Friday, August 3, 2007

VALLEY PLAZA HELIPORT

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•  MY MOM LET US DO
helicopters and Coca Cola
...
IN NOHO !
By Louis Elovitz
Digital Journalist







































up up and away...

I PERSONALLY KNOW
OF ONE AIRPORT IN
NORTH HOLLYWOOD,
and I grew up hearing
of another, both near
each other,
at different times.

When I grew up an older friend
David Kennedy, said his Dad had
flown his airplanes landing in the
WASH that is now the 170 where
his house was approximately in
the area of Laurel Cyn and
Burbank NE near the WASH.


Movie Theater former
Alexander's Market
SOON TO BE TORN DOWN
FOR THE coming MEGAMALL


My Mom would always take us to shop. One area was
VALLEY PLAZA, or as she would jokingly call it,
"Valley Pleasure" the part SW of Sears by the Theater
which was an ALEXANDER'S MARKET.
Oh, the COKE MACHINE in this market on those hot
Valley days would dispense a bottle of COKE, 8oz,
that was so cold the first drinks were COKE SLUSH.


VIctory Van Owen park
In Valley Plaza



The large parking lot is the same today leading to that
part of Victory Van Owen Park which WAS/IS on both
sides of the WASH/170FWY. The WASH was great
all that sand, and on the other side there was a slanting
concrete wall that we would get a piece of corrugated box
throw some sand and sliiiide!


Basically Victory Blvd
and Laurel Cyn

In 1957 (I looked it up on the web) L.A. Airways
paved
a landing circle and road from Victory Blvd
to have a helicopter mail stop, which a man in a
station
wagon would come and pick up US Mail.

My best friend Richard and I once took a passenger
trip on the noisy Korean Era helicopter leaving
VALLEY PLAZA going to Van Nuys, LAX,
Down Town L.A. and Burbank Airport
(BOB HOPE AIRPORT
originally LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT)
a very noisy but exciting flight.

SO, there you are
2 (TWO) airports in NOHO,
TOLD YA!.
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Valley Plaza returns to the spotlight in '07 because of massive redevelopment plans.

This memo provides information pertaining to the Community Redevelopment Agency’s goals for 2007 as they pertain to the Laurel Canyon Commercial Corridor’s redevelopment plans for both Valley Plaza and Laurel Plaza. This is a massive redevelopment project including the well-connected Jh Snyder as the developer. The CRA will be seeking City Council final approval of an Environment Impact Report and amendments to this redevelopment plan --- including the demolition of dedicated parkland through a “land swap.”
HAVE YOU NOTICED THE ADVERSE CHANGES AT VALLEY PLAZA ? HERE IS ONE EXPLANATION FOR THE RECENT EXAMPLES OF “BLIGHT” THERE.
There is a mandate under State law to make a determination of “blight” when the public utilizes eminent domain power against private landowners for redevelopment.
State law favors the use of eminent domain by the “public” “whenever the redevelopment of blighted areas cannot be accomplished by private enterprise alone, without public participation and assistance in the acquisition of land, in planning and in the financing of land assembly, in the work of clearance, and in the making of improvements necessary therefore, it is in the public interest to employ the power of eminent domain, to advance or expend public funds for these purposes …” Section 33037 (b) of the California Community Redevelopment Law.
Question: Is not the proposed developer of Valley Plaza responsible for the blighted appearance there? Will the actions of the developer eventually lead to a challenge to the use of eminent domain powers?
Note: Assembly Constitution Amendment 8 proposed by Assemblyman Hector de la Torre on March 13, 2007, would not allow the “public” to do what the CRA has proposed to do at Valley Plaza --- namely to use $800,000 in CRA funds to use eminent domain powers to acquire the some of the remaining parcels of Valley Plaza for developer Jerry Snyder. Support for this Constitutional amendment was reported on July 3, 2007 to come from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, United Chamber of Commerce of the SFV, Mexican-American Chamber of Commerce, California Small Business Association, Planning and Conservation League, CA Business Property Association, State Building Council and the Special Districts Association.

COUNCILMEMBER WENDY GREUEL SELLS “INSURANCE” TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO KEEP JERRY SNYDER HAPPY--- WILL IT FLY?
A City Charter section pertaining to the protections afforded to dedicated park land in Los Angeles has been quoted in the 4-page letter from CRA CEO Bud Ovrom to Recreation and Parks on July 18, 2003, concerning the long-standing scheme to have the City engage in a “land swap” at Valley Plaza Park. The basis for this swap is the determination --- yet to be made by any City Department except the CRA --- that the current 5.48 acre park is unsuitable for use as a public park. This language comes from the City Charter which does not confer a role on the CRA in such a determination.

Section 594 provides a role for both the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners and City Council in determining the legality of any transfer of dedicated public park land. On May 29th Councilmember Greuel submitted a motion to City Council omitting any reference to the Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners in this matter. The Planning and Land Use Committee referred this matter to the Planning Department for a 90 day report on July 20th. The motion states, “Further move that the City Council instruct the Planning Department initiate the zone change and all necessary actions to authorize the relocation of the existing Valley Plaza Park to the Substitute Site.”