CityWatchLA - NBC Universal Project: Example of All that’s Wrong with LA Planning Process

CityWatch, Mar 1, 2011
Vol 9 Issue 17

NBC Universal’s Evolution project is moving forward in a City of LA planning process that is a clear demonstration of all that is wrong with planning and land use policy in the City of Los Angeles. The developer driven process starts with an attack on the already low standards that purportedly protect the people of LA and then continue with exceptions and variances that result in a full assault on the local community.

Developer funded Environmental Impact Reports (EIR), traffic mitigation plans, and community benefit proposals all create a Kumbaya message that is in stark contrast to the simple reality; our infrastructure is collapsing, our streets are congested, emergency services are already challenged, and our environment is choking.

Through it all, the people we send to City Hall stand by and when pressured are only able to come up with one objection, “We need more time!”

NBC Universal’s Evolution project is positioned as an upgrade to existing film production facilities while the simple reality is this, it is the creation of a new residential community on a 391-acre property bordered by the LA River and the Hollywood Hills.

In support of the project comes a 39,000 page EIR, a document so large that it serves to highlight the implausible “hugeness” of the project that is being shoehorned into a patch of land, “all without expanding the current property.”

As Councilmember Tom LaBonge stood before the Planning Commission and asked for an extension of the hearing process until after the March 8 election, organizations from all directions stood by with well reasoned and researched commentary that falls on deaf ears.

The Studio City Neighborhood Council submitted a 98 page review (download pdf) of the Evolution project that comprehensively reviewed the project and concluded “The DEIR does not adequately address the impacts on the community from the proposed Project.” Anyone who has tried to navigate Barham during rush hour knows that the impact on the surrounding communities is already beyond capacity.

The Transit Coalition submitted an analysis (download pdf) of the Evolution project’s transit, bike, and pedestrian accessibility. It challenged the project’s claim of a modal shift away from private vehicles and called for “important modifications to meet the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) standard for less than significant impacts.” Anyone who has tried to walk up the Universal hill or navigate the incomplete river bike path knows that the projected mode shift is simply wishful thinking unsubstantiated by reality.

The Friends of Griffith Park analyzed the Evolution project’s impact on the surrounding environment, including the Santa Monica Mountains Range and the Los Angeles River Corridor, and concluded by stating “the scope of the project must be reduced dramatically in order to fully comply with CEQA mitigation requirements.”

Anyone who has ever stood on top of the Mt. Lee knows that the existing ecosystem is incompatible with any further development assault.

This cry for help is an indictment of the process for three reasons:

1) City Planning’s current cost-recovery process simply allows developers to shop for the solutions and decisions that serve them, forcing residents to fight an uphill battle against a ticking clock as LA’s soft City Plan fails protecting the character and personality of our neighborhoods.

2) The Mayor and the City Council’s laissez-faire attitude to development run amok is a complete abdication of their mandate to develop, implement, and enforce a comprehensive, long range General Plan that establishes purposes, policies and programs for the development of the City of Los Angeles.

3) Neighborhood councils, advocacy organizations, and community groups have risen to the occasion, demonstrating with their comprehensive and professional analysis of the Evolution project that LA has become a DIY city, one where our commitment to the future of LA comes from the neighborhood, not from City Hall.

The people of LA have the right to expect a well-planned, well-funded city that operates based on standards that the people of LA can depend on.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at: Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net. Disclosure: Box is also a candidate for 4th District Councilman.)

East Hollywood Connects Community via Route 66

CityWatch, Aug 20, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 66

The Route 66 legacy of connectivity continues to resonate in East Hollywood, bringing the community together in a street revitalization campaign initiated by the neighborhood council and involving the Metro, City Hall, local businesses, residents and transit passengers.

LA's Santa Monica Boulevard section of Route 66 had long ago fallen victim to multi-jurisdictional oversight that resulted in CHP, the Sheriff's Department and the LAPD sharing law enforcement authority. Caltrans and the City of LA share responsibility for maintenance while the Metro and the City of LA share authority over the transit activity, street furniture, and bus stops. Local advocates, from property owners to pedestrians, have long complained of conflict and congestion, yet the process for pursuing solutions typically frustrated even the hardiest of community members.

