Around the Halls: Animal Purchases, Quimby Funds, Farmers Field and Parking Fines
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
Downtown property owners will pay nearly $660,000 toward the early-'90s redevelopment of Pershing Square this year.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — A slow-moving ban on animal purchases, a report on Quimby funds, Farmers Field talks and an increase in parking fines are among the items at City Hall this week.
MONDAY: Public Safety and Budget and Finance committees meet.
An ordinance making it illegal to purchase animals on the streets of the Fashion District heads to Public Safety committee more than 17 months after it was first proposed. CF 09-0632 would add a $250 fine on first offense, escalating to $500 for a second purchase and $1000 on a third offense.
Calling Los Angeles' legal services structure "unique in California," Councilwoman Jan Perry wants to hear how other cities structure their in-house legal teams. Her motion, CF 11-1127, goes to Budget and Finance committee.
TUESDAY: Council meets, as do four committees.
Arts, Parks, Health and Aging committee has scheduled several report-back items that came up in the budget process. Recreation and Parks is asked to report on the status of Quimby funds, the Library department is asked to report on the restoration of library hours and the CAO and Cultural Affairs are due to report on the prospects of raising the city's Arts Development fee.
Wrestling comes to Staples Center on August 14 in the form of WWE Summer Slam, and CF 11-1178 is a motion at council to allow street pole banners to be used for its promotion.
AEG could be summoned to City Council to make a presentation on its proposal for Farmers Field under CF 11-0023-S6, a motion that would take stadium talks out of committee and to the full Council for discussion.
WEDNESDAY: Council and two committees meet.
An ordinance setting levies for the Grand Avenue Project's special taxing district goes to Council as CF 09-0552, but since nothing's been built, the dollar amount is zero.
Downtown property owners will pay nearly $660,000 toward the early-'90s redevelopment of Pershing Square this year under CF 10-1269, the ordinance setting the 2011-2012 assessment for bond repayment. Gas Company Tower pays the biggest assessment, at $144,000.
Fees for parking fines would rise $3 under CF 09-1953, which goes to Transportation committee. The move is to offset a surcharge imposed by California as State Senate Bill 857.
Chris Loos on July 11, 2011, at 09:19AM – #1
On one hand, its great that Pershing Square will get a well-needed renovation.
On the other hand, how far can $660k possibly go? New plantings? Demolition of that silly purple tower? The park is due for a major overhaul, one that reconfigures the parking garage ramps and regrades the park to make it accessible from all 4 sides. We want a Union Square. And right now we have a PoS.
Bert Green (@bgfa) on July 11, 2011, at 10:32AM – #2
The money for Pershing Square is for bond repayment, not for Park use. Once the bonds are repaid in full, the older renovation will have been paid for in full and we can look at new ways to raise money to redesign the park again.
Chris Loos on July 11, 2011, at 10:40AM – #3
@Bert - I see. I totally misunderstood what the money was for. Crazy to think that bonds are still being repaid for a renovation that no one particularly likes anymore.
Brady Westwater (@bradywestwater) on July 12, 2011, at 07:48AM – #4
The most recent proposal to redo Pershing Square was going to be paid for by the Quimby fees from the condos built with the luxury hotel proposed on the site of the old Auditorium Building. That project is now dead - for the moment, at least - but it would have replaced all the parking lots on the north side of 5th Street.