BACK TALK - Shelly Wager's article “... a Bill to stop mansionization...” (July 12, CityWatch) paints a picture of a neighborhood desperate to defend itself from “the jaws of speculators”.
As usual, Shelly Wagers, one of the key players in this political drama, has misrepresented the facts.
Rather than bore you to death with point by point fact corrections, let's cut to the chase and talk about Politics, Power, and Injustice.
Shelly Wagers and a small group of neighbors tried to get an HPOZ (Historic Preservation Overlay Zone) implemented in our neighborhood over the objections of the people who live and own property in the Beverly Grove. They failed for lack of support. They asked the then Councilman, Jack Weiss, to help them, but without the neighborhood support required by law, there could be no HPOZ.
Then came the Mansionization Ordinance which set home size limits City Wide. Part of the Mansionization Ordinance created Residential Floor Area (RFA) Districts. These are zoning overlays that allow individual neighborhoods to fine tune their zoning laws IF AND ONLY IF THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY want their own zoning laws. Like an HPOZ, the law requires signatures from 75% of the stakeholders in the area before a resident can even apply to the city for an overlay.
Shelly and company do not have enough support to even apply to the city for an RFA. But … there is a “LOOPHOLE” in the new law. A Councilman can bypass the requirement for support and submit a motion to the City on his own.
So this time Shelly and her small Cabal of neighbors joined forces with Diane Plotkin of the Beverly Wilshire Homes Association to lobby our current Councilman, Paul Koretz, to submit a request for an RFA on their behalf. And He Did !!!
Of course, Koretz being a smart politician, set about the task of gathering support for his motion. He sent a “survey” out to the neighborhood supposedly to determine if we the people want his RFA.
Unfortunately, his survey misrepresented the neighborhood and the proposed overlay. He said he wanted to stop the building of 4700sf homes that were not, could not, and cannot be built under current law. The survey presented the proposed overlay as a 3400sf limit when in fact he was proposing a 2400sf limit. The survey was nothing short of a marketing tool to garner the appearance of support. It is illegitimate on its face.
With all the misleading graphs and language in the survey, his own numbers indicated less than 35% neighborhood support … and that is without counting scores of responses against his overlay and other irregularities in the accounting. I believe an audit of his survey would result in closer to 20% neighborhood support … and that is based on a bogus survey!
Just for perspective … at the time of the survey, we asked neighbors to sign statements against the RFA. We submitted signatures representing over 350 properties out of 696 homes in the targeted area … all against the RFA. Paul Koretz ignored us.
Of course … this is all moot now. Koretz presented his motion to the City Planning Department and it is the Planning Department's job to give him what he wants. Yes … I said it! The Planning Department can't say NO.
Their Charter is to hold hearings for public comment and generate a report. Public comment can come from anywhere. From Diane Plotkin, for example, who does not live in our neighborhood and is unaffected by this proposed RFA. Shelly even brought in people from Sunland Tujunga to comment. Who are these people who have nothing to do with our neighborhood?
Shelly is right about one thing. The Planning Department will submit its report to the Planning Commission soon. What the RFA will look like is anybody's guess. Shelly says it will be a 3000sf limit, but that information has not been released as of this time. Some proposals have been as low as 2120sf. Bryan Eck of the Planning Department said he would let me know the final form of the RFA about two weeks before the Planning Commission Hearing (which has yet to be scheduled).
For those of you who have stuck with me so far … here is the sad truth. When the RFA is put into legal form, it will NOT be sent out to the neighborhood to determine if we want it or not. It is not the Planning Department's Charter to determine if the people want this zoning overlay.
And Paul Koretz certainly does not care. He continues to point to his bogus survey for the appearance of support and is letting the Planning Department turn his motion into law.
I don't know which is more shocking … knowing that a Councilman can do pretty much what he wants without any regard for the people … or knowing that My Councilman, Paul Koretz, is willing to do just that.
At a meeting of the Beverly Wilshire Homes Association, Paul Koretz was asked if he would support any zoning overlay without the overwhelming support of the neighborhood … He said “No”.
At a meeting of the Mid City West Community Council, Paul Koretz said that he considered 51% to be a majority, but even 51% is not enough to support a zoning overlay.
Paul Koretz says a lot of things that seem to have no connection to his actions.
I Challenge Shelly Wagers or Paul Koretz to show us half as many signatures for his overlay as we have already submitted against it.
They can't do it!
I further challenge Paul Koretz and the Planning Department to send the final version of the RFA overlay out to the neighborhood BEFORE it goes to the Planning Commission. Ask us one question … do we want it … yes or no.
Bryan Eck of the Planning Department said they won't do it.
Paul Koretz knows we don't want it and he won't do it.
And we all know that when it goes to the City Council, they will Rubber Stamp it.
Soooo … is our neighborhood being saved from the jaws of developers or is a law clearly intended to protect the majority from a politically active minority being misused by a powerful politician?
I've only lived in my neighborhood for 65 years. What do I know.
MORAL OF THE STORY: My neighborhood is just five streets. If it could happen to us … it could happen to you.
For more specific information, feel free to contact me directly at [email protected]
(Charles Tarlow , The Voice in the Cheap Seats, lives in the Beverly Grove community.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 57
Pub: July 12, 2013
