L.A. mayor selects new housing chief from Chicago

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today announced his selection of Douglas Guthrie to become the new general manager of the city’s Housing Department.

Guthrie, a former top official at the Chicago Housing Authority, most recently worked with private ventures focused on affordable urban development and the redevelopment of old public housing into mixed-use city centers.

Guthrie served for six years as president of Kimball Hill Urban Centers in Chicago, which built mixed-income affordable housing in many depressed city centers that most traditional developers would avoid, including a project with former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, one of Villaraigosa’s long-time political supporters.

L.A. council members hear from residents angered about digital billboards

Pressure is building on members of the Los Angeles City Council to remove 101 digital billboards across the city, now that a judge has struck down a key settlement. But after hearing from more than 30 speakers today, members of a council committee put off making any recommendation to their colleagues.
 
The illuminated signs were erected under a 2006 agreement between the city and two outdoor advertising companies. That settlement was struck down by a Superior Court judge earlier this month.
 
But as they weighed their legal options, members on the council’s planning and land use committee heard an earful from residents urging them to immediately remove the bright, flashing signs in their neighborhoods and convert them back to conventional billboards. At the same time, representatives from settlement participants Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. and CBS Outdoor Inc. — backed by several business groups — urged the committee not to act hastily because the firms are appealing the judge’s ruling.
 
Jan Reichmann, president of the Comstock Hills Homeowners Assn., told committee members that she and her neighbors were living in the shadow of a huge digital billboard on Santa Monica Boulevard in Westwood. “It’s time to end the suffering from the blinking lights flashing into our homes and backyards, and the nonstop noise emanating from the huge cooling fans,” Reichmann said.
 

L.A. Council to discuss billboards amid calls to have digital signs removed

Some of those bright, flashing digital billboards across Los Angeles could soon go dark if a handful of City Council members have their way.

A council committee today will begin wrestling with how the city should proceed in the wake of Superior Court Judge Terry Green's ruling that invalidated a 2006 billboard settlement between the city and two outdoor advertising companies, CBS Outdoor Inc. and Clear Channel Outdoor Inc. That agreement, brokered after the two companies sued the city over its earlier billboard regulations, authorized a variety of changes to 840 billboards, including adding a second face or converting them to a digital format.

In his ruling earlier this month, the judge said city officials should decide to handle 101 of the signs modernized so far.

Neighborhood groups, arguing that the signs have created visual blight and distractions for drivers, are urging council members to move quickly by ordering the companies to convert the billboards back to their conventional state. But with millions of dollars at stake, CBS Outdoor and Clear Channel Outdoor are appealing the judge’s ruling and urging the council to let the case work its way through the courts before taking action.

Coalition sues to halt Tejon Ranch development

A coalition of environmentalists, Native Americans and local residents has filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking the development of a 5,000-acre resort community on the Tejon Ranch in the Tehachapi Mountains.

The suit, filed Thursday in Kern County Superior Court, argues that the Tejon Mountain Village project would negatively impact roadways, Native American sacred sites and indigenous wildlife, particularly the California condor.

The project, which is set to include 3,450 homes, golf courses, hotels and a commerce center, was unanimously approved in October by the Kern County Board of Supervisors.

Representatives of Tejon Mountain Village argue that they have made concessions to ensure environmental protection, specifically agreeing to preserve 90% of the company’s 270,000-acre property, where the Tejon Mountain Village would be the smaller of two planned developments.

Read more on the Tejon Ranch lawsuit.

-- Ann M. Simmons

Federal judge hands L.A. a billboard lawsuit victory

Though they are still fighting as many as 20 billboard lawsuits, Los Angeles officials eked out a victory this week in their struggle to stop the proliferation of billboards and supergraphics. A federal judge dismissed one of three lawsuits filed by the outdoor advertising firm World Wide Rush LLC.

The company argued that it had a right to erect new signs or supergraphics because it requested permits during a four-month period in late 2008 — between the August date that the city’s 2002 outdoor advertising ban was struck down and that December, when the city enacted a new temporary ban on the signs.

World Wide Rush claimed that officials at the city Department of Building and Safety wrongly refused to approve permits for new signs during that period even though the 2002 sign ban had been invalidated. Under the company’s logic, their applications were wrongly denied — therefore they should have a right to put up new supergraphics or signs now even though the city has a ban in place.

