up an
environmental justice issue, namely only rich area’s with development will get
fee’s from infrastructure fixes.”
City Planning Director Michael LoGrande who got his job by doing the bidding of the politicians without regard to the interests of residents has sent out an email blast to Hollywood business owners saying “I need support” for the plan in the face of community opposition.(LoGrande email.docx)
He listed the numerous “incentives” that will be available to them, noting the increases the Floor-to-Area-Ratios” dramatically by 50 to 100 percent to allow for much more density and “removes many development limitations.”
Make no mistake:This is planning without a plan, merely the elimination of all rules and standards.
City Hall’s vision for L.A. is to make downtown like Tokyo’s Ginza and Hollywood like Times Square and to continue to rob the city’s neighborhoods to pay for it just as they have done for decades with the billions of dollars that the Community Redevelopment Agency has given away to downtown and Hollywood developers.
During all those years, L.A. gained a million new residents and lost nearly 100,000 jobs while poverty soared, neighborhoods deteriorated and the infrastructure rotted.
All that will be left if this goes through are playgrounds for the rich and slums for everyone else. It is the death knell for Los Angeles.
Ron, how kind of you to finally acknowledge that the quality of life in LA is poor.
But you also carry some responsibility for this. You were at the helm of a major local newspaper and never once did you have any article decrying all the companies leaving the city and high paying jobs disappearing
Of course these jobs were in manufacturing and aerospace so you the fancy Prius driving elites — what do you care?
Then the 800 lb gorilla in the room–the uncontrolled growth of poor foreigners with little education but many children. This segment of population required more and more apartment buildings (and increased density), more social services and created a huge underground economy where people are paid cash under the table. Since these foreign citizens are here just to make money and grab things, they have no interest in keeping neighborhoods clean and free of graffiti and litter.
One word: Garcetti.
Eric Garcetti, the smiling two-faced criminal, is behind the grotesque densification of Hollywood. The people of Hollywood need to rebel by picking up the phone and calling the Council office to say they will not vote for him for Mayor unless the Hollywood Community Plan gets downsized.
Another word: Woo.
Mike Woo, the hypocrite “planner” cum “ex-City Council member” who built his house in Silverlake and then enacted a zoning law prevented other from doing what he did with his property, is behind the endless reduction of parking requirements for developers. Woo’s agenda is clear: He wants us all to live in apartments and forced to use the bus or subway, which he drives home to his oversized, over-entitled Silverlake house.
One word: Garcetti.
Eric Garcetti, the smiling two-faced criminal, is behind the grotesque densification of Hollywood. The people of Hollywood need to rebel by picking up the phone and calling the Council office to say they will not vote for him for Mayor unless the Hollywood Community Plan gets downsized.
Another word: Woo.
Mike Woo, the hypocrite “planner” cum “ex-City Council member” who built his house in Silverlake and then enacted a zoning law prevented other from doing what he did with his property, is behind the endless reduction of parking requirements for developers. Woo’s agenda is clear: He wants us all to live in apartments and forced to use the bus or subway, which he drives home to his oversized, over-entitled Silverlake house.
Thank you Ron for writing about this..No paper, radio show, T.V. News show would touch it..Why?? We tried.. While inept, corrupt city politicos, and MIchael LoGrande, Bill Roschen, named as Millennium’s Architect AND Columbia Square’s architect while he receives a paycheck from City Planning..a complete Conflict of Interest..how do they all get away with this stuff? Who investigated the City of Bell? And where are you now? How can all of this corruption go on ‘under the radar’ like this?? These ienpt corrupt ‘planners’ are about to recreate this monster city, the new Manhattan..here in Hollywood, which no way, no how, can sustain it all..to accommodate developers who have paid dearly for the privilege Millennium, their law firm Shepperd Mullin, and partners Argent Ventures have funded most of the City Council Members campaigns AND the corrupt Mayor, who conveniently is in China while this meeting will take place.. FOR YEARS. Hollywood is stacked with many on Millennium’s payroll to enable their projects to get done..To help them set the stage..And once this Plan goes through they will be able to build whatever they want, no restrictions or oversight..no more zone or land use or height restricitons..whatsoever.. bigger, taller, do what they want..they have paid everyone off to do so. Hollywood residents tried contacting Garcetti for months regarding Millennium’s massive projects/towers proposed for Vine…. in HIS district.. not one response his hands are tied, we realized..they have funded his campaign.. and on and on and on it goes.. From The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to our own Neighborhood Councils.all stacked with people paid off by Millennium..our corrupt city council members websites carried NOT ONE WORD about the recent Public Hearings in November about this Hollywood Plan.. nothing about it at all. And City Planning told us they ONLY had to INFORM those within 500 feet of the changes..and ONLY sent out information to those..even tough this Plan impacts ALL OF HOLLYWOOD and beyond.so that means man within the same communities many id not even know about it.. some received information many did not.. . another way of slipping this through.. under the radar…Those two Public Hearings SHOULD HAVE BEEN PACKED..THEY WERE NOT.. . How can this happen..and yet NO ONE IS WRITING ABOUT IT??
