Saturday, June 14th, 2008- Read the NHDC response to Julie Korenstein's letter HERE Read and respond to Ron Kaye's Update HERE. "I must inform you that the information given to you by the School Superintendent is incomplete and incorrect. The Civic Center Act within California's Education Code does not permit businesses, or their representatives, usage of public school facilities as Home Depot wishes to do. If the permit specifically states that Home Depot, as a business, is the entity making the facility request then the permit is illegal. Therefore, the permit given to them is illegal and must be revoked. I ask that you proceed with this immediately."-Stan Sugarman You can read the entire Civic Center Act HERE. Friday, June 13th, 2008- From the Office of Board Of Education Member Julie Korenstein: "I received the following information from the Superintendent's Office: "The Civic Center Act mandated by the California Education Code provides that each and every public school is a civic center of the community in which the school resides. As a civic center, the members of the public and other organizations may meet and discuss any subjects pertaining to the educational, political, economic, artistic, and moral interests of the citizens of the communities. Therefore, Los Angeles Unified School District is mandated to uphold the civic center permit policy in a fair, neutral, and transparent process. The issuance or denial of an application for a civic center permit is not an indication of LAUSD's support or disapproval of a proposed use or activity. Whether a civic center permit can be issued is based on the intended use of or the activity. We cannot discriminate against applicants and we cannot make judgment determinations as to whether the applicant's purpose is worthy of the use of a school facility." As you may know, the District was very concerned about the original report and wanted a much more in-depth study done of the impact on the schools and the community. I wish there would have been something else we could have done. I share your frustration. Please make sure you are well represented so that your concerns can be heard." Respectfully, Board Member Julie Korenstein Board District 6 333 S. Beaudry Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90017 213.241.6388 Fax 213.241.8451 Thursday, June 12th, 2008- Breaking News! LAUSD changes rules to accommodate Home Depot! This text above is from the LAUSD website that explains who can or can't rent out school facilities! This change was made today, weeks after the permit to Home Depot was granted. To see this change in full context: Go Here Just yesterday, the rule read as: Interestingly enough, the application to use school facilities still asks specifically whether the group applying is non profit. See question #2 HERE Unbelievable. Please contact the following two people and share your opinions: Julie Korenstein Board of Education 213 241- 6388 julie.korenstein@lausd.net Kathy Friedman kathryn.friedman@lausd.net LAUSD Civic Center Permit Office 818 587-4350 Read Ron Kaye's Story Excellent story about this HERE! Wednesday, June 11, 2008- Breaking News/Action Alert! Home Depot's June 24th Open House in Violation of LAUSD Rules! Home Depot recently sent out brochures to the community announcing an "Open House" to be held at Mt. Gleason School on June 24th. According to the requirements of the LAUSD/Civic Center Rules: "The major function of the Civic Center Permit Office is the issuance of the appropriate permit to allow for the use of school facilities in conformance with the California Education Code mandate and the Board of Education rules, which require that each and every public school facility be made available as a civic center to members of the community and non-profit organizations for supervised recreational activities, meetings and public discussions, when regular school activities are not disrupted. To qualify for a permit: A group must be non-profit. No money may be charged for admission, nor collected for goods sold. (exceptions exist-please call for requirements). The event must be open to the public." Home Depot is clearly not a non-profit, and this event, if it is allowed to proceed, will set a precedent for other corporations or developers to use public facilities to advance their business interests. The recent "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" was a City Attorney sponsored event. This "Open House" is an attempt by a corporation to use school facilities to promote their proposed store. Additionally, the application to use school facilities states; "Any form of announcement or advertising regarding activities held on school property for non school purposes must include the following statement: "This meeting is neither sponsored by nor is in any way connected with the Los Angeles Unified School District. If announcement is in printed form, statement must appear in equally large and prominent type". If you take a look at the brochure that Home Depot sent out announcing this "Open House", you will see that this required disclaimer appears nowhere on the brochure. Home Depot is not a non-profit and is not permitted to use school facilities to promote their business. We call upon the LAUSD to immediately rectify this issue and we urge you to contact the following people, in the next 24 hours, to voice your concern: David Brewer Superintendent of LAUSD 213 241-7000 Julie Korenstein Board of Education 213 241- 6388 julie.korenstein@lausd.net Kathy Freeman LAUSD Civic Center Permit Office 818 587-4350 Home Depot likes to ignore the rules, let's make sure they don't this time! Update: Mayor Sam has the story HERE. Monday, June 9, 2008- Home Depot Presents To Shadow Hills Property Owners Association! Those that were fortunate enough to attend tonight's meeting got to witness firsthand Home Depot's ability to avoid answering questions either through non answers or just by simply clamming up. They also got to witness Jeff Nichols, Home Depot's real estate manager, outright refusal to deal with several unresolved issues (including the bused in paid supporters, the labeling of our community as racist, the phony websites,etc) as well as truck traffic on Woodward, and hours of operation. STA member, Dean Sherer, (a CEQA expert, and longtime City Planner) assured the audience and Home Depot that their application and subsequent studies will be heavily scrutinized. Jeff Nichols also took the opportunity to dismiss those in attendance by saying that they were not representing the entire community. When pressed on this, and on why Home Depot had no supporters present, Mr. Nichols gave us the number of supporters they do have in our community of 60,000+. Mr Nichols finally admitted that they only have 200 supporters based on the positive postcards they have received. "Where are they?" someone asked. Really folks, You just must attend one of these meetings. It's entertainment at its finest! Tomorrow, Home Depot will present to the Chamber of Commerce at 11:30 am at Tierra Del Sol. We'll be there. Sunday, June 8, 2008- Thank You! The Bluegrass Billionaires get the party started! The STA Sheriff Joe Pancake Breakfast was a big success and lot's of fun! Thanks to everyone that attended and enjoyed pancakes and all the trimmings! The Bluegrass Billionaires did a marvelous job of entertaining the audience, and thanks to Earl, Regina (the organizer suprema), Marion, Sherri, Karen, Jan, Ed, Arnold, Judy, Jackie, Nancy, Max, Carl, Abby, Carol, Margie, Mark, Lydia, Nina, and all the rest of the volunteers who prepared and served up the food! To see more pictures, go HERE. To read Abby's report, go HERE. Friday, June 6, 2008- Did You Get Something In The Mail Today? Since Home Depot never sends us these things, we took this picture from The Foothills Forum. We deleted the comments in this image because HD has historically used any negative comments on postcards against us. Please just keep your statement to "No Home Depot in Sunland-Tujunga". You can see the original image by going to The Foothills Forum. If you did, then please hang onto them! Do not mail them back! We have a plan in the works that we will share shortly! Friday, June 6, 2008- The Home Depot Dog & Pony Show Continues! Please join us Monday, June 9th at Tierra Del Sol at 7pm 9919 Sunland Blvd, Shadow Hills, where once again we get to go mano y mano with HD! We would like to see some new faces there and get the opinions of those of you who have not yet spoken out on this issue! We will be joined by Dean Sherer, the newest member of the DAC , a CEQA expert, and a long time City Planner. We may also be joined by other presenters that have yet to confirm. We will once again ask about HD's unresolved behavior of labeling the community as racists in order to advance their business interests, their phony websites, bused in paid supporters, Daniel Haro, Peter Gutierrez, their paid signature gatherers, and their manipulation of the City. And we will ask about these issues at every meeting until they give us an answer. Then, of course, we will deal with their application. Monday, June 9th at 7pm! Please mark it on your calendar, and please tell your friends! Tuesday, June 3, 2008- Another Home