On Saturday, April 25, the devastation that comes from massive earthquakes was on front pages around the world. A 7.8 near-surface quake hit rural Nepal resulting in thousands dead. The implication is clear for us living in a dense urban area near the surface-rupture Hollywood Fault which Dr. Dolan estimates last broke conservatively (that’s the low end of the range) with magnitude 7.0.… Read the rest
The Seismological Society of America just last Thursday, April 23, concluded its annual meeting in Pasadena. On Friday, April 24, USC geology professor Dr. James Dolan led a field trip of the Hollywood Fault for the attendees.
http://www.seismosoc.org/meetings/2015/fieldtrips.php
Here is the field trip guide:
http://www.seismosoc.org/meetings/2015/SSA15_FTGuideFinal2.pdf
Note the drawing on page 7 — 130 meters of left-lateral displacement of the Hollywood Fault at Los Feliz Blvd and Fern Dell Dr.… Read the rest
A day before the trail was to take place, communication came that the trial was postponed and a new date will be April 30th, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. in Dept. 85, the Hon. James C. Chalfant. This gives us a little (but not much) time to continue to fundraise to get our bills paid and retain the kind of witnesses that we will need to best make our case.… Read the rest
In less than one week our attorney Robert Silverstein will stand before Judge Chalfant. Stop the Millennium will finally have its day in court. It has been a long journey since July 24, 2013 when the Los Angeles City Council, led by District 13 Mitch O’Farrell, and against the wishes of two leading California regulatory agencies, the California Geological Survey and CalTrans, approved the Millennium monstrosity.… Read the rest
While the City of LA and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce continue to push the failed Transit Oriented Development planning theory and the horrible mixed-used projects in Hollywood, the national trend for young people remains the same as for older generations. Single-family home ownership and suburban living is overwhelmingly preferred. A recent survey reveals that only 10% want to live in a city center.… Read the rest
Robert Silverstein was honored by the Hillside Federation at their December 11, 2014 party.
He discussed the important legal issues that guide the Millennium lawsuit. The Millennium lawsuit is scheduled for trial in April 2015.
Please donate to help preserve the important legal safeguards that Robert discussed in his speech.
Transcript of Robert Silverstein’s speech – taken from the Hillside Federation’s January newsletter
Video of the Hillside Federation Honoring Robert Silverstein… Read the rest
Dear Supporter,
On Tuesday, December 16, 2014, the City Council gave the citizens of Los Angeles a Grinchmas present. They approved the City Attorney’s request to line up a panel of outside developer law firms to defend the City Council in land use, CEQA and Brown Act (open gov’t law) challenges brought by concerned citizens.… Read the rest
HEI/GC Hollywood and Vine Condominiums LLC, also known as the W Hotel at Hollywood & Vine, has dismissed its lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles and Millennium Hollywood LLC. The W Hotel filed its notice of dismissal on December 9, 2014.
They are the second of the three original appellants to leave the fight.… Read the rest
The Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council, at the November 24, 2014 meeting, rescinded its support for the Millennium Project and voted 7-0 to join the three other Hollywood area neighborhood councils in opposing the project.
Foremost in the decision were the seismic safety and traffic issues.
Community stakeholder George Abrahams presented the issue to the full CHNC board.… Read the rest
By George Abrahams
In Councilman O’Farrell’s November 07, 2014 blog he said, “Once again, news of the release of the official Alquist-Priolo (A-P) Earthquake Fault Zone Map for the Hollywood area was all over television reports and the Internet, and some of the loudest voices came from one opposing neighborhood group that is looking to prevent progress in Hollywood.”… Read the rest
We have been sharing with you how far Group Delta, the geologists for Millennium, would go to NOT find the fault that experts said was there. The official map has been released and there indeed is a fault line running the entire span of both sides of the Millennium project site.… Read the rest
As our attorney, Robert Silverstein, keeps winning case after case against the City, the City Attorney, stunned by all these losses, is appealing to the City Council to call in reinforcements – your tax dollars, once again, at work against YOU!
