Plummer Park project on hold until October
By Aaron Blevins, 8/09/2012
WeHo Council awaits state decision on project funding
Plans to renovate Plummer Park in West Hollywood have hit a standstill, as state officials and legislators continue to deal with the dissolution of the state’s redevelopment agencies, which were abolished in January.
Plans for renovations at Plummer Park have stalled as the city works out redevelopment funding issues. (photo by Aaron Blevins)
David Wilson, West Hollywood’s finance director, said the city had issued approximately $30 million in bonds for Plummer Park through its Community Development Commission. As the commission’s successor agency, the city now possesses the funds, but can only spend them as they are approved by the California Department of Finance.
“As part of the disillusionment of redevelopment, those funds are now tied up,” Wilson said.
He said the city must send recognized obligation payment schedules to the Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller and the department of finance every six months. So far, two have been approved, totaling $1.4 million. However, the Legislature recently passed a new law, AB 1484, which gives the department more power, Wilson said.
“We’re just not certain that they’re going to continue to approve them,” he said, adding that the city should know more by October. “Then we’ll have more certainty [and] we can go forward with the project.”
Wilson said the funding has somewhat trickled in because the project is not under construction. He said the $1.4 million allocated so far will be used for design-related costs and project management, and $800,000 has been spent. Once the city enters into a construction contract, the allocations will likely increase significantly, Wilson said.
The Plummer Park project was nearing construction last October, when a group of residents called for revisions. Opponents feared that a proposed subterranean parking lot at the park would close a majority of it for an extended period of time. They also expressed concern about the uprooting of old trees and “ultra-modern” architecture that would contrast with surrounding structures.
The original plan proposed an expansion and renovation of Fiesta Hall, an interactive water feature, a central park promenade, new playground equipment and the relocation of the basketball courts, among other things. The cost was expected to be approximately $41 million.
Construction was expected to commence in January or February, but opponents garnered 700 signatures for a petition and staged an Occupy Plummer Park event. In December, the West Hollywood City Council created a subcommittee to re-examine the project and take concerns into account. Recommendations were expected at the end of February, but have yet to materialize.
Helen Collins, the city’s senior administrative analyst for the department of human services, said no official changes have been made, although there has been plenty of discussion.
“Nothing’s been finalized,” she said, adding that the city knew that the redevelopment issue could affect the project.
Collins said the city plans to hold a meeting to discuss potential changes, but no date has been set.
“We’re just waiting on clarification from the state,” she said. “It’s kind of on hold right now.”
Tags | Community Development Commission, Plummer Park, West Hollywood
The truth about this sanitized summary of what is a crazy $41 Million Dollar scheme to ‘renovate plummer park’ which is going to cut down and destroy 50+ of the old historic Plummer Park trees in order to dig a giant hole where an under ground parking structure would be built, covered with a layer of dirt then some grass.
The Trees will be destroyed, the new West Hollywood Park/Library has proven that not even grass will grow on top of an underground parking structure due to lack of enough soil over the concrete box and no drainage.
When done (if the City continues with this Pork Belly gone wild spending spree from the near bankrupted State of California) will only create 67 new parking spaces (for $41 Million Dollars) when there is no significant parking shortage at Plummer Park as it is has been for so long.
Currently the City is ignoring the largest community demonstration against the destruction of the park and has cut back basic up keep of the park (a common weho tactic) so that the park deteriorates to such a terrible state that people end up feeling even the rotten $41 Million Dollar plan is better than the unsafe and dirty mess that Plummer Park is intentionally allowed to fall into.
I hope the State does refuse to fund such an over priced plan that will destroy the heavily used Plummer Park and drive California Budget Crisis to a needlessly worse level – all so that the City Council can funnel $41 Million dollars of profitable contracts to the same people who routinely fill the Council’s election war chest that has allowed the remaining original Council Members a life long guaranteed election victory and the ability to run schemes like this with absolutely no oversight and against the outpouring of residents – all of whom are opposed and scared the park will be lost forever if the City Council isn’t stopped.
Why would West Hollywood want to take money from the State for this plan? The State had to close 70 parks due to lack of funds. It seems to me that the Administration of West Hollywood has lost track of its neighbors in our State. This redevelopment money, when it was available, was for blighted areas. Do we think West Hollywood is a blighted area? Our leaders have also lost the ability to hear what the citizens in our community want and need. We are told that the City has plenty of money. Plummer Park just needs the attention and upkeep which it has not gotten for years. It does not need to have more parking (underground no less). Basically that is what the renovation of this Park is all about. We should be encouraging public transportation not parking! More parking will cause the park to lose old growth trees…what is a park about? Parking or trees? We should give Plummer Park and its historical buildings TLC and keep it as the historical landmark it is. We should leave the money to the State which is so deeply in debt. Time has come to pull in the reins on spending no matter what City we are in.
thank you for this article. as one of those residents that fought this plan I would have to correct you on the number of signatures (at least 1,500 to date). i also would point out that it was not the ‘uprooting of old trees’ but the planned destruction of more than 50 old growth trees that we were trying to prevent. plummer park can be renovated with a lot less money if its historic nature is preserved,
Wow, “disillusionment of redevelopment” is the perfect typo here – should have been the title. There is no “project” because there is no design – the original was rejected by residents outright. There have been no recommendations because the City hasn’t yet done the public outreach it promised to come up with recommendations. Well, there was a staff recommendation to keep some original design elements that the Council was asked to approve, but when residents saw those elements weren’t even spelled out, we demanded the item be removed from the Council agenda… which it was.
The residents long hoped to see some TLC given to the park with preservation of its beautiful historic buildings. But spending an exorbitant $41 million to “pave paradise and put in a parking lot” was never what they asked for or wanted.
Why would the city continue this course of action? There are many more cost effective and restorative alternatives than to simply uproot and demolish what is essentially the heart and soul of this park. This seems like an ENORMOUS waste of money and resources and I have NO idea why more community residents are not banging down the doors of city hall and asking for the entire plan to be reworked. More community involvement is needed. Those elected officials work for you and not the other way around.