All that changed when the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council turned a crisis on the streets into an opportunity for the rebirth of Route 66.

The Metro's Duane Martin and Councilman Eric Garcetti's Transportation Deputy Marcel Porras joined forces and committed to supporting the neighborhood council's newly formed Transit Task Force and their mandate of supporting transit as a tool for improving the quality of life for everybody.

Bart Reed of the Transit Coalition joined forces and offered insight in navigating the bureaucratic maze, one that involves the State, the County, the City, and then departments ranging from Transportation to Public Works to Planning to the LAPD to Cultural Affairs.

Throw in the LAUSD and it became apparent, one really does need a guide if they intend to cross the street.

EHNC President David Bell moved from a problem solving paradigm and embraced an aspirational approach, implementing a connectivity strategy that embraces the rich history of Route 66.

The EHNC Transit Task Force includes Historic Preservation experts, Homeless and Social Service advocates, Arts and Culture representatives, along with members of the neighborhood council's Beautification, Public Safety and Transportation committees.

This unique approach to problem solving starts with a commitment to creating an environment that is inspirational and aspirational, focusing on a goal that has a residual impact of addressing the specific problems that initially prompted a local business owner to cross the street, attending a neighborhood council meeting and asking for help.

This is just the beginning but every great journey starts with a single step and the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council's Transit Task Force is that step, this time setting in motion another Route 66 adventure that has the capacity to transform a community.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net. Disclosure: Box is also a candidate for 4th District Councilman.)

CityWatchLA - Port of LA: A Lesson in Contradictions

CityWatch, Aug 6, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 62

To look at the Port of Los Angeles from deep inside is to gaze upon the character of the City of Los Angeles. I say this not because I've been reading Nietzsche, but because I just returned from a tour of the Port, one where I experienced profound contrasts in scale, behavior, and purpose. Theoretical discussions of shipping, transportation, the environment and the economy went from theoretical to tangible and all iActive Imaget took was a three hour boat tour.

I've long participated in advocacy work that involves reviews of bridges such as the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge, of environmental issues related to trucking on the 710, of development issues and the impact on surrounding communities and of the economic impact of LA's commitment to moving America's goods.

Those conversations inevitably include references to the Port of Los Angeles and its connection to the city, the region, and the nation.

But for all the expert testimony, mountains of technical documents and PowerPoint presentations, nothing communicates the nature and the size of the Port of Los Angeles like standing in the shadow of a Container Ship that stretches out of sight, or sailing under the Vincent Thomas Bridge and looking up at a procession of trucks moving like ants, or watching a never, ever ending train loaded with shipping containers move across the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge.

My wife and I toured the Port with a team from Caltrans that included engineers responsible for everything from environmental review, design, bridges, highways, access, funding, and regional connectivity.

We've long worked with Caltrans and it was from within this wide variety of perspectives that the term "economies of scale" took on a new meaning. But most of all, we encountered some simple contrasts that was quite revealing about the Port as well as the City of Los Angeles.

1) From our vantage point aboard the Port of LA's Angelina II, we looked to one side and watched a huge ship unloading brand new automobiles imported from overseas. The cars were shiny, the ship was beautiful, the operation of unloading was seamless.

To the other side of the channel, mountains of shredded scrap metal, salvaged from discarded automobiles, was prodded and pushed by a couple of bulldozers, part of an operation that sorts and shreds waste material and ships it back overseas so that it can be recycled and repurposed and sold to us again, perhaps as the shiny vehicles on the other side of the channel.

The majority of the shipping containers that leave the Port of LA leave empty, but of those that hold a cargo, apparently the balance of trade consists of brand new product arriving and scrap material being returned. The contrast between what we get and what we give was daunting.

2) Container Ships are huge diesel burning power generators and even sitting motionless in the Port they need power.

To see a mega-sized extension cord hanging from a large ship is an interesting contrast in technologies and environmental commitments. Unfortunately, not all ships are enabled for Port Electric and it is an optional program, one that the Port funds in an effort to make it attractive.

The contrast between the Port's commitment to improving the Port's environmental impact and the Port's reluctance to raising the standards for the shipping partners leaves some innovations light on systemic implementation.

