Brentwood Residents Go Hollywood to Save Their Homes From Demolition--It’s Not a Pretty Picture

Condominium construction and city planning commissions aren’t normally the stuff of television drama. Not enough car chases and shoot-outs. Few opportunities for sight gags.

But that hasn’t stopped a group of Brentwood residents from using television to fight a developer who wants to raze their apartments and build a 31-unit condominium complex. These renters haven’t had much luck opposing the demolition through legal channels, so they’ve switched to a public access channel.

Dave Quick and his neighbors, some of whom have lived in the same place for 20 years, are producing a series of programs about their 19 “lovely garden apartments” along the 12000-block of Montana Avenue. The half-hour shows are meant to incite a grass-roots opposition to development on the Westside.

Three of the “Miracle on Montana” episodes have already appeared on Century Cable’s public access, Channel 3, and at least one more is scheduled for April 29 at 9 p.m.

Quick’s production style lies somewhere between cinema verite and home movies: Natural sound, a hand-held video camera. Here is Dave, the star of the show, showing us architectural sketches of the proposed complex. Here is Dave walking beneath pepper trees that shade the path between the rent-controlled bungalow apartments. “Follow me out to the street,” he tells the cameraman. Dave, a plump and youngish 40, sits on the sidewalk in his blue jeans and explains complexities of infrastructure and density.

“For every homeowner on the Westside, there’s a lesson here,” he says to the camera, speaking as if the bad guys were busting down the door. “If you don’t stand up and be counted, this could happen to you.”

Off camera, a calmer Quick says: “I’m obviously not a TV persona but it reeks of honesty, doesn’t it? I think it’s a damn good use of public access. It’s a good way to get the issue out to the public.”

City officials have already approved condominium construction on the site along Montana Avenue near Gretna Green Way, said Candida Burke, a city planning associate. Burke said that “everything the developer is asking for is legally allowed on that property and other properties in the area.” But opponents of the project--which include numerous homeowners in the neighborhood--have filed an appeal to the city planning commission.

The television shows, for their part, have broached the subject with a touch of humor. In the second episode, Quick’s boldest statements are punctuated with footage of a standing ovation in the U.S. Senate. The most recent episode--titled “Walt Density Presents Main Street U.S.A.”--is filled with puns such as “the Mickey House Club” and “Bear Market Jamboree.”

“As our situation deteriorates,” Quick said, “our shows will become increasingly manic-depressive.”

Such jocularity mixed with bland, technical material is unusual fare for television. It probably won’t sway city officials. An executive from Quorum Properties, the developer, said he wasn’t even aware of the “Miracle on Montana” shows.

But Quick hasn’t lost faith. A phone number appears on screen during the programs and more than two dozen viewers have called to offer support. Quick believes many more have tried to call; he has only one telephone line and it gets tied up with calls during each telecast.

“We may not win the first battle, we may not win the second battle,” Quick tells the home audience. “But it’s a long war. Sooner or later we’ll regain the destiny of our community and its future growth.”