Live in L.A.? Help save the last 110 acres of ballona wetlands! Tell your councilman to vote NO..

[zonkers]

on Phase II of the Playa Vista project. (The clock is really ticking on this one)

DETAILS:

The Los Angeles City Council will be voting whether or not to re-approve the proposed Playa Vista development expansion on the remaining 110 acres (Ballona Southeast).

If allowed to go forward, the proposed Playa Vista expansion creates: 2800 new resident. units, a huge shopping center and 175,000 sq. ft. of office space. There would be an additional 26,000 car trips per day.(taxing conditions for the struggling adjacent wetlands)

If approved as proposed, it is a gift of entitlements that are 40 times what the City's own rules allow, to the Wall Street fatcats that own the land. If built as proposed the Playa Vista development expansion would result in 26,000 additional car trips per day, for a total of 78,000 for the entire development.

The hearing is open to the pubic and will be at 10:00 AM, MARCH 26th (THIS FRIDAY) at the Los Angeles City Hall Council Chambers,
200 North Spring Street Room 340, Los Angeles, CA. 90012


Links to your councilperson emails: http://www.lacity.org/YourGovernment/CityCouncil/index.htm

link to learn more: http://www.ballona.org

When running for election, Councilmember Bill Rosendahl signed a pledge to vote NO on the Playa Vista development expansion until Phase one is fully built out and occupied so traffic and other impacts can be fully analyzed before considering approval of Playa Vista Phase Two.
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I really hope folks write their councilperson. Their email addresses are at balllona.org if you poke around. I invite folks to form their own opinion but IMO this is just bullshit and greed at work. There is no reason they have to build this stuff out. Not only are we in the middle of a residential and commercial real estate glut but this is an irreplaceable salt marsh and a vital part of the L.A. watershed that could and should be restored. Once it gets blacktopped, it's over and done. FYI, just the other day, they found an endangered plant species there. Also, the whole notion of "trusting" the developer to maintain the wetlands is utterly ridiculous.

The hearing is this friday and NOW is the time to contact your council person and let him know how you feel. Thanks!

[amborin]

1. please re post with links

to la city council members and

ballona also

this needs wide publicity

[zonkers]

4. I edited my orig. post to include those links. Thanks. if anyone wants to PM me for

any details or sample letters, I will be glad to share them.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Alas, I don't live in LA proper.

I think what you're doing here is very admirable!

I've been following this story over many years, and seen the irreplaceable marsh disappear under the backhoes of the developers.

I hope this project will finally completely be stopped.

K&R


Edit spelling

[zonkers]

3. Thank you, Peg. Amazingly Playavista defaulted on loan in Dec (link) and they still want to push

this thing through. It really feels like the fix is in.
http://la.curbed.com/archives/2009/12/wsj_on_playa_vista_parcel.php.

[zonkers]

5. Two short videos of ballona wetlands...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cEbrHjg8cs&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PbQzsZ4WHY&feature=related

[Cronus Protagonist]

6. The cityis cash strapped - they need the revenues

I predict the project will go forward short of someone handing the city tons of money.