Depot Presentation, Another Night of Non Answers! Jeff Nichols Really, folks, you don't need to go to Hollywood to catch a good comedy act when we have Home Depot making their presentations right here in the Foothills. First, we have to thank the FTDNC for being gracious hosts, and to Fritz Bronner for doing his best to run the meeting on schedule. With our outspoken residents, he had his hands full. We also have to thank all the No Home Depot supporters that showed up in large numbers and pretty much took up all the seats. Predictably, there was not a single supporter of Home Depot in attendance, but we are used to that by now, and can only dream of the day when Home Depot can actually produce what they claim. Jeff Nichols, Home Depot's real estate manager, appeared a bit red faced, then angry, as his continuous spin fell flat as it appeared that no one was buying it. He refused to answer questions about the paid and phony bused in supporters, the phony websites, or Home Depot's labeling of our community as racist. He also dodged questions about Peter Guiterrez (claiming he didn't know him). Mr Guiterrez, as you will recall, was the City Attorney that left the City to work for Home Depot's law firm, Latham & Watkins. We could go on, but really it was just more of the same nonsense. Join us on Monday, June 9th with the Shadow Hills Property Owners Association as we get to do this all over again. 7pm at Tierra Del Sol 9919 Sunland Blvd Shadow Hills Monday, June 2, 2008- Home Depot Tries To Sneak One By Us! Home Depot met with the Lake View Terrace Improvement Association tonight at the LVT Rec Center. We found out about this meeting only 45 minutes before it began, but we were still able to muster up enough No Home Depot Campaign members that we wound up being almost half of the audience. Great job everyone! We were once again presented with non answers, no answers, "I don't know", and "That's just your opinion" (in response to a factual statement about city code). Francisco Uribe stammered and sputtered his way through 2 hours of more nonsense, and we all walked away knowing little more than we did when we came into the room. "It's Not On The Table Whether The Community Wants The Store Or Not". -Francisco Uribe, Home Depot Representative 6/2/08 What we did learn is the quote above from Francisco Uribe. Apparently, Home Depot's efforts at "constructive discussion" have only to do with getting their store constructed and nothing to do with addressing the many issues involved. We hope you will attend one of these meetings just so you can listen to the way these guys avoid answering just about anything asked of them. Francisco Uribe went so far as to say that he didn't know anything about Home Depot busing in paid supporters, running phony websites, or labeling our residents as "racist". We promised him that this issue will be brought up at every meeting from now on until Sunland-Tujunga is given the answers and apology it deserves. We will be presenting, and hopefully you can join us, tomorrow (Tuesday) night at the Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council as we take on the Home Depot synchronized spin team once again! FTDNC Meeting Tuesday, June 3 7pm at Vinedale Elementary 10150 La Tuna Cyn Rd, La Tuna Cyn Monday, June 2, 2008- Big Week Ahead In Battle Against Home Depot! On Monday- The Design Advisory Committee (DAC) of the STNC, will move forward with their examination of Home Depot's proposed project. Home Depot has declined to attend this meeting, so the DAC may or may not make a recommendation without further input. If Home Depot had chosen to attend, then the DAC would have asked for answers to previously unanswered questions, and talks would have continued. On Tuesday- Home Depot & their paid lobbyists will be presenting to the Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council. We are also scheduled to offer counterpoint to Home Depot's plans and claims. Details on this meeting are in the post below this one. On Sunday- Well, just see the big ad above! Come on down for what promises to be a blast! Pancakes and live bluegrass on a Sunday morning! A paid admission not only gets you a delicious breakfast, helps to elect Joe the Honorary Sheriff AND buys you raffle tickets, but you will be contributing to the ongoing efforts of The Sunland-Tujunga Alliance, the sponsors of The No Home Depot Campaign! Proceeds also benefit the S-T Chamber of Commerce! Thursday, May 29, 2008- Home Depot's Next Presentation In what appears to be a divide and conquer strategy, Home Depot is meeting with the Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council this coming Tuesday (details below). Home Depot has declined to meet again with the DAC on Monday and instead has chosen to try and find support in a neighboring community. The format of the meeting will be point/counterpoint with the STA/NHDC providing the counterpoint. We strongly urge everyone to attend this meeting. Foothill Trails has expressed written support for us in the past and we wish to continue with this standing. Let's show Home Depot that we are all united here in the Foothills, and a divide and conquer approach will fail as badly as have all their previous efforts. Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council Tuesday June 3, 2008 7:00 pm SPECIAL LOCATION!!! Vinedale Elementary 10150 La Tuna Cyn Rd, La Tuna Cyn Monday, May 26, 2008- Apperson Elementary, The Movie! One of the biggest concerns about the proposed Home Depot in Sunland, is it's close proximity to Apperson Elementary School, a mere 440 feet away. Home Depot feels that a simple "No Right Turn" sign out of its Woodward Exit will eliminate any danger to the schoolchildren who use Woodward as a footpath to get to school. This sign, of course, will have zero effect on the incoming truck traffic, who will travel from Apperson, and turn down Woodward to avoid the congestion on Foothill. It is highly unlikely that a "No Right Hand Turn" sign will do much to discourage traffic from approaching the school either. In the following clip, we show a sampling of the morning traffic patterns, both auto and pedestrian, as they exist today. Please note not only the kids and the cars, but also note the narrowness of the street. Now imagine that street filled with contractor and Home Depot vendor trucks as they begin their day, at the same time we are dropping off our kids at this school. How many more times do we have to prove how wrong this store is for this site? This exciting clip is from the perspective of Woodward (next to KMart site) , looking towards Apperson. We hope to get the Apperson perspective soon. Our thanks to Pete B. for taking the time to film this for us! Friday, May 23, 2008- Home Depot Declines To Meet With DAC! The DAC had invited Home Depot to return to their June 2nd Meeting to deliver specific answers to numerous questions that Home Depot was unable to answer at the May 12th meeting. Home Depot returning to meet with the community is considered an important part of the process as they attempt to explain what their project would entail. Today they announced that they had "scheduling conflicts" and would not be available as requested. This is coming from a company that employs an army of attorneys , lobbyists, 2 PR companies , engineers, and a host of other specialists. But today, they could not find a single employee that could represent them on June 2nd. Not one. However, a day later, on June 3rd, Home Depot will be presenting their sales pitch to the Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council with many reps present. What's Up With That? On June 9, they will make their pitch to the Shadow Hills Property Owners Association. The STA/NHDC is on the agenda for both of these events to present our counterpoints to whatever questions they are able to answer and of course to respond to their sales pitch. We hope you will make a point of attending either or both of these meetings, and we look forward to seeing our friends at the FTDNC and SHPOA! Full Details to Follow! Thursday, May 22, 2008- We interrupt our regularly scheduled No Home Depot coverage to bring you the following story: NHDC Founder and Chairman, Joe Barrett, honored with "The President's Award" by the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council! The award was presented by outgoing STNC president Cindy Cleghorn to Joe at the May 14th STNC meeting (Joe was unable to attend, so the award was accepted by Abby Diamond on his behalf). We're still working on getting an official presentation photo, but for now, here is the content of Ms. Cleghorns speech: "This next person I wish to recognize is someone we all know and love. His dedication to our community has put him through many challenges, obstacles, difficult situations, laughter, tears, stress and fears. He's become well known in many circles but his drive for improving our quality of life will forever be a part of the history of Sunland-Tujunga. He is a determined, community volunteer who has the support of thousands of people - I'd like to extend this President's Award to Joe Barrett." Congratulations Joe!