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Griffith Park Landmark Status, Fortunately, Good Sense Prevails, and Thanks to the Public, the Process Continues Although the City's Cultural Heritage Commission voted to investigate the merits of the Griffith J. Griffith Charitable Trust's application to have the Park designated an L.A. landmark, for a few tense minutes on the morning of August 21st, it looked like the nomination was dead. An aide to CD4 Councilmember Tom LaBonge informed the Commission that while her boss was a preservationist who supported the application, "he did not support the designation," signifying that LaBonge will kill the initiative as soon as political cover can be arranged. LaBonge's aide offered no thanks from the council office to Colonel Griffith's great-grandson Van, for the Trust's long history of contributions to the Park. Instead, throughout CD4's remarks, the aide referred to the Griffith Family, who were present at the hearing, as the "Griffins." Although landmark designation has no effect on infrastructure matters, at the behest of LaBonge, two City departments mouthed half-hearted concerns about its potential impact on their operations in Griffith Park. The DWP fretted about its water pipes that run under the Park and its powerlines that cross it, even though only one person has repeatedly expressed the desire to rid the Park's hills of overhead wires: Tom LaBonge. The Bureau of Sanitation breathed similar fears -- that the designation would interfere with its sewage lines and trash pick-up. If any of these concerns had merit, Los Angeles would have no Historic Cultural Landmarks at all, including City Hall. The one City department that mattered, Recreation and Parks, went on record as supporting the designation, expressing confidence that, as at other Rec & Park properties that are Historic Cultural Monuments, protocols would be worked out that would make the designation an asset, not a drag on park planning or maintenance. Before the public spoke, some 30 of whom endorsed the designation (many representing organized groups), the Autry National Center in Griffith Park was allowed to weigh in. Its attorney-lobbyist from powerhouse Latham & Watkins proceeded to bite the hand that had fed and nurtured the museum since its founding two decades ago. He demanded that the 351 flat acres called the Griffith Reservation, that came into the Park in 1922, be bounced from consideration, since they were not a part of the original rancho grant. Barring that, he asked the Commission to remove the Autry's 12-acre portion of this area -- a $1 a year leasehold -- from landmark protection. Ostensibly about the preservation of western history, the Autry was asking to be exempted from the history of Los Angeles, not only advocating the partitioning of the Park but giving everyone present a new definition of our local heritage: Gene Autry historic, Colonel Griffith not. When all was said and done, the application was accepted. The Cultural Heritage Commission toured the Park on September 4th and the panel will decide whether or not to recommend the designation to City Council at the CHC meeting now scheduled for 10 a.m. on October 2nd, Room 1010 City Hall, 200 North Spring Street downtown. If you can, please attend. In the meantime, forcefully express your views to City Hall. Tell your elected officials that you support the Griffith Family's Application to have all of Griffith Park declared a City Historic-Cultural Monument. The unfounded assertion that the designation be limited to certain parts of the Park only, will not only diminish the identity of Griffith Park as a whole, but will leave parts of the Park unprotected from possibly unwise and unsupervised development (as well as ineligible for historic funding). Landmark status for the Park will confer on it the same honor and protection enjoyed by many other parks and sites in Los Angeles. While it would not prevent further development, it would help to insure that historical aspects of the Park are preserved and that the people of Los Angeles have notice and opportunity to be heard in advance of significant developments. Make your views known by sending letters or e-mails to the Cultural Heritage Commission, Councilmember Tom LaBonge, your own Councilmember and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: Cultural Heritage Commission Councilmember Tom LaBonge, |
