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Save Griffith Park Monthly Ride
03.5.07
At some point, 3-5 years ago, somebody in our local government decided it was time to evaluate whether Griffith Park is worth
maintaining in it's present form. But rather than engaging the people of Los Angeles and consulting local residents and the actual people
who make use of the park everyday... This secretive person or group decided to hire a contractor to come up with an "improvement
plan." This
plan cost taxpayers $400,000 and is known as "The Melendez Master Plan."
Here's the deal, some concerned citizens found out about this plan and made noise. Now, there is a group of other people that have
been assembled who are drafting a re-buttal plan to the "Melendez Master Plan." Generally the plan is coming out quite park friendly
and the re-buttal committee needs our help, support and guidance.
We as cyclists, hikers and people who enjoy the park and all it's features can weigh in and listen in and provide our own voices. Folks,
this is our city's last great, peaceful, open wilderness park in the area. The so-called "improvements" basically call for the park to be
converted to a "City Walk" or as I say "SHITTY WALK." They want restaurants, a hotel, multilevel parking structures, tram, themed
quadrants.... this is a classicly blatant and wrongful use of "eminent domain" where a powerful few greedy developers with inside
nepotistic connections are stealing land from the people of Los Angeles and commercializing it so that they can profit from it. STOP
THE THEFT. STOP COMMERCIAL CREEP UP.
I've created this ride to coincide with the Monthly Master Plan Rebuttal meetings. The meetings begin at 6:30pm and are admittedly
incredibly boring. The process has drawn out over 1.5 years now... the good news is that it's almost coming to an end. Everyone is
encouraged to attend the meeting from start to finish understanding the issues for yourself really matters. But should you decide to skip
the
meeting then come ride with us. We are hoping to time our ride in order to arrive on time to weigh in on the Public Commentary portion
of the meeting which takes place at approximately 8:30pm. For the fun of it, we will ride a route down the LA river bike path and through
Griffith Park The plan is to arrive at 8:20pm where we get our chance to voice opinions. Our comments matter believe it or not. Has
LaBonge decided to stake his political capital on his decision to not simply just make this plan go away in the trash? No one is being
held accountable for even hiring the Melendez group. Who chose this company to begin with? The rebuttal group is actually putting
together a decent plan, we don't know who is going to have the final say, we don't know how much of the plan will affect the Melendez
plan...
MEETING TIME: 7:30pm
LOS FELIZ and RIVERSIDE at the fountain.
Route begins and ends at the foutain.
BRING: Lights and Helmets.
REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED AT THE MEETING
(they have waters, juices, snacks)
Griffith Park Master Plan Meeting Alert:
Monday, January 8, 6:30 p.m.
Griffith Park Ranger Station Community Room
4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Griffith Park
1) MOBILITY CHAPTER: The Working Group is trying to finalize its changes to the Melendrez chapter. They have found that there is
parking for 10,000 cars in Griffith Park and no need for multi-level parking structures – unless, of course, the City wants to charge
people to use the Park. The parking “crisis” in Griffith Park is looking very much like the WMD excuse. One member of the group is
insisting
that parking structures are needed. He also wants to re-open the Park’s closed interior roads, which are now used by walkers, bike
riders and equestrians.
2) CENTRAL SERVICE YARD. Now that the City has confirmed that the Central Service Yard, just across the LA River in Atwater
Village, is really, and historically has always been, a part of Griffith Park, the Working Group wants to turn as much of it as possible
back into parkland. Currently, it contains a sprawl of Rec & Park offices, maintenance and storage areas, carpentry and paint shops,
vehicle
maintenance centers and other we-don't-know-where-to-put-it temporary buildings for the parks as well as other City departments.
The Group will explore consolidating these etceteras on one part of the parcel and returning the rest of this acreage to its original,
dedicated use -- public parkland alongside the river. What a beautiful idea.