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo! We also extend our congratulations to the two other recipients of the President's Award, Lydia Grant and Mark Seigel! Tuesday, May 12, 2008- There They Go Again ... The Home Depot Synchronized Spin Team Home Depot's presentation to the community turned out to be a complete farce, devoid of straight answers, full of spin, and with a cornucopia of "misstatements". Home Depot, even when practically begged to directly answer a question, would or could not. This often had the audience roaring with laughter, as people gave up on any type of serious interaction with Home Depot early in the meeting. The audience was left to witness some sort of Orwellian performance put on by the Home Depot reps. Francis Park, Home Depot's attorney, worked himself into a real sweat reinterpreting the Specific Plan while Home Depot government relations rep, Francisco Uribe, struggled, stuttered, and sputtered his way through the many tough questions thrown his direction. He was obviously not prepared for this encounter and at times appeared bewildered and lost. No one from Home Depot would take any responsibility for anything, and the whole affair rapidly degenerated into a Home Depot stand-up comic routine. Shame on Home Depot for refusing to voluntarily conduct a full EIR. Shame on Home Depot for refusing to sign the DAC presentation agreement (which simply asked them to be honest in their presentation). Shame on Home Depot for once again wasting the time of our community Friday, May 9, 2008- Agent Orange In Action! New Photos of a Home Depot Store HERE. San Fernando store photos HERE and HERE. Thursday, May 8, 2008- It's Showtime! Mark your calendars, rearrange your schedules, and give a babysitter a job! On Monday, May 12th, Home Depot presents their latest plans to the community! Your presence is required, as HD attempts to give their sales pitch for their long opposed project. They are finally meeting with the community after 4 years of doing everything possible to avoid having any contact with us. If it wasn't for the efforts of the NHDC, the STA, and the STNC, their proposed store would have been opened by now. Join us as we listen to Home Depot spin the Foothill Blvd Corridor Specific Plan, view their amazing renderings, and marvel at their explanations of how they will bring jobs and tax revenue to the City of Los Angeles ! The big questions are: -Will they voluntarily submit to a full EIR and agree to fully mitigate their impacts? -What about the LAUSD school less than 500 feet away? -Will they finally and publicly apologize for their phony websites, their labeling of residents as racists, their bussed in supporters, their paid agitators, their manipulation of the City, and so many more shady tactics? How will they explain their lack of supporters at the recent "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue"? You don't want to miss this event! Tomi Lynn Bowling has a video invitation HERE! Home Depot's Newest New Plans Monday, May 12th, 2008 7pm at North Valley City Hall 7747 Foothill Blvd, Tujunga In other news A Great Story: Local Stores 1, Home Depot 0 Wednesday, May 7, 2008- First, The Good News.... "A Community United" Photo by Barry Wiggins And Now The Bad News..... Intimidate- 1. To make timid; fill with fear. 2. To coerce or inhibit by or as if by threats. Rumormonger- 1.One who spreads rumors. Red Herring- 1.Something that draws attention away from the central issue. It appears that the engines of manipulation are working overtime in an attempt to discredit and distract the community, once again. Witness: -Fiona Hutton, head of Redgate Communications, one of Home Depot's PR firms, has claimed to have received death threats over the proposed store here. -An employee of Home Depot told a local resident that no one wants to work at this store, should it ever open, because employees will be targeted by "snipers". -Lisa Levy Buch, a rep of Consensus Planning, another Home Depot PR firm, blamed the lack of turnout by Home Depot supporters at the "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" on "intimidation". - A facilitator at the " Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" is claiming they were shoved by a "very large man". We urge anyone that feels intimidated or has received threats on either side of this issue to contact the police immediately. We urge you to file charges and have this person or persons arrested. Having said that, we also notice that the source of these allegations is a bit odd. Two of the claims come from Home Depot's PR firms, one from a Home Depot employee, and one from a facilitator. Read the definition of "Red Herring" again, and see if you agree with us that this could be another manipulative tactic being utilized by Home Depot to discredit and negatively characterize the community. Since the racist tags didn't work, is this their new strategy? Once again, if anyone is being intimidated, harassed, or threatened, please notify the police immediately. The NHDC has zero tolerance for this type of behavior no matter who's side they are on. Although, honestly, we have serious doubts it is even occurring. It's also important that we expose any further attempts by Home Depot to discredit our community. See you on May 12th, 7pm at North Valley City Hall where Home Depot will present their proposed plans. Tuesday, May 6, 2008- If you missed last night's DAC (Design Advisory Committee) meeting at North Valley City Hall, you missed a great one! The major topic was Home Depot and the April 26th "Dialogue". Comments from the board and the public came fast and furious as it appears that everyone is upset with the failure of the event to be anything resembling a "Dialogue". What was billed as (and agreed to in the stipulation) as a meeting between Home Depot and the Community turned out to be little more than 300+ residents, who are opposed to Home Depot, spending the afternoon together. At last night's meeting, stories were told of facilitator's taking on the role of advocating for Home Depot, leaving their table to chat with other facilitator's for extended periods of time, and one facilitator saying his main job was to "protect" the rep from Consensus Planning. Others spoke of how professional their facilitator had been, but it looks like there may have been a few bad apples. With the results of the "Dialogue" being sent to Councilmember Greuel, who already knows full well how the community feels, the big question was, "Why did we even do this?". Also revealed at the meeting was Home Depot's new characterization of the Community as "Intimidating". Evidently since the racist label didn't work, Home Depot has shifted gears again and "intimidating" is the new buzzword. We'll have a lot more on how they are using this portrayal of Sunland-Tujunga later!!! The next event is Monday, May 12, 7pm, when Home Depot presents their plans to the DAC. Location to be announced. Saturday, May 3, 2008- Thanks to everyone that organized and shopped at our bake/yard sale today! We raised almost $1000.00 in 6 hours, money that is so needed to continue our fight against Home Depot's multi billion dollar corporation. We've managed to keep Home Depot out of Sunland-Tujunga for nearly 4 years on a shoe string budget. Meanwhile Home Depot has spent $30,000,000.00 trying to open their store. We think we're getting a lot more bang for the buck than they are! Thursday, May 1, 2008- We have just received the DVD of Saturday's "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" and it is a must see! Del Bosworth did an excellent job of documenting the event and we hope to have some clips posted soon! Hats off to our neighbors who spoke so well at the event! Very impressive! -Tomorrow, several STA members will be guests on the "Your Neighborhood Council" cable TV show. Home Depot was invited to participate, and initially agreed to, but today they backed out citing "scheduling conflicts". One would think that with the army of PR people, lawyers, and lobbyists Home Depot employs, someone could have found the time to make the taping. While we get our clips of the "Dialogue" ready for posting, we want to share the clips Zuma Dogg made. You'll see a lot of familiar faces! Visit his website at LADailyBlog. Plus, you can see the videos individually at www.YouTube.com/NoHomeDepot. Wednesday, April 30, 2008- We have received several e-mails asking how could Home Depot have $30 million invested in this site and still be able to sue the City over their decision to label this a Project. Home Depot has previously claimed to have only $2 million invested, which would allow them to skirt under the Project definition (except that they got caught performing work outside of their permits, and trying to call their Project a "simple remodel"). Now that Jeff Nichols has admitted that they really have $30 million invested, we wonder if the City Attorney will pick up on this, back out of the stipulation, and take this whole case back to court. In the meantime, here is Jeff Nichols explaining to the STNC why communities that want corporations to follow the rules are just asking for too much (Mr. Nichols is answering (spinning?) a question about Target): Did you catch that? "With the reliance these people can have on the rules, and the way the rules are followed..." Land use rules