Construction on first phase of Orange County Great Park approved

After years of planning, the Orange County Great Park will take shape — at least initially — as a far more modest spread than the facility supporters once vowed would rank among America’s great municipal parks.

The Irvine City Council voted 3 to 2 on Tuesday to spend $65.5 million over the next three to five years transforming a portion of the old El Toro Marine base into parkland.

The city will use the money to turn about 225 acres of the base into lawns, exhibition space, sports fields, farmland, citrus groves and a wildlife corridor, among other amenities.

The plan was crafted to address what’s become a common criticism: that despite spending tens of millions of dollars on a much-lauded design, the city has yet to deliver on its promises to build a showcase park in the heart of Orange County.

Judge strikes down deal allowing digital billboards

A judge has formally invalidated a 2006 settlement between the city of Los Angeles and two companies, CBS Outdoor and Clear Channel Outdoor, that granted them special rights to convert as many as 840 billboards to a digital format, among other changes.

The settlement was negotiated by former City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo after the two companies sued the city over its billboard regulations.

Another billboard company, Summit Media, challenged the settlement last year, arguing it was illegal because the city allowed the companies to make sign changes barred under city law.

L.A. redevelopment chief to leave Villaraigosa administration [Updated]

Cecilia V. Estolano, head of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, said today that she would resign to take a job with an Oakland-based environmental group focused on generating green jobs in underserved neighborhoods.

The departure was the latest sign of a reshuffling in the administration of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, coming one month after he announced the resignation of H. David Nahai, the former head of the Department of Water and Power.

Estolano said that she did not yet know what her title would be at Green for All but that she planned to leave her CRA post at the end of this month. She said she was excited about trying to replicate the city’s job-creation and environmental programs in other communities across the nation.

“This is a great opportunity for us to take what we’ve done in Los Angeles to scale nationally,” said Estolano, who added that she had been talking with the group for a month.

Lake Elsinore has L.A. area's longest commute, census report finds

Think your commute is bad? Others have it worse – unless you happen to live in Lake Elsinore.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday released new data showing how long it takes people to get to work. In Southern California, Lake Elsinore in Riverside County topped the list, with residents taking an average of 41.8 minutes to get to work. Palmdale and Adelanto were behind, at 40.5 minutes.

The report, which examined data collected between 2006 and 2008, confirms something veteran commuters know well: The worst drives to work are often shared by residents who live in far-flung suburbs. Other Southern California cities high on the list: Walnut, Perris, Murrieta, Moreno Valley, Diamond Bar, Chino Hills, Santa Clarita and La Puente.

The study found that the average Los Angeles resident spends an average of just under half an hour getting to work – putting the city at No. 26 for cities in the region.

Palm Springs and Indio in the Coachella Valley posted some of the shortest commutes in Southern California, about 20 minutes. But not far behind were some Orange County suburbs: Costa Mesa (22.3), Tustin (22.3) and Irvine (22.5).

--Ari B. Bloomekatz and Sandy Poindexter

Photo: Hollywood Freeway traffic.

Credit: Richard Vogel / Associated Press

L.A. Council ignores Trutanich warning, backs signs for theater at L.A. Live

The Los Angeles City Council today unanimously backed city building officials’ authority to issue six controversial sign permits at the L.A. Live entertainment district downtown, a direct challenge to City Atty. Carmen Trutanich’s warning that officials could be prosecuted if they allow the signs to go up.

With today’s backing from the council, Building and Safety general manager Raymond Chan said he plans to issue the permits despite Trutanich’s warning. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also supports issuing the permits, said Jeff Carr, the mayor’s chief of staff.

The action comes just days after the owner of the downtown entertainment complex, Anschutz Entertainment Group, accused Trutanich of trying to “bully’’ the company by blocking signs for its new Regal Cinemas before the movie theater’s grand opening on Tuesday.

William W. Carter, the chief deputy city attorney, warned the council before its vote that granting the permits to AEG could “unravel” a new sign ban approved by the council in August that prohibits all digital signs, supergraphics and freeway facing billboards. Outdoor advertising companies had successfully challenged the city’s past sign restrictions because the council had granted similar exemptions, he said.

L.A. council broaches raising fees to appeal development decisions

The Los Angeles City Council will resume talks today on a proposal to raise the processing fees for residents who seek to overturn the city's development decisions.

Neighborhood councils and homeowner groups are upset about the plan, saying the higher rates would make it too costly to challenge a building project. Fees could be as high as $3,000 under the proposal.