The request is going before the Budget and Finance Committee today and then to the City Council on Wednesday.… Read the rest
Advertisers and politicians repeatedly use a practice to make you believe something is true: They repeat a statement from three to five times, after which people will believe it as ‘fact’.
We have all received an email with a long string of ‘forwards’, including a passel of people we don’t know, but forwarded by a trusted friend or relative.… Read the rest
As California this year embarks on a major campaign to better identify earthquake faults across the state, Signal Hill and other communities along the Newport-Inglewood fault offer lessons on how to allow for new development.
The layout of Signal Hill was not dictated simply by aesthetics. The city and developers created this landscaping to protect residents from a danger hidden just below the surface: the Newport-Inglewood earthquake fault.… Read the rest
The New York Times broke this story September 1, 2014. There’s no denying that our current infrastructure status is bleak. The city’s solution: let’s hide our head in the sand and ok more big development projects! Garcetti fiddles while the city sinks into a giant cavity created by potholes and water main breaks.… Read the rest
A few years after Millennium’s approval in City Council, the underground network of pay to play starts to show its cracks.
Michael LoGrande has to pay more than $281,000 for illegal lobbying for developers, while receiving consulting fees from the City, according to an article in the LA Times and CurbedLA.… Read the rest
Is Millennium Developer Quaking In His Boots?
California’s top geologist has said the 6.0 earthquake in Napa Valley Sunday surprised seismic scientists because it appears to be linked to an obscure fault that had previously been deemed inactive.
“We would not have predicted an earthquake on this particular fault,” Dr. John Parrish, the chief of the California Geological Survey, told Sacramento TV station KCRA (link to KCRA report).… Read the rest
You may have read recently that Group Delta released a letter to the State Mining and Geology Board stating that the Hollywood fault does not run under three development projects north of Hollywood and Vine, including Millennium. This is no surprise to us. We expected as much. If you look at the map Group Delta presented, you will see they avoided the southerly trace area where they would have possibly found the fault.… Read the rest
Not only has this grassroots coalition interrupted the status quo downtown, launched a great crowd funding campaign, and exposed corruption, it is causing reform on a state-geological level:
All of the new public awareness of the earthquake issue — from the increase in funding to complete the mapping of dangerous surface rupture faults to the focus on hardening Los Angeles’ water supply infrastructure — has been due to Stopthemillennium’s activities.… Read the rest
CityWatchLA.com July 29, 2014 by Jack Humphreville
WHO WE ARE – Hollywood’s neighborhoods and residents are under attack by big time real estate developers who are investing billions in too many to count high rise residential and commercial buildings along the three mile stretch of Hollywood, Sunset, and Santa Monica Boulevards between Western Avenue and the border with West Hollywood.… Read the rest
Patrick Healy with Channel 4 broke this news that more evidence is being gathered showing that there are indeed fault lines coursing near the Millennium project site as well as neighboring project areas. New LADBS City geologist Pascal Challita has confirmed the existence of earthquake faults on the east side of Argyle Avenue that project towards the Second Street Ventures and the adjacent Millennium project sites.… Read the rest
In a recent article published in the L.A. Times, we learn that, on the way out the door as the official City Geologist in the Department of Building and Safety, Dana Prevost (who has approved projects in the past without the adequate seismic evaluation) decided the 6230 Yucca Street project needs to do some more testing to locate the fault that experts say is there.… Read the rest
Have you ever wondered exactly or even approximately where the Hollywood Fault exists?
The L.A. Times staff provides us with a virtual tour of the entire length of that fault. They highlight aspects of this revelation in their most recent article, Preliminary Quake Map Shows Fault Lines Under Schools, Hotels, Homes published May 6, 2014 written by Rosanna Xia, Ron-Gong Lin II, and Doug Smith
We invite you to take this virtual tour and see for yourself how many areas are affected.… Read the rest
On April 30, 2014, the City Council approved the appointment by Eric Garcetti of Raymond Chan as permanent General Manager of the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. It was a slap in the face to all who care about good government.
