An Earthquake Could Topple Hundreds of Buildings, and L.A. Leaders Are Doing Nothing

CapitolRecordsTrenchingNextDoor

LA Weekly Article

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 The “safety element” of L.A.’s General Plan, for example, relies on an outdated, decades-old geological map that fails to warn city planners about the accurate locations of all of the known, active faults.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

Hollywood Faultline Location Made Public – Information is Power

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.

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Graphics of Millennium site showing earthquake faults and required setbacks as mapped in January 8, 2014 California Geologic Survey Fault Map.… Read the rest

It Ain’t Over ’til it’s Over’

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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

LATEST PRESS COVERAGE FOR OUR EFFORTS

TOWERSNew 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

Millennium Reneges on Promise to Test for Hollywood Fault

LiarLiarPantsOnFireDespite 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

SECRET CITY HALL EMAILS REVEAL COVER-UP

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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

LA Times – Millennium Planned for Active Earthquake Fault-State Weighs in

Evidence of quake faults near Hollywood Millennium siteQuote-John Parrish

 

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

CLASSIC FIGHT ON COUNCIL FLOOR: NEW YORK CITY DEVELOPER VS. LA COMMUNITY GROUPS

Breaking NewsPress Advisory

For 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

DEVASTATING BLOWS TO MILLENNIUM PROJECT

crook and procterPress 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

Damaging New Revelations About Safety of Hollywood’s Millennium Project

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

Contact your legislators – California State government must use its authority to stop Millennium

letter-writingThe 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

Englander Comments on Geology!

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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

Letters Flood City Council After PLUM Hearing

Signing the deal

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.

The three PLUM committee members were blatantly indifferent—and disrespectful—to the majority opposition.  
… Read the rest

Appeal Hearing June 18th at 2:30 pm – Revised – Room Change!

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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

Update – PLUM Hearing Rescheduled to June 18th!

MGraphicBecklund

The Appeal Hearing item on the massive Millennium Hollywood project was continued at the request of the developer! We should all attend on the new PLUM hearing scheduled for June 18th at 2:30 pm.

This hearing of the Planning and Land Use Management committee and the date of the City Council hearing on this development are scheduled only one day apart! … Read the rest

Save the Date! Appeal Hearing Set for June 4, 2013 at 2:30 p.m.

The appeal hearing is set. We understand that this hearing before the Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee (PLUM) is likely to be our only chance to speak out against the Millennium Project! Your attendance is vital and will make a huge difference. Carpooling is being organized now.… Read the rest

Hollywood CANNOT Afford the Impacts of The Hollywood Millennium

The Hollywood Millennium proposed to be developed on 4.46 acres surrounding the Capital Records building will have the following impacts on the surrounding communities:

Create a development larger than the 950,000 sf Staples Center or the 850,000 sf LA Convention Center within 500 feet of Hollywood residential communities; 1,272,741 square feet

  • Project would include 1,005 residential dwelling units (872 market-rate units and 133 senior affordable housing units) totaling approximately 1,256,974 square feet of residential floor area, approximately 30,176 square feet of commercial floor area (retail and restaurant uses),
  • Erect 2-Towers – 35-feet tall west building and 46-feet tall east building and two 11-story buildings for seniors.
… Read the rest

Fearless Truth Telling, Millennium Exposed

M-Rendering

 

On April 29, 2013, CityWatchLA.com published an article by Jack Humphreville on the approved but controversial project called Millennium Hollywood. Jack tells it like it is, exposing the political landscape that allowed this project to pass the City Planning Commission. Read it for yourself and let us know what you think!… Read the rest

The Hollywood Community Can Not Afford the Impacts of the Millennium Project

The 1.1 Million square foot Millennium Hollywood Project proposed to be developed on 4.4 acres surrounding the Capital Records building will have the following impacts on the surrounding communities:

  • Create a development larger than the 950,000 sf Staples Center or the 850,000 sf LA Convention Center within 500 feet of Hollywood residential communities;
  • Erect 2-Towers in excess of 50-stories (585 feet or taller) on top of 13-15 story base buildings creating 2-structures as tall or taller than the 54-story JWMarriot/Ritz-Carlton in Downtown LA, over 4x’s taller than the adjacent historic Capitol Records Building and 25-stories taller than any existing building or planned development in Hollywood;
  • Produce 492 Condominium/Apartments, a 168,000 sf, 200-room Hotel/Conference facility, 240,000 sf of Office space, and 75,000 sf of retail space;
  • Will generate 19,000 additional trips to and from the development on a daily basis;
  • The subterranean and above ground parking structure will hold only 1,918 cars which, according to current parking codes this underparks the Project by 500 space without any provision for tourist, residential guest or employee parking;
  • Traffic congestion at the intersections of Cahuenga/Franklin and Argyle/Franklin cannot be mitigated effectively to handle proposed Project traffic.
… Read the rest