The issue has divided the council, with some members saying it could have a chilling effect on neighborhood involvement and others saying that the city needs the money during a tough budget year and that it would help cover the cost of appeals.

Read the full story on the fee dispute.

-- David Zahniser

More breaking news at L.A. Now:

L.A. City Council to consider historic landmark status for Century Plaza Hotel today

Polanski likely to be extradicted to U.S., Swiss officials told L.A. prosecutors

3.3 earthquake hits San Bernardino County

Apparent gang-related shooting leaves four injured in South L.A.

Staples Center's name will never change, new agreement says

The 10-year relationship between Staples Inc. and AEG, which brought us the Staples Center of sports and entertainment fame, is moving to the next level: forever and ever.

Staples’ original naming-rights agreement with AEG has been “extended in perpetuity,” the two companies said. AEG contends that the arrangement is “the first lifetime naming rights extension for a major market arena.”

Read the full story at L.A. Land.

-- Roger Vincent

Photo: Los Angeles Times

Arrests allegedly threatened over LA Live theater signs

Los Angeles City Atty. Carmen Trutanich allegedly threatened to prosecute city building officials last week if they issued permits for wall signs at the LA Live entertainment complex downtown, and a city councilwoman said he threatened her with jail time if she intervened.

The actions generated more heat in L.A.’s contentious fight over billboards and intensified an ongoing feud between Trutanich and one of downtown’s most politically connected corporations, Anschutz Entertainment Group.

AEG, which owns the LA Live complex and is seeking to place large signs on the outside walls of its new movie theater, called Trutanich’s actions “bullying and political thuggery.”

Trutanich responded by calling AEG a “good citizen" but warned that he would prosecute anyone who appears to violate a two-month-old ban on outdoor advertising approved by the City Council in August.

“It’s the law. I’m going to enforce the law. There’s a ban,” Trutanich said. “I told them what the consequences were. Nobody got threatened. Absolutely not.”

Santa Monica tenants and property owners to mark 30 years of rent control

The city of Santa Monica plans to commemorate 30 years of rent control by holding its first-ever workshop for tenants and property owners.

The event, "Finding Common Ground in Changing Times," is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Annenberg Community Beach House. The aim is to develop a new strategy for solving problems that arise between the two groups, known for contentious dealings, so that fewer disputes end up in court.

Although relations between renters and landlords have improved since the heated early days of rent control, "things are far from harmonious," said Adam Radinsky, head of the consumer protection unit in the Santa Monica city attorney's office.

L.A. City Council OKs 12-story Westside condo near Beverly Center

The Los Angeles City Council voted today to approve a 12-story condominium building near the Beverly Center that had drawn fire for months from neighborhood activists and a nearby hotel.

The vote will allow MCLV Properties LLC to demolish 84 apartments at the corner of 3rd Street and Wetherly Drive and build a new, single residential building containing 95 condominiums.

Opponents had included the Burton Way Foundation, a nonprofit group focused on the neighborhood near the Beverly Center, and Burton Way Hotels, the owners of the nearby Four Seasons Hotel. Both said weeks ago that the city planned to provide more height than the zoning allowed, because a portion of the site allowed buildings no taller than 45 feet.

Strip club near LAX to be demolished for a parking lot

The strip club advertising “Nude Nude Nudes” near Los Angeles International Airport, which has titillated, distracted or disgusted tourists driving on Century Boulevard for decades, has been shut down. It will be turned into a parking lot.

The lease for the Century Lounge strip club, best known for its psychedelic red-and-orange “Nude Nude Nudes” sign that rapidly blinked, expired at the end of August and the lights have been shut off, said John Day, general counsel for the owner of the property, Los Angeles-based L&R Group of Companies.

The club is expected to be demolished in October, and is to serve as an entrance to the existing WallyPark parking structure, which is owned by L&R, and add 700 to 800 ground-level parking spaces. The existing parking structure, which is several stories high, has an entrance on Bellanca Boulevard, a small street, but company officials have been hoping for a more high-profile entrance on Century Boulevard.

“We bought the property probably about 10 years ago, because it’s adjacent to our WallyPark facility. We had intended to buy out the lease, but the owner was fairly delusional in terms of the price,” Day said. “We waited until the lease was up and it was terminated.”

