|
FS 82 Bait & Switch - Editorial
Last Saturday, June 2, 2012, there was a celebration planned by the City to take place at the new Fire Station 82. The new facility on Van Ness and Hollywood Blvd. was paid for with Prop F funds. It is less than half the size of what we had been promised. I would not go to this party!
Since beginning community advocacy in 1998 to the present, I haven't seen a greater short-sheeting of the Hollywood Community than witnessed in the approval and application of the Proposition F "bait-and-switch."
The first two sentences of the Bureau of Engineering's webpage for Prop F says the following:
"In 1998, the City of Los Angeles completed a Public Safety Facilities Master plan study. This study determined that most of the City's existing Fire Stations were too small to adequately house the necessary equipment and personnel for efficient deployment of resources."
We all agreed with that assessment. For many years, neighbors from all over have participated in fundraising efforts to make the current Fire Station 82 the best it could possibly be. Sitting in an old and unmaintained tiny facility on Bronson, our fire fighters worked hard to respond to emergencies in all areas of Hollywood and especially in the hard-to-reach areas of the Hollywood Hills. Admitting that their response times were hampered by topography, they held routine drills up here in the hills getting familiar with the terrain and preparing to respond to any brush fires erupting on any of the three sides that surround Beachwood Canyon. Yes, we're surrounded by natural beauty but the truth is that it has overgrown and is ripe for the random spark from whatever the source.
We went to the ballot box in 2000 and voted YES on Proposition F. We agreed to the increase in our property taxes for promises of reduced response time and the full 2-acre regional fire station that would replace the Bronson site. For over a year, we followed the Bureau of Engineering staff from location to location to make sure that they would not remove people from their homes in order to fulfill Prop F mandates.
We helped by scouring the area for potential two-acre sites and found the perfect one; On Hollywood Boulevard between Bronson and Gower Street to the west of the Hollywood Freeway (only a block from the current site). Florentine Gardens still sits there occupying a huge piece of land with ingress/egress on Hollywood Blvd and on Carlos. (see image above)
Eminent Domain proceedings began and public meetings were held during which we fought hard to get the full bang for our Prop F funds for our fire fighters and for the safety of the community at large. Eminent Domain exists for just such public facilities (bridges, libraries, fire houses, etc.).
Imagine my surprise when a City Staff member stood up in a meeting of the Eastwood Coalition and announced in a matter-of-fact tone that there would be no acquisition of that property since the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) had targeted it for redevelopment.
My research could find no concrete evidence to substantiate that claim but soon after hearing it, the announcement was made that the City felt the cost of litigation (routine for every eminent domain effort) was far too much for the now-tight city budget.
There were no politicians fighting for us to keep Beachwood Canyon, the Oaks and the Hollywood Dell neighborhoods safe, much less for the Regional Fire Station, which was promised to us in order to secure our Yes votes.
To attend such an ill-deserved celebration would have been a symbol of agreement with the massive deception and theft of more than just the people's money, but of their assurance of speedy delivery of emergency services.
Obviously, this is a done deal. But one can only hope that the deceptive taking of the people's money will not be eclipsed by the senseless loss of people's lives due to the longer response times from this new and very diminutive location.
Fran Reichenbach
| 
America, 1895-1935". His book presents for the first time, 250 colored photographs of urban and suburban gardens taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston, photographer of presidents, celebrity authors, and estates of the County House Era. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Program begins at 6:45 p.m. 
