City OKs Land Purchase, Museum Move

A divided Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to spend $13 million to buy open space from city Police Commissioner Bert Boeckmann and to move the Children’s Museum from downtown to Griffith Park, despite complaints by some council members that both projects slight inner-city children.

Councilwomen Rita Walters and Jackie Goldberg were among those who objected to the projects, contending that both allocate scarce park funding to more affluent, remote, park-rich areas of Los Angeles, to the detriment of children living in the central city.

“Most of the children in park-poor areas will never see this part of the Santa Monica Mountains,” Goldberg said. “It’s another case of the rich getting richer. I think it’s a travesty.”

Motions to kill the purchase of the Mandeville Canyon property and to scale back funding for the Children’s Museum from $10 million to $5 million were defeated on 9-4 votes.

The council voted 11 to 2, with Goldberg and Walters dissenting, to approve the projects as part of a larger package for $32 million in bonds to be issued against future tax revenues from the voter-approved Proposition K.

The remaining funds will pay for improvements to the Los Angeles Zoo, Griffith Observatory, Cabrillo Aquarium and construction of child-care centers in the San Fernando Valley and southwest Los Angeles.

All of the criticism on Wednesday was aimed at two projects: building a new, larger $9.4-million Children’s Museum at Travel Town in Griffith Park, which will replace the smaller facility currently located downtown; and allocating $3 million toward the $5-million purchase of 239 acres of undeveloped land in Mandeville Canyon from Valley car dealer and Police Commissioner Bert Boeckmann.

Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski said buying the Boeckmann property in her 11th Council District will preserve pristine canyonlands for hikers and bikers, saving the open space from a proposed development of 30 large homes.

“The acquisition of open space is of value,” Miscikowski said. “Were we not able to come up with money to buy it, we faced a significant development risk and a battle in the future.”

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is seeking $2 million from the state to add to the city appropriation to meet Boeckmann’s $5-million asking price. But critics of the deal say it puts too much money into a remote area in a council district that already has 2,345 acres of parkland. In comparison, Walters’ central city 9th District has 86 acres of parkland.

Councilman Mike Hernandez supported the whole package even while voicing concern about the disparity of parks available in the Valley and other parts of the city.

“A child living out here,” he said, pointing to a map of the Valley, “has more access to parks and recreation facilities than children living in the inner city.”

Only $2 million of the $32 million in bonded projects endorsed Wednesday is targeted for poor neighborhoods, critics said.

“The intent of Proposition K was to get more park space and recreational opportunities for inner-city youth,” Walters said.

The Boeckmann property is not easily reachable by bus and is likely to remain open space because of unstable soil and other problems identified by city engineers that would make development there difficult, Goldberg said.

“That property is going to be vacant anyway,” Goldberg said. “It’s outrageous.”

Miscikowski committed to either building a parking lot on or near the Boeckmann property or lifting parking restrictions on neighboring streets so the site can be more easily accessed.

Goldberg said the $3 million will give Boeckmann a tenfold return on his original $300,000 investment to buy the property 20 years ago.

The $5-million purchase price also has been questioned by some mountain residents, including Patricia Bell Hearst of the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Assns., who notes the city paid $11 million last year for an adjoining 1,525-acre parcel.

An appraisal has not yet been completed by the city, but an appraisal done for Boeckmann states the land is worth $13 million.

The council purchase is contingent on completion of the city appraisal.

Councilwoman Laura Chick said Boeckmann has done a service by holding off on development to give the city a chance to buy the land for less than the value fixed by his appraisal.

“In terms of the property owner, I think sainthood is in order,” Chick said.

Joseph T. Edmiston, who heads the conservancy, said there are already proposals to bus inner-city children to the site for nature programs.

The council vote, he said, is a milestone in efforts to preserve open space in the Santa Monica Mountains for recreation.

Walters said the proposal to move the Children’s Museum from downtown, which is well-served by bus and rail, to a remote area of Griffith Park, also raises issues of accessibility for children from working-class families.

“This move deprives inner-city kids because there is no public transportation to get children where they are going,” Walters said.

The move is necessary, according to Councilman Hal Bernson, because the current facility “is antiquated and really unable to cope with the numbers who want to use it.”

Doug Ring, who heads the museum board of trustees, said the council vote is a significant step for improving service to children citywide.

“I’m delighted,” said Ring, who is Miscikowski’s husband. “This is going to permit us to have a world-class children’s museum.