Vernon abandons plans for huge power plant

The industrial city of Vernon has abandoned a three-year-old proposal to build a 943-megawatt power plant bitterly opposed by the communities that surround it.

In a written statement today, Vernon City Administrator Donal O’Callaghan said his city’s electrical utility would submit a new application for a 330-megawatt facility, one he promised would be the nation's “cleanest burning natural gas power plant.”

Assemblyman John Perez (D-Los Angeles) described the announcement as a victory for residents who argued that the larger plant would emit thousands of tons of fine soot particles linked to cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.

“This is the little guys really being able to defeat this screwed-up feudal city,” said Perez, whose district includes Boyle Heights, Huntington Park, Maywood and Vernon.

O.C. Public Works director retires after critical review of planning department

The director of Orange County Public Works announced his retirement this week after a scathing review of his planning department resulted in an official call for its overhaul.

Bryan Speegle has worked for the county for more than 26 years. He became director of Public Works in January 2004 after previously serving as planning and development director. On Monday, he gave notice that he would retire.

“He did not state his reason for his decision,” county spokesman Howard Sutter said. Speegle was not available for comment.

A 117-page county audit released in July said the planning department was in “critical condition” -- employees had not been performing required safety and environmental inspections, morale was down and customer service nearly nonexistent. Audit director Steve Danley said “ongoing neglect” had contributed to these problems and major changes were required at all levels of the department.

“We can no longer allow these issues to continue,” Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Patricia Bates said.

At an August meeting, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to create a task force to monitor improvements at the beleaguered agency.

In a 15-page response to the audit, Speegle did not dispute the findings and wrote that the department had already started to work on many of the issues outlined in the report.

Jess Carbajal will serve as interim director of Public Works.

-- Tami Abdollah in Orange County

City Council panel approves motion on Century Plaza historic designation

Los Angeles City Councilmen Paul Koretz and Ed Reyes have voted to approve Koretz's motion that the council propose historic designation for the Century Plaza hotel in Century City. The hotel's owner has revealed plans to tear down the curved structure and replace it with two high-rise towers and public open space.

The vote by the two councilmen, who make up two-thirds of the council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee, is the first step in a months-long process that Koretz hopes will result in the hotel's designation as a city historic-cultural monument. The two directed the city's planning staff to compile a list of the hotel's significant features and present it to the full council.

Ken Bernstein, director of the city's Office of Historic Resources, said his staff would be preparing that inventory and a recommendation that the hotel, designed by Minoru Yamasaki and opened in 1966, be designated. The National Trust for Historic Preservation included the property on this year's list of America's 11 most endangered historic places.

The hotel is owned by Next Century Associates, a partnership between Los Angeles-based real estate investor Michael Rosenfeld and the D.E. Shaw Group. Koretz wants Rosenfeld to participate in workshops with the Office of Historic Resources, the Los Angeles Conservancy and others to consider redevelopment alternatives that would allow for preservation of the hotel.

--Martha Groves

O.C. supervisors demand changes in planning department

In the wake of the latest critical audit of the Orange County Planning and Development Services Department, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted this morning to create a task force to monitor improvements to the beleaguered agency.

A 117-page county audit released in July said the department was in “critical condition” -- employees had not been performing required safety and environmental inspections, morale was down and customer service nearly nonexistent.

Audit director Steve Danley said “ongoing neglect” had contributed to these problems and major changes were required at all levels of the department.

“We can no longer allow these issues to continue,” Board Chairwoman Patricia Bates said. She said that nothing -- including closing down the department -- was off the table.

This was the fifth major review of the department. The board will begin receiving regular monthly reports of the department’s progress in September.

-- Tami Abdollah in Orange County

O.C. supervisors back sale of county fairgrounds

The Orange County Board of Supervisors today approved a resolution supporting Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal to sell the county fairgrounds to a local government agency or nonprofit.

Earlier this month, the Fair Board approved a resolution with similar language. Supervisors John Moorlach and Bill Campbell said they hoped the land, in the city of Costa Mesa, would remain in local hands and continue to be used as a fair.

Moorlach, whose district includes the Orange County Fairgrounds, said the Fair Board has created a nonprofit to try to buy the land and is waiting for an appraisal. “We’ve been supportive,” Moorlach said. “We’ve also given them ideas, and we’re also happy to assist if they deem it helpful.”