3) The Port has a surreal quality to it, incredible amounts of activity but at such a huge scale that it's hard to see the humans in all of the motion. They must be there, in little cabins on cranes or raising and lowering the bridge or operating the train, but they're hard to see.

So much takes places with such an emphasis on automation that from a distance, it appears that the ships are picked clean by machines. There is something awe-inspiring to watch something work so seamlessly.

Simple or complex, a well-designed system that works is a thing of beauty. Such is the Port of LA.

But once off the ships, the containers go two directions, on a train or through LA. The contrast between the high-tech unloading and the low-tech transport is what leaves much of LA feeling under siege. Freeways filled with trucks that move containers one at a time, around the clock, has an environmental and land use impact that can't be ignored.

4) An operation the size of the Port of LA must require a diplomatic corps of its own, such is the need to synchronize the many authorities, powers, agencies, and departments who have influence over everything from national security, the economy, the ocean, cross-country shipping and local neighborhood land use.

The relationships that must work in order for the Port of LA to move so smoothly is an invisible thing of beauty.

But by contrast, a simple proposal to implement a container fee to offset environmental impact expenses was stymied for fear of losing business to Oakland and Seattle.

The fact that LA is held back because of a lack of synchronicity with west coast partners in shipping is an obstacle that must be overcome.

To pretend to understand all of the complexities of the Port of Los Angeles after a simple boat tour is simplistic, but the value of framing the discussion from within the Port is priceless.

Perhaps all discussions and debates should start with a walk, a bike ride, or a boat tour. It's worth a try!

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net. Disclosure: Box is also a candidate for 4th District Councilman.)

LA Needs a Vision that Connects

“THE FUTURE, MR GITTES, THE FUTURE”

CityWatch, July 13, 2010
Vol 8 Issue 55

The City of Los Angeles is recognized as the land of promise, of opportunity, and of talented people.

LA's rich history is the stuff of legends but that promise will be squandered if we sit by and wait for the city of the past to return. Now, more than ever, it is imperative that the people of Los Angeles move forward in creating a city of the future and it starts by developing a vision that connects.

1) LA's Environment: Los Angeles was founded when forty-four Pobladores walked from the San Gabriel Mission and established a new home, El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles sobre el Río Porciúncula.

They made their choice based on the availability of water and their connection to the environment continued as the City of Los Angeles developed.

The streets of downtown were aligned with the movement of the sun, positioning the buildings to benefit from a connectivity to the environment, maximizing the benefits of nature.

Since then, the city street grids have been "corrected" and the LA River has been "corrected" and the City of LA has drifted from its original connection to the land it occupies.

If Los Angeles is to become a City of the Future, it will take place when municipal decisions and actions are in sync with a vision that is based on a connectivity to the Environment.

2) LA's Communications: Los Angeles has a track record for telling stories that resonate around the globe, shaping culture, politics, fashion, society, and business along the way. Somehow, this local talent for communication has failed to breach the walls of City Hall which has elected to maintain a Tower of Babel approach to connectivity.

The LAPD uses a traffic collision report provided by the CHP but is unable to capture the data because the LAPD's database is outdated. This results in lost information, misinformation, outdated information.

The DWP relies on a computer language that is considered "dead" requiring new employees to forget what they know and to learn an archaic communications protocol, denying the City of LA the opportunity to implement "smart technology" solutions.

The LADOT uses technology that is outdated, requiring the adjacent communities to "dumb-down" in order to synchronize traffic control communications along city borders.

If Los Angeles is to pursue its destiny as a Great City, it will be because we connect as individuals, as communities, as departments, as municipalities and as partners in communication.

3) LA's Partners: Los Angeles is the rudder that steers the ship and yet at turn after turn, the people of LA hear "that's a federal issue" or "that's under state authority" or "we have no power" and the multi-jurisdictional morass of municipalities, authorities, and agencies is offered as an excuse for the simple fact that LA is not moving forward.

LA's ability to improve the quality of life for the people who live here, work here, own property here and operate businesses here depends on the City of LA laying down a vision for connectivity that draws LA's many neighbors into a partnership that benefits us all.

From the LAUSD to the Metro, from the County to folks on the other side of the city limits, LA is not an island. LA's vision must include a commitment to connecting with the many partners who have an impact on LA's journey to becoming a City of the Future.

