FENDER CASE MAY END ON A SOUR NOTE

The Fullerton building where guitar maker Leo Fender created the electric guitars that shaped the sound of rock ‘n’ roll music is one step closer to destruction after an Orange County judge on Wednesday denied a request to prevent the razing of the building.

The building’s owner, Carl Kymla, and its present tenant, pottery maker James Kachler, filed suit Monday, requesting a stay of the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency’s order of possession. The stay would have temporarily saved the building until the issue of the site’s historical significance could be argued in court.

Kymla, with the support of editors of Guitar Player magazine, hoped to convert the building at 122 S. Pomona Ave. into a cultural arts center to house a display of stringed instruments as well as Kachler’s pottery business.

Superior Court Judge Judith M. Ryan denied the stay on grounds that the Redevelopment Agency did not act improperly in taking possession of the properties, the issue of contention in Kymla’s suit. The action allows the agency to proceed with its plan to replace the old Fender building and two bordering land parcels with a $6-million, five-story parking structure to complete the city’s multimillion-dollar transportation center.

Attorneys for Kymla and Kachler said they plan to immediately file an appeal on the stay. Gregory Hile, Kachler’s attorney, said, “Theoretically the agency could file for a writ of assistance tomorrow (Thursday) requiring my client to move out within five days.”

Following Ryan’s ruling, Fullerton real estate agent Jerry Swindle said, “We will proceed on schedule with site cleaning and with the clearing of buildings. As soon as the tenants are out and the buildings are vacant, we will proceed with the demolition.” Although no date has been set for destruction of the buildings, Hugh Berry, assistant city manager and director of engineering, said, “That will be coming up soon.”

It was at the Pomona Avenue site in the late 1940s that Leo Fender first developed and produced the Fender Precision Bass and Fender solid-body electric guitars that became perhaps the most influential and widely used electric guitars in rock music.

Fender sold the building to Kymla in 1950 to move to larger facilities for mass production of his musical instruments. Since 1970, the main building has been the home of a pottery shop owned by Kachler. Two adjacent facilities, also built by Fender, house the Acme Tool company and Mac’s Battery shop. All three buildings are owned by Kymla, a Fullerton resident from 1929 until 1976, when he moved to Yucaipa.

Kymla’s suit argued that the Redevelopment Agency has received federal funds for the transportation center and that the agency was therefore obligated to examine the Fender building’s potential historical significance as required by any federally financed project under the National Historic Preservation Act.

At Wednesday’s hearing, Patrick Hennessey, attorney for the Redevelopment Agency, said no federal funds are being used for the parking structure.

Kachler’s efforts centered on his contention that the agency has failed to provide him with adequate assistance in relocating his business. Berry said, “We have been in extensive efforts to grant Mr. Kachler his relocation benefits since October, 1984.”

Said Kachler, “It seems to me that (city officials) view the people involved--the business people, landlords, residents--all just as sides of beef hanging on a rack that they are willing to cut up into whatever size is necessary to move them out.”

Added Kymla’s attorney, Deborah Fox, “This is the last segment of the transportation center and the city just wants to finish it, regardless. They don’t want to stop or slow down and investigate alternatives.”

The Redevelopment Agency previously rejected an alternative site for the parking structure across Santa Fe Avenue from the Fender building, on a lot that was owned by the Santa Fe Railroad. The agency claimed that negotiating with the railroad would cause excessive delays in completing the project.