-- Tami Abdollah, reporting from Orange County

5 options offered to reshape the Long Beach breakwater

Two miles from downtown Long Beach, where freighters queue up to unload much of the nation’s imported goods, a long wall of rock rises abruptly from the waves, encrusted with mussels and crawling with crabs.

This is the Long Beach Harbor breakwater, a 2.2-mile architectural creation of World War II designed to shield the Navy’s Pacific Fleet from stormy seas and enemy torpedoes.

Today, nearly two decades after the Navy and its ships pulled out of the area, critics contend that the stony barricade is the reason the city’s now surfless beaches are among the least popular and most polluted in the region.

This afternoon, Long Beach released the long-awaited results of a study designed to attract congressional support for a controversial proposal to reconfigure the breakwater to create bigger waves, cleaner water and beaches, and more surf tourism. According to the study, the city could gain $52 million a year in local spending — and $7 million annually in taxes and fees.

EIR process begins on Century Plaza project; Koretz favors cultural designation

The Los Angeles Planning Department on Thursday will hold its first public meeting to consider the possible environmental effects of the proposed redevelopment of the Century Plaza Hotel site in Century City. The meeting will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the third-floor grand ballroom of the Olympic Collection banquet hall and conference center, 11301 Olympic Blvd.

Last week, Councilman Paul Koretz, who represents Century City, submitted a motion to City Council contending that the hotel was historically significant and should be included in the city's list of historic cultural monuments. "The Century Plaza Hotel stimulated the development of Century City and led to its reputation as a world-class destination, having been a gathering place for celebrities, politicians and world dignitaries since its opening day," his letter said.

The curved hotel, which opened in 1966, was designed by Minoru Yamasaki, who also designed New York's World Trade Center towers. Once nicknamed the "West Coast White House," the hotel was a favorite of Presidents Nixon and Reagan. Nixon was host for a celebration for the Apollo 11 astronauts; Reagan held two presidential victory celebrations in the ballroom and often conducted business from the hotel's presidential suite.

In this first phase of the process of preparing an environmental impact report, the public can learn about the project and submit comments on potential environmental effects and alternatives that should be considered. 

Michael Rosenfeld, the hotel's owner, wants to demolish the 19-story building and replace it with two 49-story, 570-foot buildings containing residences, offices and a hotel. The buildings would be positioned on the north and south sides of a two-acre plaza area, which would be open to the public, surrounded by ground-level retail shops and restaurants.

Downtown L.A. high-rise approved by City Council

The Los Angeles City Council today approved plans for a new 43-story mixed-use building downtown, on South Figueroa Street just south of Staples Center.

The high-rise will include 273 residential units stacked atop an eight-level podium, restaurants and a spa. The project, approved 10 to 0, was supported by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Councilwoman Jan Perry, who represents that portion of downtown.

The project is backed by CA Human Technologies, a joint venture of two Korean firms, and the building was designed by Daniel Libeskind, best known for his Jewish Museum in Berlin and his much-altered master plan for the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan.

-- Phil Willon at L.A. City Hall

-- Illustration: Studio AMD

Councilman urges bonds for green projects including L.A. River and CleanTech zone

Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson plans to ask his colleagues today to consider issuing a yet-to-be-calculated amount of bonds for a series of green projects. The work would include the early stages of the city’s $2-billion plan to revitalize the Los Angeles River, the retrofit of city buildings to make them more energy efficient and the acquisition of land to attract and house green manufacturing firms in the area east of downtown designated as the CleanTech Manufacturing Corridor.

Wesson’s staff said he also hopes that money from the potential bonds could be used to aid firms in building factories and purchasing equipment if they locate in the CleanTech Corridor.

The Community Redevelopment Agency has begun talks with an Italian rail firm, AnsaldoBreda, that has said it would build a rail car manufacturing plant in the CleanTech Corridor if it wins a $300-million contract from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Wesson plans to hold a news conference this morning to discuss his proposal, but most of the details are still vague.

Wesson’s aide said the councilman was open to issuing the bonds any time in the next three years, depending on the pace of economic recovery. Part of the proposal, which would have to be approved by the City Council, would ask that officials spend the next six months studying how much money the city should seek through the bonds.

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency, for example, would be asked to calculate how much would be needed to purchase desired land in the CleanTech Corridor; the Bureau of Engineering would look at how much money would be needed for river revitalization projects over the next 10 years -- with a focus on removing concrete along the river bed to return the waterway to its natural state.

-- Maeve Reston at L.A. City Hall