3) PARK MANAGEMENT: This topic includes a summary of the Working Group's recent meeting with Rec & Parks General Manager
Jon Mukri, where actual day-to-day management, as well as fiscal considerations were discussed. As the Working Group rewrites this
chapter, they will grapple with the City's insistence that the Park "pay for itself." Two things come to mind: 1) The Park would pay for
itself
if it were allowed to keep the money it currently derives from its existing fees and concessions; and 2) Why should the Park pay for
itself? The City's parks are there to provide a service, much as are the City's Police and Fire departments, and libraries. If the City
really needs departments to pay for themselves, let's start with big-ticket boondoggles like the CRA. Or if that's too tough a nut to
crack, how
about Sister Cities, which is little more than an excuse for officials to waste money junketing to our "trade partners" like Mumbai.
Once again, we urge you to attend. Public feedback will be heard and recorded, so please come and support the public process. Your
voices count.
Did you know that despite overwhelming negative community reaction, the current Griffith Park Master Plan, now in draft form,
proposes the intensive development and commercialization of Griffith Park? Suggested "improvements" (with their page numbers from
the plan*) include:
Eight multi-level parking structures (5.17-5.19, 5.27)
Two aerial tramways (5.8, 6.6)
Street widenings, such as a 117-foot wide Crystal Springs Promenade (5.5)
Introduction of traffic into the interior of the Park (5.8)
Division of the Park into separate themed "zones" (7.2-7.6)
Creation of a hotel, restaurant, culinary school and sports complex in the Park's interior (6.8, 8.9, 6.25)
Redesign of the 18-hole golf course at the expense of the Zoo Magnet School (6.19)
A commercial pier on the Los Angeles River at the Los Feliz Bridge (6.10)
Additional public-private partnerships and revenue-enhancing schemes (8.9)
*Please note that many of these "improvements" appear multiple times throughout the plan. You can also find them on pages other
those listed above. What can you do to halt these destructive proposals?
Visit www.laparks.org and read the Master Plan draft; download and return the response form with your comments. Call, write or email
Mayor Villaraigosa (mayor@lacity.org) and your Los Angeles City councilperson (www.lacity.org) and tell them what you think about
the Master Plan. Please copy your mail to wm@savegriffithpark.org. Sign and mail the attached Griffith Park Urban Wilderness Petition
to
Griffith Park Master Plan, Los Angeles Dept. of Recreation and Parks, 3900 Chevy Chase Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90039.
Sign the Griffith Park Urban Wilderness Petition at one of these local merchants.
Voice your opinion at a public meeting. It is vitally important that you attend these meetings and speak up during "public comment." Rec
& Parks is counting on the current furor over the draft master plan to simply disappear. The Griffith Park Master Plan Working Group is
doing outstanding work in rewriting the draft; however, their output remains a secret -- as of December 6, Rec & Parks has failed to
post
meeting summaries from October and November; nor have they posted the approved rewrite of the draft's "Vision" chapter, which was
unanimously approved by the Working Group. Click here if you would like to read it. The Master Plan draft is available on-line at Los
Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.
Griffith Park Ranger Station Community Room 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, Griffith Park MAP TO THE SPOT
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Message Board (click here to discuss this ride.)
Sign the Griffith Park Urban Wilderness Petition at one of these local merchants:
LOS FELIZ:
Skylight Books
1818 North Vermont Ave
LA 90027
Goretti
1937-1/2 Hillhurst Ave
LA 90027
ATWATER VILLAGE:
Kaldi Coffee & Tea
3147 Glendale Blvd
LA 90039
HOLLYWOOD:
Victor’s Liquor & Delicatessen
1915 North Bronson Ave
LA 90068
Counterpoint Records & Books
5911 Franklin Ave
LA 90068
La Poubelle
5907 Franklin Ave
LA 90068
EAST HOLLYWOOD:
Matrushka's
4281 Fountain Ave
LA 90027
STUDIO CITY:
The Ivy Antiques
12318 Ventura Blvd
Studio City 91604
GLENDALE/BURBANK:
Steven’s Hay & Grain
1840 Riverside Drive
Glendale 91201
Da Moor Feed & Tack
1532 Riverside Drive
Glendale 91201
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