Sarajane Schwartz, member of Hollywoodland Gifted Park and Homeowners on Beachwood Drive United (HBDU) spoke before the Recs and Park Commission on January 17,2018 regarding Councilman Ryu’s $120,000 report that can doom Hollywoodland. The recommendations put HGP and Hollywoodland in grave danger of extinction.
“I am here representing Hollywoodland Homeowners Association and we are opposed to almost every suggestion in this plan that involves Hollywoodland. What’s most disappointing and actually devastating is that the thrust of these suggestions are how to literally transform, redesign, and defacto rezone a fragile, hillside residential neighborhood into an amusement park. Most of these suggestions have already been considered in the past and found to be illegal or unsafe. And for example, there was not even consideration given to something as basic as street widths and standards.”
“During the recent holidays we had a preview of some of these ideas when our neighborhood was flooded with extra enforcement funded by City Council, and at various locations the personnel kept begging their supervisors to shut it all down–that it was unsafe. This plan contains more band-aids trying to force a square peg into a round hole instead of keeping residents and visitors safe, preserving the passive state of the western side of Griffith Park for plants and animals, and funneling visitors to access points, possibly new ones in the northern perimeter of Griffith Park away from residential neighborhoods.”
“Real SOLUTIONS for these problems will be found away from fragile, hillside residential neighborhoods.”