4) LA's Story: From around the world, people travel to Los Angeles to experience the mythical LA Story and yet we allow that rich legacy to simply fade into a postcard theme, a brass plaque memorial, and a bit of charm that prompts people to pine for the old days.

LA's pioneers turned a small patch of dusty land into the center of the universe and it's our destiny to write the next chapter in that story.

LA's current challenges are formidable and there are many obstacles. But a vision that connects our strengths will result in a renewed commitment to the Entertainment Industry, the Tourism Industry and the Theatre Community.

It will also capitalize on the many challenges we face and seize them as opportunities to employ the creativity and innovation that is recognized around the world. Connecting LA's assets with the opportunities will result in new standards in technology, communications, sustainability and a revitalized municipal health.

The City of Los Angeles is positioned at a fork in the road. We can continue to embark on the "more of the same" journey or we can embrace a vision of connectivity that sets us on a course to become a City of the Future.

(Stephen Box is a grassroots advocate and writes for CityWatch. He can be reached at Stephen@thirdeyecreative.net. Disclosure: Box is also a candidate for 4th District Councilman.)

Cyclists claim their Rights, Smokey writes a Ticket

As thousands of cars idled in gridlock that resulted in miles of parked cars, LA's Park Rangers focused on the arrival of 50 cyclists, complete with General Services Bike Police escort, and stood prepared to enforce a law they couldn't identify, following the orders of people they can't identify, and finally writing me a ticket for "FAILING TO COMPLY WITH TRAFFIC CONTROL OFCR."

Friday, December 18th, marked the end of the pedestrian nights at the Griffith Park Festival of Lights and the beginning of the vehicular nights. To the city's credit, there were 14 pedestrian nights and there will be 13 vehicular nights, marking the first time in 14 years that the car-free nights outnumber the vehicular nights. As for cyclists, there was the token press conference "Bike-Night" and then nothing but the traditional "it's for your own safety" exclusion from the vehicular nights.



For the last four years, cyclists have ridden the Festival of RIGHTS, decorating their bikes and howling at the moon, riding the Festival a few rounds and challenging the prohibition on cyclists. This year was no different. Well, not much. When we arrived at Mulholland Fountain for the traditional milling about and socializing, there were two General Services Bike Cops who were very polite and friendly and who told us it was their responsibility to escort us safely through the Festival of Lights.

We rode, we howled, we enjoyed riding Griffith Park and we made lots of friends along the ride. At least that's what it sounded like as the cyclists and the people stuck in gridlock exchanged holiday greetings.

As we regrouped at the Zoo parking lot, we encountered Sgt. Kilpatrick of LA Rec and Parks. He artfully moved his vehicle so as to block us and then gave us a series of explanations on why we couldn't ride the streets of Griffith Park. I asked him under whose authority he was prohibiting cyclists while we watched the public drive their cars on the street right behind him. He said they were Rec and Park streets and they could exclude cyclists. I invoked State Law, pointing out that Los Angeles may be a big city but it hardly trumps State Law and CVC 21 is the Uniformity Code and it guarantees me the right to ride the streets that are open to the motoring public.


Sgt. Kilpatrick then invoked the special event argument, I responded by asking for the permit. He had none. I asked for his supervisor, he said he was it. I asked who gave the instructions to prohibit cyclists, he didn't know. We chatted for a while and he was very polite but firm, he said he would cite us if we violated the ban on cyclists in the park during the Festival of Lights. I asked what law would be violated and he didn't know. He really didn't know what law because when he wrote the ticket, it was for failing to comply.

Here are a few problems:

1) "It's for your own safety!" is code for getting cyclists out of the way of the motorists. It's not about our safety or the streets would be cleared of motor vehicles, intersections would be grade separated and motorists would be banned from the park. It's about moving motor vehicles and the plan was prepared by engineers who can't conceive of what to do with all of the humans.

2) Simple attempts to restrict cyclists must be resisted as a matter of principle. Los Altos went so far as to paint "NO BIKES" on El Monte Road before cyclists protested and won. Pasadena drafted an ordinance restricting cyclists from riding two abreast, making it to the second reading before cyclists again prevailed. In both cases, CVC 21 was invoked and used to demonstrate that local municipalities don't have the authority to restrict cyclists unless specifically articulated in the CVC. (Bike licenses, sidewalk riding and cyclists on the freeways are the exceptions) The Griffith Park prohibition is one of tradition and it is inappropriate and illegal.

