Thursday, December 12, 2013

Re: [Geology2] Re: [California's Earthquake Forum] Hollywood skyrise plans on shaky ground



As I'm finding, it appears that this is less about whether these buildings are near a fault and more about not allowing the building up of and specially anything like sky scrapers in Hollywood. The city of Los Angeles wants to develop Hollywood and the residents and other business owners don't. Most don't want, among other things what's been termed the "Manhattanization" of the area. There are a number of groups out there now, one of the larger being 'Save Hollywood'.
 
A group, the La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Association, has been able for the time being, to stop a development known as the Hollywood-Gower project. This was going to be 20 story mixed-use tower that would have had more than 150 apartments, and ground floor retail shops. This group sued to stop it on grounds that the traffic would over load the streets, the city countered with their "traffic impact" study and ultimatley the Neighborhood Association lost the court battle. 

The City Council Planning and Land Use Committee went ahead with a final public hearing and the City Council gave it's 'go-ahead' to the plan in 2011. The Neighborhood Association filed more law suits and hired a law firm.

While trying a number of different legal routes and digging though things the law firm found the "traffic impact" study was not written up by the city Planning Department but by the developer. With this, the law firm went to court and in a rare legal ruling, a L.A. Superior Court judge found the city had violated the "do-process" rights of Los Angeles residents.

Interestingly, the law firm in that case is the same one that is representing over 40 groups opposed to the Hollywood Millennium towers, the buildings in question here.

 

Aside from whether the height laws or other building codes in effect now should be changed allowing for larger buildings I find it "interesting" that it's this same law firm again, that's come up with possibly a clever legal strategy to stop the development.
There's a lot of "behind the scenes" back and forthing in the who found, should have found and the how and if the fault plays into this, you can read more about it at the LA Weekly link here-
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2013/07/hollywood_fault_millennium_skyscrapers.php

I guess the way I'm seeing it is how much of this "concern" is truly in the name of safety as against who wants what in this battle, either way, where the you're for the buildings or against them.

----- Original Message -----
From: Kim Noyes
Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2013 10:00 AM
Subject: Re: [Geology2] Re: [California's Earthquake Forum] Hollywood skyrise plans on shaky ground

 

Hardin,

If you at some point find some insight into this please share it here!

Kimmer


On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 11:02 AM, Hardin Rich <hardinrich@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
 

Something just seems odd about this. I would like to know when in the timeline of this project this one man along with the mentioned "coalition of homeowners and businesses" became so interested in everyone's safety.
Don't get me wrong, if there's a real danger then it's a problem but as I said, something just seems odd about this.


----- Original Message -----
From: Kim Noyes
Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2013 10:04 AM
Subject: [California's Earthquake Forum] Hollywood skyrise plans on shaky ground

 

Hollywood skyrise plans on shaky ground

December 10, 2013

One Los Angeles resident has sued the city and a developer over plans to build skyscrapers near the Hollywood fault line

Southern California is no stranger to earthquakes. Many residents say they barely notice the small ones. The reason for this seismic activity is called the Hollywood fault line, just one of many fault lines crossing the city. Jennifer London reports on a battle to build two skyscrapers right in the danger zones.

To watch nearly 3-minute-long video click on link below:
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/live-news/2013/12/hollywood-skyriseplansonshakyground.html




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