Our attorney, Robert Silverstein has sent a scathing letter to the Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety re Millennium's Fraudulent Seismic Studies. The LADBS is on notice of their responsibility to act in the light of their gross failure to provide proper oversight:
"As you should be aware, critical issues about the inadequate geologic and seismic studies performed by Langan Engineering of Irvine, California on behalf of the Millennium Hollywood project developer have been raised by this office, other members of the public, and independent experts. These issues include:
(1) The May and November 2012 Langan studies falsely state that the Hollywood Fault is 0.4 miles away from the project site, based upon no cited evidence;
(2) The Langan studies included a falsified map which misidentified the location of the subject property as being 850 feet north of its true location, in order to take it outside of the City's Fault Rupture Study boundary; and
(3) The Langan studies fail to acknowledge, and accordingly suppress, relevant independent and authoritative data, including the 2010 California State Geological Survey Active Fault Trace Map, Professor Dolan's studies (1997) and Crook & Proctor's studies (1992), all of which indicate the existence of active fault traces across the subject property's East and West Sites.
The Draft EIR and Final EIR upon which the City is relying for its approval of the Project and its various entitlements, including to allow the construction of 1.1 million square feet and two skyscrapers of 39 and 35 stories potentially on top of active earthquake faults, relies on the inadequate and demonstrably biased Langan studies. Langan has breached their professional duties, and, we believe, has engaged with the Millennium developer to commit fraud.
The key issue for purposes of this letter is: What is Building & Safety's role in Langan's actions, and in allowing this fraud to proceed to the point that no corrective action has been taken by your Department to stop the City approval process and to require preparation of new and valid geologic/seismic studies, which should be presented as part of a recirculated Draft EIR? Recall that we are a mere 9 days away from the City Council's planned approval of the project and certification of the Final EIR.
The enormity of the human life, health and safety dangers implicated by Langan, the Millennium Hollywood developer, and your actions cannot be overemphasized. What, exactly, are you planning to do, when, and what happened to the "rescission letter" that Mr. Prevost earlier said would be promptly issued to stop this dangerous and illegal project?
It would be a further violation of the law for the City now to attempt simply to impose some additional modification of the project approvals or require further testing after project approvals have been granted. To do so would be to paper over substantial deficiencies in the EIR and the CEQA process, and to thereby subvert that process. As our Supreme Court has repeatedly held: "Besides informing the agency decision makers themselves, the EIR is intended 'to demonstrate to an apprehensive citizenry that the agency has in fact analyzed and considered the ecological implications of its actions.'" Save Tara v. City of West Hollywood (2008) 45 Cal.4th 116, 136, citing No Oil, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles (1974) 13 Cal.3d 68, 86, accord, Laurel Heights Improvement Assn. v. Regents of University of California (1988) 47 Cal.3d 376, 392. For many reasons, we are an apprehensive citizenry, and Mr. Prevost and your actions have greatly increased that apprehension.
Given what appears to be a complete abdication of your duties in connection with the largest project in Hollywood history, and your turning of a blind eye to the overwhelming evidence both of the existence of active fault traces crossing the subject property and the materially misleading Langan studies upon which you are still relying, we request that the City Council continue the July 24, 2013 scheduled approval date until after independent geologic and seismic studies have been performed based upon the recommendation of a neutral board of reviewers, which should be empanelled in an open and transparent process to review this matter."
So far, the City is still burying it head in the sand. We demand an answer - and ACTION from the LADBS to rescind their approval for the Millennium Project. Call and email your city councilmembers and the mayor now to demand that the LADBS rescind their approval for the Millennium Project before it goes to the City Council for a vote on July 24, 2013.
Councilmember.Cedillo@lacity.org, Councilmember.Krekorian@lacity.org, Councilmember.Blumenfield@lacity.org, Councilmember.LaBonge@lacity.org, Councilmember.Koretz@lacity.org, Councilmember.Fuentes@lacity.org, Councilmember.Parks@lacity.org, Councilmember.Price@lacity.org, Councilmember.Wesson@lacity.org, Councilmember.Bonin@lacity.org, Councilmember.Englander@lacity.org, Councilmember.Ofarrell@lacity.org, Councilmember.Huizar@lacity.org, Councilmember.Buscaino@lacity.org, mayor.garcetti@lacity.org
