JACK WEI$$:
Powerle$$ Again$t Developer$???

You can click here to read the article in its entirety. But the main points are as follows:

• The City Council okayed the construction (by Chicago firm JMB Realty) of two 47-story condominium towers in Century City, one of the most traffic-choked sections of the Westside.
  
• Councilman Jack Weiss embraced the skyscraper project, saying it is a perfect example of “smart growth,” since it will put homes closer to Century City’s stores and offices. Ten homeowner groups disagreed, saying the skyscrapers will flood the neighborhood with additional traffic and tax the city’s infrastructure — roads, libraries, parks and so on.
  
• Sixteen of the 32 intersections that surround the proposed skyscrapers will soon suffer from what is known to bureaucrats as “Level of Service F,” the worst grade possible, even without the skyscrapers.
  
• Regarding the impact on traffic, Weiss said he is relying on the city’s analysis: “The city kicked the tires on all of the developer’s submissions, and the city professionals told us that everything had been done appropriately.” But the fact is, the planning department relies on a rigid, highly obscure formula to calculate car trips.

At the end of the article, the story gets very familiar to those of us who have been involved in the fight against the La Brea Gateway project and attended the various City Hall hearings...

• The so-called Westside Coalition inaugurated months of talks with JMB Realty
  
• JMB got plenty of assistance from its powerhouse lobbyist at City Hall, Latham & Watkins.
  
• Last month, JMB announced a “voluntary” contribution of $5 million toward the area’s traffic planning, libraries, parks, emergency services and schools.
  

CONNECTING THE DOTS: the developers in our case are represented by the same "powerhouse lobbyist" law firm—Latham & Watkins; the La Brea Gateway partners have also offered money to "mitigate" the traffic crisis they will cause in our neighborhood; our coalition and neighborhood groups, too, were treated to months of talks with the developers—a slick PR tactic that won over our Mid-CIty West Neighborhood Council without costing the developers much at all.

• JMB gave $100,000 to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign to seize power at the LA Unified School District.
  
• Villaraigosa supported JMB’s project, and counts Weiss, the councilman who represents Century City, as one of his closest allies.
  
• Latham & Watkins represents nearly every development project in Century City.
  
• Latham lawyers have given Weiss more than $10,000 in contributions since the 2001 campaign.
  
• After JMB made progress in its talks with the homeowner groups, Latham & Watkins pointed out that Weiss had veto power over any deal.
  
• Weiss fought the homeowner coalition’s bid for control over JMB’s $5 million fund, saying that arrangement wouldn't provide sufficient transparency and accountability.
  

Please immediately contact Jack Weiss—our City Council member. Urge him to listen to and support his constituents—not the developers—in the planning process. Ask him to show that he cares about the quality of life of residents and city, as stated on his web site!

And please send us a copy of your letter as well! The addresses are:

	Jack Weiss, Councilmember City Hall Room 440 200 North Spring Street Los Angeles, CA 90012-3241 phone: (213) 473-7005 fax: (213) 978-2150 email: weiss@lacity.org web: http://www.lacity.org/council/cd5		La Brea-Willoughby Coalition 843 North Detroit Street Los Angeles, CA 90046-7607 phone: (323) 939-2754 email: labreacoalition@gmail.com