are made for a reason, Mr. Nichols. They are the only protection we have against bad planning. Tuesday, April 29, 2008- BREAKING NEWS COVERAGE! "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" L.A. Daily Journal covers it HERE. CityWatchLA's story is HERE. And Now...... No Home Depot Theater presents JEFF SPEAKS! In this clip, Home Depot Real Estate Director, Jeff Nichols, reveals to the STNC the real reason why Home Depot cares about our community. In other news, Home Depot spends $1.18 Million to lobby against just about everything. Read about it HERE Sunday, April 27, 2008- Home Depot Blows It! And once again they blame the community! After a dismal turnout of Pro Home Depot supporters at yesterday's "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue", Home Depot still refuses to acknowledge the fact that they have no support in the community, and that they may have hired yet another inept PR company, Consensus Planning. We spoke with Consensus Planning reps yesterday, and they blamed the near total absence of supporters on the Sunland-Tujunga community itself. "We think they may have been intimidated" said LISA LEVY BUCH, a rep of Consensus Planning. Really? By who? A roving gang of middle aged and senior citizens? All those kids that were there yesterday? C'mon, get real. Yesterday was the perfect opportunity for HD to show the world the support they claim they have, but as hard as Home Depot worked to find support, yesterday proved HD has none. Consensus Planning should just bite the bullet on this, and maybe return some of their fees to Agent Orange. Of course, that would mean admitting that they made a mistake, so it's easier just to blame S-T. Let's see, HD has labeled us as racists, accused us of working on behalf of a competitor, and now we "intimidate" people. Nice work Consensus Planning! The love affair between S-T and Home Depot just grows stronger everyday! Local Lifelong Native, Louis Elovitz, has some great pictures HERE. You can view his website HERE. Also, STA Blog has more HERE. Saturday, April 26, 2008- The "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" was held today and we are just beginning to process this event. We are very proud of our community for showing up today and stating, yet again, the obvious: There Is No Place For Home Depot In Sunland-Tujunga! By the way, What Happened to the Home Depot Supporters? Home Depot and Consensus Planning have been bragging about how much support they have in this town, and yet today, only a handful of supporters showed up. When we say a handful, that's being generous. Home Depot and Consensus Planning Executives were forced to join the tables just so that they would have some sort of representation. What Happened Home Depot? Today was your day to show off your support, and you came up empty. We are not going to rub it in, but do not ever make us prove how much opposition exists to your store again. We've done it numerous times, and Home Depot has never been able to prove us wrong. This game is over. So now that the world knows Home Depot has no measurable support in Sunland-Tujunga, what will be Home Depot's next diversionary tactic? Joseph Mailander sums up the meeting well HERE. The Daily News has their story HERE. Ron Kaye absolutely nails it HERE. We just received this e-mail from Peter Moen about today's event and wanted to share it with you. Please send us your thoughts about the "Dialogue" and we will post them as well: A Personal Reflection As I am sure was true for many Sunland-Tujunga residents, I was very apprehensive about the possible outcome of today's City-sponsored dialogue. Fortunately my apprehension turned out to be completely unwarranted. After the dust had settled, I had two reflections about what I had been a part of. First, I believe that the entire process turned out to be a gigantic PR debacle for Home Depot. Of course, they will attempt to spin the results in numerous devious ways, but those of us who were there could see the their strained faces and feel the vibrations and know that we had won another battle, but not the war -- not yet any way. But perhaps even more importantly, I felt so proud to be a part of this empowering process. I felt proud to be part of the combined community voice rising above the clamor of the PR hacks. I have lived in various parts of Southern California my whole life, but since living in Sunland-Tujunga I have felt like I had a hometown. I am proud of Sunland-Tujunga, my hometown. Peter Moen Tujunga We will have more on today's "Dialogue" soon, including Pictures and video clips! Saturday, April 26, 2008- Today is the Day! We need to show the world, yet again, how strongly Sunland-Tujunga feels about the proposed Home Depot. We'll see you at Mt Gleason School at 1pm ( we suggest you arrive much earlier). Also, read the latest story about this "Dialogue" at Joseph Mailander's "Street-Hassle" Blog HERE. Friday, April 25, 2008- Joe has a new story over at Mayor Sam about the "Dialogue". You can view it HERE. Friday, April 25, 2008- Read the Official NHDC Press Release HERE. CityWatchLA has a new story HERE. Wednesday, April 23, 2008- More Responses from the Community! (We still have not received a single Pro Home Depot response, even though we will gladly publish it): Tomi Lynn Bowling Jessica LoGuercio William Bosworth Robin Meares Wally Wharton We have many more, and we'll try to get them posted before Saturday! Wednesday, April 23, 2008- Home Depot Files New Application! After almost 4 years of fighting to avoid any sort of environmental assessment, after almost 4 years of dragging this community through the mud, after almost 4 years of volunteer residents working thousands of hours to prove that Home Depot was not following the rules, Home Depot finally has done what they should have done in the first place. They have finally, finally, filed their Project Permit Compliance Review Application with City Planning. Although the downside is that Home Depot can terminate the application and resume their lawsuit at any time, if they don't like the way things are going (How's that for working with the community?). The City also retains this option. This community now needs to work to ensure that Home Depot goes through full environmental review and can fully mitigate their impacts before, if, and when, they can open for business. We will have full details on this letter writing effort on Monday. In the meantime, we urge everyone to show up on Saturday, April 26th at Mt Gleason School for the "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue", from 1pm till 4 pm. We expect Home Depot to send phony supporters from outside of the community and it is vitally important that we do not let outsiders determine our community's future. By the way, have you checked out our pictures from our recent visit to the Home Depot in San Fernando? See them all HERE. Tuesday, April 22, 2008- One of the most well known and respected members of our community has responded to the Questionnaire. You can read his comments HERE! Sunday, April 20, 2008- It was such a lovely day that we decided to make the short trip over to the Home Depot in San Fernando. This is what we found. See it all HERE. -View the questions that the RAND CORPORATION came up with for the "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" HERE -The responses to the Questionnaire keep Pouring in! Here are 2 more that you must read! Local Resident 1 Local Resident 2 We will be posting more soon! Saturday, April 19, 2008- When Friends Gather... Today's STA meeting at Old Towne Cafe (our thanks to Kris and staff) was very well attended by concerned residents and local activists representing a broad spectrum of the community. We even had a member of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council in attendance. He told us how much the VNNC supports us, and how much people are watching what happens here with this David vs Goliath story. Good Food! Good Times! Great Ideas! Thanks to all for making it happen! We are definitely seeing a community fired up and ready! Saturday, April 19, 2008- Home Depot Continues to Ignore Stipulation Agreement! (So does City Attorney) Home Depot has still not submitted their new application for permits. We were told that the community would have a week to review the plans before the "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" event, but apparently this is not going to happen. The Stipulation between the City Attorney and Home Depot stated that the application would be filed in March. March has come and gone and Home Depot has not lived up to the original agreement. Now, they are denying the community a reasonable time to review the application before the mediation event. Why the City Attorney is not holding Home Depot to the stipulation agreement is beyond us. Of course, we're just a "special interest group" so what do we know? See You on April 26th! Friday, April 18, 2008- The Daily News has a story out today about the upcoming "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" Read it HERE. Thursday, April 17, 2008- As promised, we have posted a few excerpts from the responses to the Dispute Resolution Questionnaire. This is just a sampling of our resident's concerns. Read