Please, everyone come to the Dec. 8th meeting.. Michael LoGrande e-mail went out..he is trying to ‘stack ‘ the deck, since there has been so much opposition to The Plan and public outcries for very very good reasons..to supporters,..offering all kinds of breaks to these business people and developers who show up..It is disgusting..
How can no mainstream media cover it and how are they, how can they get away with this?
Thank you Ron, for this!
Thank you Ron for writing about this..No paper, radio show, T.V. News show would touch it..Why?? We tried.. While inept, corrupt city politicos, and MIchael LoGrande, Bill Roschen, named as Millennium’s Architect AND Columbia Square’s architect while he receives a paycheck from City Planning..a complete Conflict of Interest..how do they all get away with this stuff? Who investigated the City of Bell? And where are you now? How can all of this corruption go on ‘under the radar’ like this?? These ienpt corrupt ‘planners’ are about to recreate this monster city, the new Manhattan..here in Hollywood, which no way, no how, can sustain it all..to accommodate developers who have paid dearly for the privilege Millennium, their law firm Shepperd Mullin, and partners Argent Ventures have funded most of the City Council Members campaigns AND the corrupt Mayor, who conveniently is in China while this meeting will take place.. FOR YEARS. Hollywood is stacked with many on Millennium’s payroll to enable their projects to get done..To help them set the stage..And once this Plan goes through they will be able to build whatever they want, no restrictions or oversight..no more zone or land use or height restricitons..whatsoever.. bigger, taller, do what they want..they have paid everyone off to do so. Hollywood residents tried contacting Garcetti for months regarding Millennium’s massive projects/towers proposed for Vine…. in HIS district.. not one response his hands are tied, we realized..they have funded his campaign.. and on and on and on it goes.. From The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to our own Neighborhood Councils.all stacked with people paid off by Millennium..our corrupt city council members websites carried NOT ONE WORD about the recent Public Hearings in November about this Hollywood Plan.. nothing about it at all. And City Planning told us they ONLY had to INFORM those within 500 feet of the changes..and ONLY sent out information to those..even tough this Plan impacts ALL OF HOLLYWOOD and beyond.so that means man within the same communities many id not even know about it.. some received information many did not.. . another way of slipping this through.. under the radar…Those two Public Hearings SHOULD HAVE BEEN PACKED..THEY WERE NOT.. . How can this happen..and yet NO ONE IS WRITING ABOUT IT??
Please, everyone come to the Dec. 8th meeting.. Michael LoGrande e-mail went out..he is trying to ‘stack ‘ the deck, since there has been so much opposition to The Plan and public outcries for very very good reasons..to supporters,..offering all kinds of breaks to these business people and developers who show up..It is disgusting..
How can no mainstream media cover it and how are they, how can they get away with this?
Thank you Ron, for this!
“The Santa Monica city attorney’s office recently began enforcing a state law that says that “city officers or employees shall not be financially interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity, or by any board or commission they serve on,” and in response, planning commissioners and architects Hank Koning and Gwynn Pugh have both stepped down”. Curbed LA.
In LA, the City Attorney has enforced no laws that benefit the residents.
Sooo, can Bill Roschen be the designated architect for Millennium’s (55 story!) projects, and Columbia Square Project, while working for City Planning AND having his own architectural company? I don’t think so..Isn’t this an Ethical Violation and a Conflict of Interest? How do these guys get away with this ??
As LaBonge says, “Don’t ask for permission, Just do it. and if caught say that your sorry.” That’s a great ethical statement — cheat until your caught. Fat Tommy, however, never bothers to say that he’s sorry when he caught.
Garcetti gets caught in the middle of a $1.4 Million appraisal fraud with 1601 N Vine and the DA doesn’t notice. why? Because Cooley is a crook like all the others. His job is to protect the crooks inside and outside city hall. Poor Gov Blago — 14 years in prison. In LA, he’d be council President.
At least Chicago has the decency to put the thieves in prison, but not Cooley or the US Atty. The prosecutors are all in bed with the felons f*cking the public into the poor house.
Crooks have taken over City Hall. We elected them: the Mayor, Gruel, Trutanich and Cooley who won’t do anything. Don’t elect them for another public office.