Those of you who have been following the Stop The Millennium Hollywood lawsuit against the twin skyscrapers Millennium Project should remember the interview last September with Raymond Chan by John Schwada. … Read the rest
According to California’s Alquist Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act, developers cannot build on top of an active fault. You can build near it, but not across it.
Dr. Tom Heaton, director of Cal Tech’s Civil Engineering program, stated:
“No city has ever seen a magnitude 7.5 quake underneath its skyscrapers.”… Read the rest
The California Geological Survey in January released its draft map of the Hollywood fault, which put fault lines underneath three prominent development projects in Hollywood. In addition to Blvd6200, the map shows the fault crossing a proposed apartment complex on the southwest corner of Yucca Street and Argyle Avenue and the proposed Millennium Hollywood skyscraper towers.… Read the rest
Los Angeles’ leaders have all but abandoned earthquake-safety philosophy in implementing the city’s General Plan and, especially, the Hollywood Community Plan, says Cal State University Northridge urban planning professor Dev Vrat. The “safety element” of L.A.’s General Plan, for example, relies on an outdated, decades-old geological map that fails to warn city planners about the accurate locations of all of the known, active faults. … Read the rest
For up to date news on the release of the fault maps, click on “In the Press” and “Audio Visual”. Information is power.
Graphics of Millennium site showing earthquake faults and required setbacks as mapped in January 8, 2014 California Geologic Survey Fault Map.… Read the rest
LA City Planning Director Michael LoGrande made it clear in a December 20, 2013 memo that the City has not abandoned its commitment to the flawed Transit Oriented Development planning theory that has given rise to Phil Aarons’ Millennium Project and other similar projects in Hollywood.
Therein, he reiterates “the Department remains committed to the important principles of the Hollywood Community Plan,” including “new growth around transit”, the foundation of all the massive buildings with inadequate parking concentrated in the most traffic congested parts of Hollywood.… Read the rest
New York Times – Nov 30, 2013 The Troubles of Building Where Faults Collide by Adam Nagouney, N.Y. Times Nov 30, 2013
A critical NYT article appeared today focusing on the impact the Stopthemillenniumhollywood campaign has had.
The Troubles of Building Where Faults Collide by Adam Nagouney, N.Y. Times Nov 30, 2013
Article Highlights:
“The city’s new mayor, Eric Garcetti, has found himself balancing two long-conflicting constituencies: business owners worried about the cost of reinforcing old buildings, and geologists who warn of large-scale and preventable casualties.”… Read the rest
Despite repeated promises to multiple media outlets to test for the Hollywood earthquake fault running directly under the Millennium Project site, Millennium developer Phil Aarons, would rather fight than let the truth be exposed.
On August 28, 2013, the L.A. Times reported:
“Aarons said he did not believe a fault was underneath the site of the towers, ‘but we’re going to examine and do further testing just to make sure that everybody sees it exactly the same way as we do — most importantly, the city.’… Read the rest
By permission of the artist, Ted Rall: (C) 2013 Ted Rall, All Rights Reserved, Reprinted by Permission of the Artist and link to: rall.com.
Click on image to get a full view.… Read the rest
As the legal challenge launched against the Millennium Hollywood continues, the media is being relentless in exposing the soft underbelly of City Government.