them HERE. UPDATED! Thursday, April 17, 2008- LA DAILY JOURNAL has a new story about the "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" that we have posted HERE Thursday, April 17, 2008- The Responses Are Pouring In! We are asking for people to send us a copy of their response to the questionnaire mailed out by the Dispute Resolution Program. We have received so many that we've only had time to read through about half of them! From what we have read we can only come to a few conclusions. First of all, this is one well informed community. Your responses to the questions are well thought out, logical, compelling and well written! This is also a very passionate community! The sheer volume of the responses we have received proves that. Also, many of the responses are very detailed and obviously took a lot of time and effort to write. Thankyou! We'll see you all on April 26th! We will start posting excerpts from the responses tomorrow, just to give you an idea of the quality of writing we are getting. Very Impressive to say the least. By the way, we have yet to receive a single response from anyone in favor of Home Depot. We will gladly post a pro Home Depot response if we receive one from someone in the Sunland-Tujunga area. Wednesday, April 16, 2008- -Did You Check Your E-Mail or Mailbox Today ? Letters begin arriving from the City Attorney's Dispute Resolution Program. The letters describe what the "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" is and how it will be structured. The letter also includes a brief questionnaire that we hope you will fill out. By filling out the questionnaire, you will have notes for the meeting, and be able to submit your written response to the facilitators for inclusion in the public record. We also would ask that you send a copy to us for our own records. Our address is: STA, P.O. Box 123, Tujunga, CA 91043 or to explodingsun@gmail.com To read one resident's response to the questionnaire go HERE. To read one resident's response to the questionnaire go HERE. It may give you some ideas for your own answers. Wednesday, April 16, 2008- Home Depot Suspends Store Construction in Moorpark! The lot had been graded, road construction had begun. This store had been narrowly approved by City Council in 2006 after massive opposition from community. Read the Story HERE! Tuesday, April 15, 2008- Home Depot's Latest Sob Story: "We Can't Get Out Of Our Lease!" More reports are coming in from Home Depot's Saturday sweep through the neighborhood. The "We Can't Get Out Of Our Lease" plea, made by the Home Depot representatives, kept coming up in response to questions about why they are still trying to open here. As if this is even remotely close to being true. Of course they can get out of the lease. The more likely truth is that the terms of their lease may soon change. That is what Home Depot "can't get out of". Commercial leases, of this type, often stipulate that the lessee only has a preset amount of time to open for business before the lease rate jumps significantly. The landlord typically gives the tenant time to open, and then raises the rent (based that the store would now be making money). Home Depot could be fast approaching that deadline, and yet, their proposed store is facing environmental scrutiny, third party lawsuits, and no measurable community support. Could this be why the Stipulation includes a 5 month processing of their application once it is submitted? The 5 year anniversary of their acquisition of the K-Mart lease makes the timing very interesting. Home Depot can get out of the lease anytime they want, they are just going to have a very difficult time trying to change the terms of the lease they are bizarrely hanging on to. In Other News - The Stipulation Order is, evidently, just a bunch of words that mean very little. Since we are not a party to the Stipulation Order, we have no legal basis to question the terms of what the City and Home Depot agreed to (see yesterday's post for background). We are starting to get some insight into this process, but a lot of phone calls, and angst could have been prevented had the community been included from the very beginning. - Last week, Home Depot pulled out of San Francisco. On Saturday, they pulled out of South San Francisco. Monday, April 14, 2008- Stipulation? Or Manipulation? (5) "The City shall facilitate discussions between Home Depot and Sunland-Tujunga community leaders under the auspices of the City Attorney's Community Mediation Program to act as a forum for constructive discussion as the settlement process moves forward." This begs the question; "Why is the entire world invited to participate in this mediation when the stipulation clearly states that this is supposed to be a discussion between Home Depot and Sunland-Tujunga Community Leaders? It is our opinion that in order for the mediation to comply with the stipulation, attendees should have to show proof of residence. It does not matter whether they are for or against Home Depot, however, it does matter, and clearly follows the stipulation, that this meeting be between Home Depot and Sunland-Tujunga. The stipulation goes further and states that the discussions should be between Home Depot and Sunland-Tujunga leaders. The stipulation does not qualify who these leaders are, but logic would dictate that our elected representatives on the STNC would certainly qualify. Logic would also dictate that the STA (the group that has filed all of the appeals in this matter), would be considered a leader. Further, there are leaders in the community from the Chamber of Commerce, Civic organizations, Church groups, Bolton Hall, VOICE, COBRA, and many others that should be allowed to participate. Additionally, if there was a local S-T group that supported Home Depot, we would insist that they be allowed to participate as well. Anyone beyond these definitions should not be allowed to participate. Home Depot should not be allowed to send or bus in supporters from other parts of the City. This is counter-productive and is in violation of the stipulation. (4) "Home Depot shall apply to the City in March 2008 for a project permit compliance review pursuant to Los Angeles Municipal Code section 11.5.7.C seeking the City's approval for a Home Depot store at the site." It is now April 14, 2008 and no application has been filed by Home Depot. You can read the entire stipulation order HERE. Saturday, April 12, 2008- HERE THEY COME UPDATE! Home Depot evidently received so few invites from their recent mailing that today they just resorted to going door to door uninvited. Like the vacuum salesmen of days gone by, Home Depot tried to peddle their outdated wares to an informed community that has little patience for this nonsense. Note to Home Depot: The doors don't open well after your company has labeled us all as racists, operated phony websites, flooded the City Council with lobbyists, bussed in paid supporters, sent threatening letters to the NHDC, and, to this day, still overlooks that treatment of our community and refuses to apologize. Many residents have contacted us with their stories and we just have to share one. Our favorite response so far? "We don't want to talk to you, you should have called 3 years ago". Thursday, April 10, 2008- HERE THEY COME! The residents of Monte Vista Mobile Estates received letters TODAY from Francisco Uribe, the new Home Depot representative in our area, seeking a meeting. Mr.Uribe would like to meet with the residents THIS SATURDAY. Evidently, Home Depot is moving fast to find any local support. If you receive a letter from Home Depot, please let us know! Mr Uribe attended the STNC meeting last night and spoke with one of our residents, telling him that he knew very little about the case as he had only recently been assigned the job. Interestingly enough, there is a Francisco Uribe on the board of directors of V.I.C.A. (the Valley Industry and Commerce Association). V.I.C.A. has been very outspoken about their support of Home Depot in Sunland-Tujunga, often sending speakers to various hearings on the matter, and denouncing our efforts to have Home Depot play by the rules. We have more to report on this. Check back later! UPDATE: It is now being reported that the manager of the Monte Vista Mobile Estates has replied to Home Depot's request for a meeting with a phone call to the number provided. To paraphrase their message: "Uninvited solicitation is prohibited by park rules. The park clubhouse will be closed and padlocked on Saturday, if Home Depot or their representatives attempt to solicit our residents, they will be escorted from the park by LAPD." Perhaps Home Depot should have met with our residents 3 years ago when they were invited to. Perhaps Home Depot should not have tainted people's opinion of them by labeling us all as racists, busing in paid supporters, unleashing an army of lobbyists on the City, creating phony websites, and falsely accusing opponents of working for a competing hardware store. Perhaps Home Depot should make a public apology to Sunland-Tujunga. We have more to report. Check back later. Thursday, April 10, 2008- Avis Speaks! What a difference a day can make! We had a nice phone conversation today with Avis