Conservancy’s Inspectors to Examine Cathedral Damage
The Los Angeles Conservancy gained an important victory Thursday when a Superior Court judge ruled that the preservationist organization’s own inspectors can examine seismic damage at St. Vibiana’s Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.
Judge Robert O’Brien also refused a request from the city and the Roman Catholic archdiocese to shorten his temporary ban on the razing of the church’s bell tower. A full hearing is still scheduled for June 17.
Conservancy Executive Director Linda Dishman said, “I think it continues to show there are merits to our position.”
The conservancy contends that the archdiocese acted illegally last Saturday by starting demolition of the bell tower at the landmark cathedral without the necessary permit. In its lawsuit, the group also seeks to block a permit until a environmental impact study is completed.
Cardinal Roger M. Mahony has declared that the conservancy action could cause him to abandon plans to replace St. Vibiana’s at Second and Main streets with a $45-million cathedral on the same site. Thursday’s ruling increases the chances that the project will move elsewhere, possibly outside the city, said archdiocese attorney O’Malley Miller.
“It’s not good news,” Miller said. He noted that the cardinal has asked a search committee to recommend alternative sites on June 25.
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