3) The prohibition has no "Owner" and there is no accountability. Did Councilman Tom LaBonge direct the Park Rangers and the LADOT to prohibit cyclists from the Festival of Lights? Did the DWP determine that the Festival would be safer with no cyclists? Was it the LADOT who prepared the traffic plan for the Festival and determined that the two hour trek through the gridlock would be safer for the motorists if the cyclists were banned? Was it the Park Rangers who banded together and proposed a cyclist-free Festival? Why is it so hard to find the person behind the directive?

4) Sgt. Kilpatrick is in his third decade of service as a Peace Officer. How is it he stands prepared to enforce a ban on cyclists on the streets of Griffith Park, yet he can't identify the supporting law, he can't identify the authority who gave him his orders and he can't even offer up a reasonable defense of the absurd policy. He is the guy in charge. I would hope that he is enough of a professional to recognize that a man of his experience and his level of authority is of value because he thinks, because he asks questions and because he does what's right, not just what he's told. We are so far beyond the "I'm just following orders." days and the City of Los Angeles deserves better from those who operate under the color of authority. Putting on a badge and a gun means stepping up and doing what's right, not simply what is anonymously passed down as a directive.

5) The City of LA is in the midst of the worst budget crisis in our lifetimes. Rita Robinson, the GM of the LADOT, just met with the neighborhood council reps to tell them that the year-long Memorandum of Understanding meetings would not result in an MOU because she was unable to make any commitments in the middle of the current budget and staffing crisis. How then does she find the money to pay LADOT Traffic Officers to work Griffith Park wrangling the tens of thousands of motor vehicles that jam up the park and the surrounding community. Who is paying for the LADOT staff?

6) Rec and Parks stands to lose over 200 members of their staff as a result of the Early Retirement Incentive Plan. The department is in turmoil and local communities are being told that their parks are in danger of being closed and services restricted, all as a result of the budget meltdown. Meanwhile, the Park Rangers are out in Griffith Park with all of the trucks and gear, looking for cyclists who threaten the stability of the eco-system with their nefarious plan to ...ride their bikes on Crystal Springs Drive, the one with the bike lanes that get decommissioned during the holiday season to make room for more cars. Who is setting the Park Ranger priorities and who is directing them during the Festival of Lights?

7) The DWP has hosted the Light Festival ever since then-City Council President John Ferraro helped them think of it 14 years ago. How does the DWP get to host the Festival of Lights without pulling a permit, without paying fees that other organizations would have to pay if they wanted to put on a special event and dramatically impact the operation of the park as well as the surrounding community. How did the DWP avoid the rules and regulations and fees that apply to all other community groups and non-profits and special events?

8) The traffic on the 5 Freeway gets congested all the way back to the 134 Freeway, requiring mitigation and supervision from Caltrans and the CHP. In the last 14 years, have the operators of the Festival of Lights taken responsibility for evaluating the impact of the Festival on the freeway and on the safety of those who are caught in the congestion? Are Caltrans and the CHP voluntary partners with the Festival of Lights or are they simply responding to the disruption of service on the freeway?



Councilman Tom LaBonge of CD4, Jon Kirk Mukri of Rec and Parks, Rita Robinson of LADOT, and David Freeman of the DWP are all, at some point in time, referred to as the authority and the one in charge when it comes to the DWP's Festival of Lights in Griffith Park.

One of them needs to step up and take responsibility for the Festival of Lights.

That person needs to reconcile the current Festival of Lights with the Mayor's commitment to making LA the Greenest Big City.

That person needs to reconcile the current Festival of Lights with the City's current budget crisis.

That person needs to reconcile the current Festival of Lights with the Mayor's recent acknowledgment that he and the City of LA don't do enough for cyclists.

Most of all, that person needs to rise to the occasion and give the people of LA hope that even in the midst of these dire straits, there are people within the City of LA who will do what's best for the people of LA.

Happy Holidays and I look forward to seeing you on the streets of Griffith Park.