Ridley-Thomas, the head of the Dispute Resolute Program, and we can now provide you with a few updates. According to Avis: -Home Depot will not be making a presentation at the mediation. -This mediation will not attempt to solve the legal issues of the case, rather the focus will be on the issues that the participants bring to the table. -The mediation will be open to anyone (and that means anyone) who wants to participate. -Information will be emailed or snail-mailed on Monday. The mailing will include details about the format, questions and a form you can mail back, a "hotline phone number", and more. -Please note, the time for this mediation, also known as "The Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" is from 1pm - 4pm. at Mt Gleason School on Saturday, April 26. We really encourage everyone to attend this meeting! Based on Home Depot's past behavior we can reasonably expect them to bring in many supporters (paid or otherwise) from outside of the community. We will post more as the info comes in. Start spreading the word! Wednesday, April 9, 2008- Lack of Answers Raises More Questions! Avis Ridley-Thomas, the head of the City Attorney's Dispute Resolution Team has not responded to our specific inquires into the "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue", except to say more information would be forthcoming. We were told that a mediation facilitor would contact us very soon (that was March 25th). Still no word, e-mail, or phone call. In light of the non response from her office, we thought we would share with you some of our questions. First a little background - At Monday's night DAC meeting, Dale Thrush, (Councilmember Wendy Greuel's Planning Director), informed us that the "Mediation" would be open to anyone. No one would be excluded, because the event was being held in a public venue. This begs the question: "Why would anyone but the actual residents this proposed Project impacts, be allowed to participate in this process? And now some other questions ... What defines the "parties" in this dialogue? The mediation is a Stipulation between the City of Los Angeles and Home Depot, both parties to the litigation. The Community is not a party to the litigation, yet we are being directed to participate in the "dialogue". Does this mean we are representing the City in the mediation? Logic dictates that Home Depot would be the "other party" in the mediation dialogue. Does Home Depot have input into the format of this first meeting? If so, will they be making a presentation to the Community? We have been told that we, the community, do not have the opportunity for input, other than to participate as a party to the "dialogue". What is the intended purpose of this "dialogue"? Is it to reduce the City's liability or to clear the court calendar? Does this satisfy a public relations effort so Home Depot can say they "worked with the community"? Does this give Home Depot an opportunity to promote their store? What opportunity will be provided for the Community to present our case in support of the Community Plan? Will Home Depot voluntarily conduct a full EIR with full mitigation measures? So many questions, few, if any, answers. Tuesday, April 8, 2008- Joe has a post up at Mayor Sam about the upcoming "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" that you can read and comment on HERE. Monday, April 7, 2008- BREAKING NEWS! The City Attorney is announcing that the first "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" will be held on Saturday, April 26, from 1pm till 4 pm at Mt. Gleason School! More details as they come in! - Read Joe's post at Mayor Sam about the historical relationship between our community and Los Angeles HERE. Friday, April 4, 2008- This Just In! LAUSD to Investigate Home Depot Shady Cover-up in S-T! LADailyBlog has the story HERE! Link to Zimas Map HERE 10355 Woodward Ave. Link to Zimas Map HERE 8040 Foothill Blvd. Thursday, April 3, 2008- In preparation for the upcoming "Sunland-Tujunga Dialogue" we present a few reasons why Home Depot must undergo an E.I.R. before they can be allowed to proceed with their Project. (Thanks To Abby & Peter M. for putting this together). Why an EIR is Mandatory for this Project Wednesday, April 2, 2008- More News! -Yesterday's April Fools day joke on Mayor Sam got a lot of attention. In fact, his blog reached #1 rated in California. We don't know if it had to do with the ruse we created, but the timing seems right. Read the April 1 post below if you missed it. -Home Depot has applied for yet another permit for (ahem) "Lockdown" purposes. Evidently the contractor installed a medium pressure gas line ventilation system not realizing the building had existing low pressure gas lines. Gee, Home Depot has only had the building for almost 4 years. You would think they would know what they are doing by now. -Finally, we love this letter from a resident of SF about Home Depot pulling out of their City. You can read it HERE. Tuesday, April 1, 2008- NEWS! -Huge Breaking Story about Home Depot on Mayor Sam! Read It HERE and HERE! -Listen to Local resident and STNC Education Representative Lydia Grant address LA City Council about Home Depot last week. Listen HERE. - Home Depot backs out of San Francisco and Harlem and Berlin, Vermont! Monday, March 31, 2008- Monday, March 24, 2008- Breaking News! What a Difference a Day Makes! The City Attorney is now releasing some info on the upcoming meetings with Home Depot and the City Attorney's Dispute Resolution Group. The proposed meeting or meetings will consist of 1000 or more residents and 100 facilitators. Everyone that attended the NORTH VALLEY AREA PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING or the CITY COUNCIL HEARINGS AND filled out a speaker card at any of these events, should receive a letter with details on the meeting soon. We urge you to reply promptly! If you did not fill out a speaker card, or did not attend these events then send your name & address to: Los Angeles City Attorney's Dispute Resolution Program 222 S. Hill Street, Suite 600, Los Angeles, CA 90012 or by e-mail at mediate@lacity.org . We'll have more info on this very soon! Saturday, March 22, 2008- Theoretical Outreach Neither Home Depot, nor the City Attorney's "Dispute Resolution Program" team has yet to contact anyone in Sunland-Tujunga. Not a word, not even a "Hello, we'll get back to you soon". The backroom deal that the City Attorney made with Home Depot trumpeted how both HD and the City Attorney's office would "outreach" to the Community in a major way. As of today, still nothing from either party. So while we wait to see if and when this "outreach" is going to happen, we thought of a few things we would like to discuss with Home Depot. These meetings with Home Depot, if and when they occur, are not going to come without some baggage of Home Depot's own creation, and this baggage must be dealt with. First of all, we are still pretty upset at the tactics Home Depot has employed in our town. We don't appreciate being labeled "racists", we don't like phony websites, paid signature gatherers, shady tactics, or bussed in supporters. We particularly don't like paid speakers at City Hearings smearing Sunland-Tujunga, nor do we find an army of paid lobbyists flooding the City Council chambers on HD's behalf an equal playing field or conducive to a productive resolution to this problem. By the way, HD broke a record in Los Angeles by spending $600,000 on lobbying efforts over the proposed S-T store in the first quarter of 2007 alone. That being said, we hope a full, complete, and public apology from Home Depot will be forthcoming. We cannot allow HD to pass the blame to one of their PR firms, they pay them, they are responsible for their actions. Secondly, we will not allow these "discussions" to be used by HD as a way of saying that they have "worked with the community". "Meeting with us" should not imply "Working with us" just so that HD can make this claim to a Judge or City official. HD has stated, in the past, that they have "worked with the community" by attending our STNC meetings. In reality, they simply sent an attorney that sat silently, and took notes. We will not allow these proposed meetings to be used by HD as a specious and vain exercise in "community engagement". Finally, HD must come to the table willing to abandon this proposed store if our community group comes to this conclusion. We do not want to spend all of this time and effort just so Home Depot can resume their lawsuit if they don't get their way. If they want to work with the Community, then Home Depot must be willing to abide by the Community's decisions. Obviously, the NHDC (No Home Depot Campaign) will work to show why this proposed store is inappropriate for our town, but there will be others in the stakeholder group who favor this development (theoretically). HD must listen to all, and comply with the final decision. We ask Home Depot to not make this a futile and "for show only" exercise. Do not waste our time anymore than you already have. That is, if HD or the City Attorney ever implement the "community outreach" they so fondly, yet vaguely, speak of. (This post is over at the Mayor Sam blog as well. You can view & comment on it