The Oaks Homeowners Association
P O Box 29155
Los Angeles, CA 90029-0155
March 7, 2007
Office of Zoning Administration
7th Floor
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Re: Case # ZA 2006-10405(ZV) Hearing date March 13, 2007
Zoning Administrator:
The Oaks Homeowners Association represents the residential community immediately to the west and southwest of the Observatory, an area known as “The Oaks”. Our community has been attentive to the many issues surrounding the renovation and reopening of the Observatory. For many years, our organization has been supportive of the Observatory as the City’s most pristine educational, historical and cultural icon.
We encouraged community rapport with the applicant Wolfgang Puck since we first received word of their RFP award in April, 2005. W. Puck turned down multiple invitations to speak with our Association until, finally, in January, 2007, W. Puck’s representative attended a monthly meeting.
By then, Recreation and Parks (RAP) had put in place the “Operating Concession Agreement”. It concerns us that the City has already agreed to “cooperate fully” with the applicant to obtain its license (page 15), both before notifications were given to appropriate parties (if, in fact, they were) and before the variance request has been heard by the Zoning Committee.
It also concerns us that many items contained in the Operating Agreement are incongruent with the educational mission of the Observatory. For example, “establishing the Observatory as a corporate and convention destination” (page 24), would degrade the image of this prestigious institution.
Recognizing that RAP has the power to select and limit the number of catered events operated by the applicant, and also recognizing the practical limitations that RAP has in terms of facility availability, staffing, and adherence to stated policy for such events, we feel that open-ended terms that the applicant is requesting are extremely excessive.
In keeping with a more reasonable level of alcohol usage at catering events at the Observatory, we oppose the applicant’s request for a variance to the Open Space (OP-I XL) zoning, unless there is an agreement to the following conditions, in addition to the conditions the applicant has already proposed in its application:
- Alcohol shall only be served in connection with catered private parties.
- Alcohol shall be served at catered events no more frequently than three times per month, and no more frequently than 26 times per year.
- Alcohol shall not be served at any event past the hour of ten pm.
- Alcohol shall not be served at any event having more than 1,000 persons (including all staff and servers) in attendance.
- Alcohol shall not be served at any catered event which involves the use (including the set-up for the catered event) of any portion of the Observatory or its grounds at any time when the Observatory is normally open to the public, except only those portions of the Observatory which are not open to the public in the usual course of its operation.
- The foregoing conditions shall not diminish the authority of RAP has under agreement with applicant to limit further sale of alcohol.
Sincerely,
Gerry Hans
President
Oaks Homeowners Association
(Day) 818 547-6869
cc: (via email) Rory Fitzpatrict, Patty Malone, Tom LaBonge
