Distrust of Do-Gooders

I am one of the short-sighted, recalcitrant neighbors of the Pan Pacific (“Pan Pacific Should Rise From the Ashes,” by Sam Hall Kaplan, June 18).

It is evident Kaplan doesn’t participate in life in the Fairfax District, that place he implies holds itself in isolation from the rest of the city. This is where it takes 30 minutes to travel on 3rd Street between Crescent Heights and San Vicente, at 2 in the afternoon. This is where we will soon have some 30 movie theaters (not including the proposed Pan Pacific plan). This is where we have so many on- and off-sale liquor licenses they compete with the number of non-resident cars parked on residential streets between 6 a.m. and 12 a.m. There are so many small and large eateries, a food junkie could go a year without visiting the same place twice.

The General Plan for the City of Los Angeles states that the Pan Pacific property is to be open greenspace. It also states that secondary streets, such as Beverly, 3rd, Fairfax and Crescent Heights must be improved to handle the traffic generated by the development of the areas they traverse. If they cannot be improved to such a degree, then the development of the surrounding areas is to be curtailed so that it does not exceed the capacity of the streets.

The conservancy folks may be wonderful people, but I distrust wanna-be-do-gooders who are so rigid they are unable to make accommodations based on the reality of any given situation. I am all for preserving classic architecture. But if someone was so interested in preserving and making use of the Pan Pacific facade, let them buy it, move it and use it where it would look great and make a buck for someone. It is not right to shove it down people’s throats “just because.” You do not live here so please, do not presume to tell us what is in our best interest.

MELISSA KAPLAN NASO

Los Angeles