Eastwood Coalition Report

Submitted 2/12/04

Representatives from the Eastwood Coalition & Franklin-Hollywood Hills Community Council attended the Citizen’s Oversight Committee of Proposition F Fire Bond on Wednesday, February 11, 2004.

Here is a summary of what took place:

Approximately 20 neighbors/business owners attended the Citizen’s Oversight Committee to share their feelings about the proposed acquisition of property on Hollywood Blvd. between Van Ness & Taft for the purpose of relocating Fire Station 82.

Business owners asked that they not be required to relocate and start over many at an advanced age and with family dependent upon their business. They are not willing to sell. The owner of the apartment building also asked that she not be displaced as she had purchased the building for her family and friends – she is also not willing to sell.

Neighbors told about the gridlock on Hollywood Blvd and the difficulty getting out onto Hollywood Blvd. as well as onto the northbound onramp of the 101 freeway that narrows to one lane at the bottom. The egress of the fire station would be on Hollywood Blvd and it would be extremely difficult for the trucks to leave in either direction.

Response time is currently ideal for most of the service area – but to lock the fire trucks onto a very small plot of land in an area of extreme daily gridlock could cause that good response time record to change. This would also add to already lengthy response time to the Hollywood hills.

Each of the many speakers suggested that the Florentine Gardens land was perfect for Fire Station 82 and didn’t require displacing many businesses and families. Gridlock doesn’t happen at that location and it isn’t in the middle of a neighborhood.

It was brought up that the city had already purchased the vacant lot on Van Ness and Hollywood much to the surprise of the oversight committee members.

The Oversight Committee asked that the Bond people work harder to acquire the Florentine Gardens land and gave suggestions on how that might happen. Alan Kawaguchi will work with the City Attorney to get some advise and direction within the next two weeks.

The committee suggested that the neighbors contact their councilpersons (both LaBonge and Garcetti) with their concerns and show up at the next Administrative Oversight Committee meeting.

Here are some details of the testimony from the neighbors:

There were 20 representatives from the community present; neighbors, California Donuts, Seven-Eleven, Thai Restaurant and others.

The franchise holder of Seven-Eleven told this committee that 7-11 has been on that spot for 30 years. He has held the franchise for 10 years. It is the only 7-11 on Hollywood Blvd and is responsible for over $200,000 in sales revenue for the city of Los Angeles. He is concerned for his family and putting his kids through school if he has to close down. The city cannot afford to give him the $700,000 which is what it would take to transfer/relocate.

Alan Kawaguchi (Prop F Coordinator) gave a brief overview of the history of the search for a site for Fire Station 82. This committee was unaware of what had transpired since the Gramercy/Garfield site was abandoned. Alan said that Florentine Gardens would be 3.5 acres and cost $15 million plus the court cost for Imminent Domain. That is why they decided to focus on the little 1.3 acre site on Hollywood/Taft/Van Ness. The parcels that would have to go would be a six-unit apartment building plus the 1910 vintage craftsman Good Shepherd Women’s shelter along with four businesses.

Harry (neighbor) said how wrong the site choice is and that Florentine Gardens made so much more sense.

Walter (neighbor) asked why they were considering placing the fire station so close to an on-ramp of the freeway.

Steven (neighbor) made it clear that Hollywood Blvd. would be the fire truck egress and that the side streets were for ingress only. He reiterated that the traffic on Hollywood Blvd. is bumper to bumper and spoke to the fact that there would be heightened noise to the neighborhood while the fire trucks worked for long periods of time to get out onto Hollywood Blvd through this gridlock. He added that the neighborhood wouldn’t ask for them to tone down their horns when they are trying to get out to save lives but questioned why they would add that situation to the neighborhood – what about Florentine Gardens?

A spokeswoman for the owner of the apartment building said that they have owned the building for 10 years and don’t want to leave. They chose the area for its stability, safety and since discussion of her relocation and the coming fire station, she has had little rest. She is old and worries that she won’t survive the relocation.. She doesn’t think she can start over.

The chair of the committee asked Alan why such a small site was chosen. Alan said that this was due to the difficulty in finding a location. He said that Fire Station 82 would be given a unique floor plan “A Typical” going vertical – building upward.