Here are the most recent publications:
The Wall Street Journal Sept 20, 2013 – Fault Line Splits Hollywood
LA Weekly Sept 18, 2013 – How the Hollywood Fault Made Millennium’s Future Uncertain, and L.A.… Read the rest
Legal Action:
Attorney Robert Silverstein filed a lawsuit on August 28th, 2013. The lawsuit highlights aspect of this Millennium plan that should require the project to be sent back for an entirely new environmental study: Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
Fundraising:
Volunteers at StopTheMillenniumHollywood.org… Read the rest
Opponents Call for Neutral Panel of Experts to Study Quake Risks
Opponents of the Millennium Hollywood project today released secret emails that show the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (DBS) and the Millennium developer acknowledged behind closed doors that the Hollywood Earthquake Fault potentially crossed the property and that the State of California had officially mapped the active fault on or near the Millennium property.… Read the rest
With the State standing firm on their assessment of the likely seismic status under the entire Millennium Hollywood project, L.A. Times writers Rong-Gong Lin II, Rosanna Xia and Doug Smith interview powerful resources and accurately outline the issue.
The article says that the Millennium project has prompted the state to accelerate its study, and it hopes to have results by early 2014.… Read the rest
At the conclusion of the vote Councilman Krekorian attempted to exclude the appeal of Stop The Millennium from the administrative record.
He said that there wasn’t enough time to consider it so close to a scheduled vote.
In fact, it would violate CEQA law to exclude the appeal because the City is actually in violation of State law by having no procedural rules in place.… Read the rest
Press AdvisoryFor Immediate Release
THE BIG QUESTION: WHAT’S THE RUSH???
The Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to take up the Millennium project tomorrow, Wednesday, July 24th. The council meeting starts at 10 a.m.
Opponents are expecting to show up in droves to fight the giant development project – one million square feet, costing three-quarters of a billion dollars.… Read the rest
Press Release – Monday, July 22, 2013
STATE AGENCIES OPEN PROBE OF PROJECT’S GEOLOGISTS AND WARN OF QUAKE SAFETY RISK
A state licensing board has begun an investigation of alleged professional misconduct by two engineers for the Millennium Hollywood Project. The investigations are in response to a complaint filed by project foes that the engineers distorted their technical reports in order to hide the project’s close proximity to the Hollywood Earthquake Fault.… Read the rest
PRESS ADVISORY – Monday, July 22
HOLLYWOOD’S CONTROVERSIAL MILLENNIUM PROJECT:
SURPRISING INFORMATION RAISES NEW RED FLAGS ABOUT THE PROJECT’S SAFETY
Opponents of the controversial Millennium Hollywood Project will hold a news conference Monday, July 22, to disclose new information that strengthens their complaints of shocking irregularities in LA City Hall’s review of the project and confirms their claims about the project’s life-threatening earthquake risks.… Read the rest
The two most important issues surrounding the Millennium Project are the danger from building over an active earthquake fault and the inadequacy of the traffic study to realistically evaluate the traffic impacts from all of the development that is being proposed in Hollywood. So far, the City Council has been closing their eyes to the full consequences of both these issues while riding a money-fueled juggernaut to approval of the project.… Read the rest
Sometime in the recent historic experience of Councilmember Englander, he must have visited a previous lifetime as a crack geologist. In the face of all the geological studies, he declared his absence of rational judgement before a hall full of community leaders.
After hearing our presentation of the damning evidence from the US Geological Survey, California Geological Survey and the two peer-reviewed geological studies showing that the southern strand of the Hollywood Fault is directly under the Millennium Project site, Councilman Englander had this to say:
“Regardless of the underlying geological and soil conditions, in fact, these faults and thresholds whether active or inactive in fact pose a significant risk to the entire city of Los Angeles.”… Read the rest
The following is being published by permission of the writer. Please read and send your own letters!
Dear Council members,
We are writing to express our great disappointment with the PLUM committee at the Millennium project hearing on Tuesday, Jun18.
Update: Appeal Hearing, June 18th at 2:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers, Room 340
Please see the links below to the flier and share with your friends and neighbors. Many don’t even know that this plan is on its way to their neighborhood!
The project is being appealed thanks to the donations of 40 groups and 6 neighborhood councils as well as countless individual’s.… Read the rest
