City Panel Won’t Back LAPD Site

A decade-long effort to find a new home for the Los Angeles Police Department took a curious turn Thursday when the city’s Cultural Affairs Commission refused to endorse plans to build on a downtown site near City Hall.

The commission voted 5 to 1 to send a letter urging the City Council to revisit its decision. It was the second time in two weeks that the commission rebuffed the plan.

“It doesn’t feel right -- it feels like we’re being railroaded,” said Commissioner Lee Ramer, who said she is troubled that the council appears to have ignored the concerns of downtown residents.

Some downtown residents want a park at the site -- the block south of City Hall -- and some commission members agreed Thursday that may be a better use of the land.

The council has struggled for years to find a new home to replace the LAPD’s decrepit Parker Center. A site in Little Tokyo was rejected last year after residents there protested. Another plan to move the LAPD into the city-owned Transamerica building also fizzled.

The standoff between the seven-member commission and the 15-member City Council was unusual. The commission -- which spends much of its time reviewing architecture, public art and streetlight designs for city property -- has rarely taken steps that put it at odds with the council.

Downtown Councilwoman Jan Perry said that it was “highly unlikely” the council would reconsider where the new headquarters should be built. “We have to respect the commission’s opinion,” she said. “But the process was exhaustive and intensive.”

Councilman Ed Reyes, who heads the council’s Planning Committee, echoed that view. He said there are plenty of new parks being planned for downtown, including green space near the new Belmont Learning Complex, along the Los Angeles River and a park in an old rail yard northeast of Chinatown known as the Cornfield.

“I don’t think we’re going to appreciate the fact the commission is trying to establish their own agenda,” Reyes said. “If they’re not going to take us seriously, why should we take them seriously? It puts us in a very negative place.”

At issue is the block of city-owned land bordered by 1st, 2nd, Spring and Main streets downtown. The block is occupied largely by the old Caltrans building -- the agency recently moved into a new building one block east -- and other smaller buildings the city has acquired.

Downtown residents, who have been advocating a park at the site, turned out for the commission meeting. They envision the site becoming a grand urban park that would be a gateway for City Hall and serve downtown’s burgeoning residential population.

The police headquarters plan “is kind of a fortified City Hall prison sort of thing, not a place for residents to throw a Frisbee or walk their dogs,” said John Agnew, a member of L.A. Civic Park, a coalition of downtown residents who want more open space.

But the City Council sees the land as the best spot for a high-tech replacement for Parker Center, which was deemed seismically unsound after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

The new 11-story building would cover about half of the block. The area would be buffered by strips of grass and trees, including an open area along 1st Street across from City Hall.

On June 23, the City Council approved building the LAPD headquarters on the old Caltrans site. Residents who live near the block have complained that they had no idea the council was going to vote on that day because the vote was never posted on the council agenda.

Perry disagreed and said there have been plenty of opportunities for public comment over the last several years.

Enter the Cultural Affairs Commission, which is charged with screening any structures proposed for city property. For example, one of its first items of business Thursday was to review a steel sculpture of an oak tree slated for a fire station in the San Fernando Valley.

The commission first wrestled with the issue of the police headquarters on Jan. 20. At that time, many of the commissioners applauded the building’s proposed design, but were troubled by the location and refused to approve the entire plan.

On Thursday, at the urging of the city attorney, they revisited the issue. Commissioners again found the new police headquarters attractive, but wondered if a park wasn’t a better use. “I don’t think we can separate architecture from the site,” said Commissioner Paula Holt.

Commissioner Charles M. Stern, who also complimented the architect’s plans, said, “I still find it’s a serious mistake to put that building there.”

Park advocates argue that a 1997 master plan for downtown envisioned the block as a park. Commissioners said they were unfamiliar with the master plan, but want the council to comply with it -- if, in fact, it exists. “I can’t imagine a city of this size doesn’t have a master plan,” Holt said.

Deputy City Atty. Francisco Orozco told commissioners, however, that the location was outside their jurisdiction and that their opinion won’t mean much to the council. “I don’t think it will have much weight,” he said.