The Chair asked if this could be done without the two properties (the apartment building and Good Shepherd shelter)? The answer was “no” because they wouldn’t have space for the “Drill yard” which is a training space.

The Chair asked if there could be a “partial take” of the Florentine Gardens area. Alan said “no” to that as well saying that they would be taking the parking from Florentine Gardens making their business suffer.

Marc Jacoby (Committee member) asked if the Drill Yard could be placed somewhere else. The answer was “no” based on the city attorney having opined that to place any element of the regional station apart from the station would be to go against the bond.

The current Fire Station 82 is slightly less than one acre.

Martha told the committee that this group is not against fire stations or the committee but that the group wants what is best for the community. She asked about whether there would be a helipad and the answer was “no”. She also mentioned that as long as she has lived in the neighborhood, Florentine Gardens has not been good neighbors and she prefers that site for the fire station.

She also mentioned the noise levels currently endured by the neighborhood. She asked about the rumor that Taft would be turned into a cul-de-sac. Alan says that the DOT is reviewing that. Martha said that it would make things hard for the residents due to the current difficulty in going out onto Franklin. She also said that 7-11 is an excellent neighbor and that those businesses are like family. She said that unlike most 7-11 stores, this one actually makes the neighborhood safer.

K.C. said that Florentine Gardens is a better, more logical choice for the fire station because of its size and location.

A representative from the Thai restaurant said that they have been there for 21 years, that moving would be hard for her parents since they would have to start over again. It would be hard to rebuild the clientele that they enjoy now.

Alan Kawaguchi told her that there is relocation assistance available that might help pay for moving expenses. When a formal offer is made from the city, that is when relocation is discussed.

The owner of the 7-11 franchise asked how the city could afford to relocate him at the price of $700,000?

The owner of California Donuts has 2 children and has been there for 15 years – he expressed his desire to keep his business.

The Committee chair asked Alan Kawaguchi about the political elements involved. He reminded Alan that Florentine Gardens (“Save Florentine Gardens” group) had come to the oversight committee to lobby for support.

Alan mentioned that Florentine Gardens is currently lobbying Sacramento for historic status and that they don’t want to sell. He said that both council offices have been involved.

When asked by the chair if any portion of the footprint of Florentine Gardens could be sold off, Alan said, “No.”

Fran mentioned that the response time goal for the fire department is being met (five minutes or less) in the entire service area except for the Hollywood hills. She said that placing the fire station on a small site that is a guaranteed gridlock twice a day is to place it at risk of extending response time to the already well-served areas as well as extending the poor response time to the Hollywood Hills.

She added that the community meeting at Hollywood Billiards for the purpose of getting neighborhood consensus took place exactly one month after the Prop F Bond group purchased the vacant lot at Van Ness and Hollywood Blvd. Fran raised the question of how the city could again place themselves in such a perilous position having gotten sued after the last purchase when the site was abandoned.

(Fran also asked that the Fire Bond group work harder to acquire Florentine Gardens.)

The chair asked Alan for explanation – how much money was placed as a deposit on that purchase? Alan answered that all the money was put up for the entire purchase. When asked what would happen if this site was not chosen, he answered that it would be easy to sell it.

Some were wondering how the Fire Bond could buy and sell property yet not be able to buy Florentine Gardens and sell the excess property…

The Chair suggested that Alan Kawaguchi and the Fire Bond Group make a move on Florentine Gardens with another bidder in tow – Alan is to consult with the city attorney to see if a team approach can be possible or some kind of lot split process be used. He asked Alan to do the homework and alert the city councilmen (LaBonge and Garcetti) that this effort is taking place.

The community members present (approximately 20) should also contact the city council with their feelings about these sites.

Another committee member said that he believes the Van Ness/Taft/Hollywood site is too small to justify breaking up a vibrant neighborhood and putting people out of business and that he would have a hard time supporting this site. He too is hoping that there is some way that the city can focus on the Florentine Gardens site.

The committee suggested that the community attend the next Administrative Oversight Committee meeting at City Hall.

This report respectfully submitted by Fran Reichenbach, President of Franklin-Hollywood Hills Community Council’s Action Team.