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April 25, 2001 STATEMENT OF THE ARROYO SECO FOUNDATION -- COURT
REJECTS BID TO REQUIRE VOTE ON MUSEUM USE OF PARK SPACE;
JUDGE’S COMMENTS SHOW NEED FOR CITY CODE CLARIFICATION Today, Los Angeles Superior Judge Dzintra Janavs denied the Arroyo Seco Foundation’s petition for a Writ of Mandamus to prevent the Kidspace Museum from being developed in the Arroyo Seco without approval from the voters. The City Charter requires an election before any public parkland can be sold, transferred, or used for non-park purposes. Further, the Arroyo Seco ordinance, which is specifically designed to protect the Arroyo Seco, prohibits any commercial or institutional use in the Arroyo. The Court did not reach the election requirement issue because it applied the doctrine of laches, finding there was an unreasonable delay after the approval of the lease for the Museum in 1998 and the filing of the action in November, 2000. The 1998 lease gave Kidspace Museum, a private organization, 3.4 acres of park land for 50 years, for $1 a year. Between the grant of the lease and the filing of the action, the Foundation participated in an administrative process before the City in an attempt to persuade the City to hold an election and comply with the Arroyo Seco ordinance. However, the Court held the fact that the Kidspace Museum spent almost $1 million for the development of the Museum, laches required denial of the writ on the Charter argument. These expenditures, of which the City reimbursed over $700,000, were made without the knowledge of the Foundation, or involvement of the City Council. While stating that there was much to be said for the Foundation’s arguments, the Court also denied relief based upon the Arroyo Seco ordinance. The key issue for the Court was trying to interpret the vague terms such as “institutional use” and “commercial recreation” in the City of Pasadena’s statutes. The lawsuit highlights the problem within Pasadena’s statutes: the lack of definitions render the laws enacted to protect Pasadena’s parks and the Arroyo Seco ineffective. The Arroyo Seco Foundation hoped the suit would prevent the City from continuing to approve private developments in its public parks without elections. The Foundation decries the extent to which buildings and man-made structures impairs the enjoyment of the Arroyo Seco as a natural park. As stated by Dianne Philibosian, Board Member and former President of the Foundation, “During this period of unprecedented commercial and residential development in Pasadena, the Arroyo Seco Foundation re-affirms its mission to protect and restore the natural park land of the Arroyo Seco. We hope that others will join us in pursuing this goal.” The Arroyo Seco Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Arroyo Seco from the San Gabriel Mountains to the confluence with the Los Angeles River. |