HERE) Tuesday, March 18, 2008- Mayor Sam has a new story up that is a must read! Check it out HERE and we hope you will post your comments. Saturday, March 15, 2008- S-T Residents Express Anger During Town Hall Meeting! Today's well attended Town Hall Meeting provided local residents an opportunity to vent their anger at the City and Home Depot for their recent backroom deal. Many who spoke considered this backroom deal another slap in the face to the community, and expressed shock that the City Attorney referred to the community of Sunland-Tujunga as a "Special Interest Group". Planning Deputy Dale Thrush was on hand to answer questions and take some heat from the residents, and he assured the community that Councilmember Greuel will do everything possible to ensure that the proposed Home Depot Project get the full scrutiny it deserves. Also speaking to the audience was STA legal counsel, Mark Sellers, a Land Use and CEQA expert. There were zero Home Depot supporters in attendance, nor was there a representative from Home Depot or one of their PR firms (at least no one admitting to be). The mantra of the day seemed to be "Full EIR", and "Transparency in the Process". We'll see how this plays out. KNBC interviewed several local leaders and covered most of the meeting. Mayor Sam did a live blog from the meeting and you can read his posts HERE, HERE, and HERE. Thank You Sunland-Tujunga for making this event a big success! Special thanks to Regina for creating the Power Point presentation! Friday,March 14, 2008- Joe has a new post up at Mayor Sam "The Home of LA Politics", regarding tomorrow's Town Hall Meeting. You can read and comment on it HERE. Tuesday, March 11, 2008- Town Hall Meeting Looks To Be An Event! Saturday's meeting is shaping up to be an important "be there" event. Dale Thrush, Wendy Greuel's Planning Deputy has confirmed his attendance, and we will have lots of info to share with the community. Don't forget! This Saturday, March 15th North Valley City Hall 7747 Foothill Blvd, Tujunga. 10 am till Noonish KNBC has said they plan on sending a news crew, and we are sure to get at least local media attention! Come show your support for stopping Home Depot and your opposition to backroom deals! Mayor Sam has a new post up about HD HERE. Sunday, March 9, 2008- Joe has a new post up at Mayor Sam, "The Home of LA Politics" regarding the City Attorney's Backroom Deal. You can read it HERE And Mayor Sam, himself, has posted on this topic HERE Friday, Mar 7, 2008- Thursday, Mar 6, 2008- The City Attorney's Backroom Deal Stinks! Let's break it down, and spell out why: Tuesday, Mar 4, 2008- More Breaking News! City Attorney makes deal with Home Depot without Community Input! The City Attorney and Home Depot have initiated a "community mediation" program, whereby the City Attorney will create a " Community Stakeholder Committee" to receive input on the proposed Home Depot store. From what we understand, this is new ground for the City Attorney's office, and we get to be the guinea pigs. There has been an open invitation for Home Depot to meet with the Community for years, which Home Depot has declined to participate in. Only now, in an agreement made without any Community or Council Office input, or even prior notification to anyone, Home Depot has convinced the City Attorney's office to facilitate meetings between their corporation and the Community. They are going to create something called the "Community Stakeholders Committee" whose purpose is to provide constructive (read go-forward) solutions to the proposed store. We are all for discussions and fully transparent meetings. We have been for years. Why Home Depot feels that the City Attorney must facilitate these meetings is very questionable. And exactly who is on this committee? It seems to us that the members of our Neighborhood Council, who are elected to represent us, must be on the committee. We also insist that members of the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance, the very group that wrote and signed our name on every legal challenge filed against Home Depot, be included. It is important that the full scope of the negative impacts a Home Depot would bring to this town be understood, and if these significant impacts are able to be mitigated. We need input from LAUSD, SCAQMD, and a host of other agencies. The STA has already been able to demonstrate the profound impacts a Home Depot store would have on Sunland-Tujunga, and we feel that a 5 month time limit on this process would only work if Home Depot were to receive a MND from the City. A MND is unacceptable. An EIR is what this proposed store calls for, and a 5 month time limit will not be sufficient time to complete all of the important analysis and input. The City Attorney would have been aware of these concerns, if he had only bothered to include us in this discussion before he made this agreement. As a side note, we are getting phone calls and emails from many in the community that are furious that this deal was made without input from the very citizens it affects. Either the City Attorney is very naive, or he is easily manipulated, or he is following orders from above. We may never know which is the case. Read Home Depot's Press Release HERE (Warning: High Spin Alert) We are still getting answers & analysis from the City and our legal counsel and we will post updates as we know more! Monday, Mar 3, 2008- Home Depot Puts Lawsuit on Hold! They will now undergo Project Permit Compliance Review and Environmental Assessment! The NHDC is back in Action! Just after receiving the permits to "lockdown" the former K-Mart site while their lawsuit made its way through the legal system, Home Depot has suddenly shifted directions and will now do what they could have done 4 years ago. The Home Depot fought tooth and nail for 4 years not to undergo environmental assessment, making outrageous claims that the remodeling of the structure was not a Project, and not subject to the Foothill Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan, but the City Council determined the work to be a Project last summer. The Home Depot has also accused Councilmember Wendy Greuel of "working too closely with the community." The Home Depot ran a smear campaign against the community; labeling us all racists, busing in paid supporters to hearings, they hired an army of lobbyists, operated two phony websites, paid people to speak out against us, and actually said that the NHDC is a front group for a competitor, and now ... NOW they want to file for a Project Permit Compliance Review! Could this be because the $10,000,000.00 lawsuit they filed against the City did not bring the City to it's knees? No one blinked at the City attorneys office, no one capitulated to their threats, and Home Depot now finds that they have severely damaged their reputation in Los Angeles. Facing a losing prospect in Superior Court, and having the LA City Council against them, Home Depot has now chosen to do what they could have done four years ago when their Project was first presented. They have insulted this community, manipulated the LA City Planning Department and The LA Dept of Building and Safety, and they continue to throw money at a problem of their own making. Their actions in the past, and their actions today, continue to be highly suspicious, distasteful and disrespectful to Sunland-Tujunga, and the city of Los Angeles. Home Depot is not appropriate for this site, and we will continue to prove that fact in the months to come. What you should be watching for is Trojans bearing Gifts, as Home Depot will most likely try to buy support from the community. Expect massive propaganda, cute brochures, and promises. The most disturbing part of this is that The Home Depot is keeping their option to sue the City open in case they don't like the outcome of the Project Permit Compliance Review. What else would you expect from this company? Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008- Breaking News! Home Depot Fined $1.3 Million for Environmental Violations! EPA & Justice Dept. find Clean Water Act violations at more than 30 sites in 28 states where new Home Depot stores are being built! Allegations include not obtaining permits until after construction had begun and violations of not preventing pollution from getting in storm water run-off! Read the whole story HERE. Friday, Feb 22, 2008- Home Depot Denied in Long Beach, All Permits Revoked! Judge in Long Beach tosses out Home Depot EIR, says it's "inadequate, fails to address issues,...Any project approvals already obtained are invalid". Read the story HERE, the Court ruling HERE, and the community notice celebrating the victory HERE. And for you Planning Junkies, you can read the entire draft EIR HERE. Incidentally, Home Depot real estate manager, Jeff Nichols, told attendees at a STNC meeting that the Long Beach Home Depot would be approved and that the EIR problems were "minor" and we weren't getting the whole story. , Does this ruling mean that a Superior Court Judge didn't get the whole story either? Actually, we suspect Judge Torribio got the entire story, and a whole lot more! He probably just ignored the corporate press release. Nice work, your Honor! Thursday, Feb 21, 2008- New Judge Assigned In Home Depot Lawsuit The Honorable Judge James C. Chalfant has been assigned the case of "Home Depot vs The City of Los Angeles" (case number BS111954). This Superior Court Judge replaces the previously assigned judge who announced her retirement back in January. Judge Chalfant has been involved in high profile cases, including one involving Michael Jackson, and several cases involving environmental issues. We suggest you google his name to find out more. One case that he ruled on that interested us concerned Agoura Hills. You can read a story about it HERE. We're not sure if it's proper to welcome a judge to a case, but seeing how it's Sunland-Tujunga, we'll go out on a limb and say, "Welcome Judge James C. Chalfant"! In other news... - Home Depot isn't doing too well in their customer satisfaction rating. They just won last place. Read it HERE. Wednesday, Feb 13, 2008- We Got Updates! - Tonight, Home Depot resumed their tactic of sending a monitor to our Neighborhood Council meeting. This person (from Consensus Planning, HD's PR firm) sat silently in the back of the room and furiously took notes on everything that was said, and everyone who spoke. In the past, Home Depot and their attorneys have tried to characterize this technique as "working with the community". -It has been discovered that the story that ran in the Foothills Paper two weeks ago announcing that Home Depot had received the permits to lockdown the K-Mart building wasn't exactly what it seemed. Apparently the Foothills Paper printed an official press release from Home Depot, a press release that HD paid to have published. The article was not noted as being either an official press release or a paid advertisement. We spoke with the paper and they said it was an oversight, and that any future paid for press releases would be noted as such. The word is that Home Depot is now financing the paper to some degree. We are saddened to see this happen, and we just wanted you to know what's going on. -Finally, Joe has been asked to be a contributor to the Mayor Sam blog again. Watch for new postings on Home Depot and a host of other burning issues in the near future. Tuesday, Feb 12, 2008- Home Depot Hires Developer Friendly E.I.R. Firm! Home Depot has hired the well known E.I.R. (Environmental Impact Report) firm of Christopher Joseph & Associates (cajaeir.com) to prepare an environmental document for the 8040 Foothill Blvd site. This firm prepared the E.I.R. for Canyon Hills, and is currently preparing the E.I.R. for the Verdugo Hills Golf Course. This firm is well liked by developers and corporations for their ability to say just the right things, or rather, to say exactly what is needed to get a Project approved. It appears to us that Home Depot is preparing for the probable loss of their lawsuit in Superior Court, or may even be considering withdrawing the lawsuit since it didn't seem to intimidate anyone that read it. Stay Tuned! In Other News- Home Depot Pulls Out Of Strongly Opposed Hilton Head Island Project- Read about it HERE Sunday, Feb 10, 2008- Sunland-Tujunga Walks The Walk! Yesterday's fundraiser for the Sunland-Tujunga Alliance was a smashing success! As the parent organization for the No Home Depot Campaign, we depend entirely on community support to keep us viable and thriving! Our Yard & Bake Sale strongly illustrated the degree to which our residents are willing to donate their time, money, and baked goods (yummy), to support a group that is working for a better Sunland-Tujunga! Thank you all! You can read about the event at the following 2 links: http://www.thefoothillsforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1283 or http://stai.wordpress.com/ |
Traffic Impacts
The Planning Department determined the traffic study submitted by Home Depot in 2005 was
flawed.
A new traffic study was required by the Planning Department, which has not yet been conducted.
Traffic entering and exiting the property using the Foothill driveways will cause traffic back-ups in
both directions.
Drivers will use the narrow, residential side streets as alternate routes to avoid Foothill.
The project site is more than a mile from the closest freeway on-ramp.
Big-Rig Diesel Truck Pollution
Home Depot expects 18-20 diesel truck deliveries PER DAY.
"The California Air Resources Board (CARB) estimates that 70% of the airborne cancer risk in the
state is attributable to diesel particulate matter, prompting CARB to identify diesel exhaust as a
toxic air contaminant." Loyd, A; Cacketter, T.A. Diesel Engines: Environmental Impact and Control, Journal of Air And
Waste Management Assoc. 2001, 5`: 809-847.
"Compared with adults, children may have higher sensitivity to air pollution due to physiological
differences, higher activity levels, and greater exposure to outdoor air pollution."
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/vehicles_health/particulate_matter_ucs_testimony.html
Proximity to Apperson Elementary School
The project site address includes a property tie, 10355 Woodward Ave and 8040 Foothill Bl. The
Woodward address has been swept under the rug, because it would alert oversight by LAUSD.
The loading dock, where diesel trucks will idle while unloading, is about 50 ft. from the posted
school zone.
Drivers trying to avoid Foothill will impact the intersection of Woodward Ave and Apperson St.,
the main footpath for the kids, and the school bus zone.
Hazardous, Flammable, and Toxic Materials
Home Depot typically stores these materials outside. Even stored inside, these materials pose an
extreme hazard.
The Haines Canyon Flood Control Channel is approximately 30 ft. from the proposed Garden
Center.
The former auto repair area and the status of the underground oil clarifiers must be evaluated for
leakage of petroleum contaminants.
Wrong Business, Wrong Location
The property is surrounded by residences on 3 sides.
Noise from diesel trucks and forklifts will exceed acceptable levels for residential or sensitive
areas, per the Noise Element of the Los Angeles General Plan.
The Sunland-Tujunga, Lake View Terrace, Shadow Hills, East La Tuna Canyon Community Plan
describes this property as part of a Community Center, providing a pedestrian friendly, multi-use
shopping center.
The Foothill Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan describes this property as "Neighborhood Retail",
which should be pedestrian friendly, providing for the needs of the local residents.
A Home Depot is a regional supplier that will significantly impact the neighborhood in a way the
Kmart did not. We say, "Shopping carts, not forklifts!"
1. No one, absolutely no one, was give advance notification
that this deal was in the works. Not the STNC, the STA, or
even Councilmember Greuel, according to her office. No
input was sought from the very community this deal would
affect, and this agreement was reached between the City
Attorney and Home Depot behind closed doors. We actually
found out the details about this from Kerry Cavanaugh
from the Daily News. Somebody dropped the ball.
2. Allowing Home Depot to "stay" their lawsuit under the
condition that they can resume it at any time is not a
productive or fair environment for resolution to a problem
of their own creation. If they do not like the way things are
going, they have the option of pulling out at any time for any
reason, and reinstating the lawsuit. Unlike us, they have
nothing to lose, and everything to gain. They come to the
table with a "trump" card. In contrast, we just get to come to
the table. This hardly seems fair or ethical.
3. For reasons beyond us, the City Attorney agreed to a 5
month time limit on their Project Permit Compliance Review
process, with a provision that both parties can agree to an extension,
if necessary. A full Environmental Impact
Report can take up to a year. Home Depot's agreement with
the City Attorney to rush this process and contain it within a
5 month period clearly demonstrates that they are still
working to avoid full disclosure on the impacts of this
Project.
4. The Sunland-Tujunga community has repeatedly asked
Home Depot to meet with the community for almost 4 years.
They have repeatedly rejected that offer. For them to now
ask the City Attorney to facilitate "constructive discussions"
with unknown participants reminds us of Home Depot's past
tactics of stacking meetings with paid supporters. The STNC
and the STA are already established groups who represent
the Community, and have been working on this issue for
years. In effect, Home Depot is dismissing us, as they do not
like the challenges we present, the questions we ask, and
the stand we have taken. They have characterized us as a
"small but vocal minority", they have accused us of being
"racists" and working for a competitor. None of these
allegations are true, and had no effect, so now it appears
that Home Depot is looking for new ways to divide the
Community and present a distorted picture of what the
Community really wants.
Hang in there S-T, we've been through this before!
that this deal was in the works. Not the STNC, the STA, or
even Councilmember Greuel, according to her office. No
input was sought from the very community this deal would
affect, and this agreement was reached between the City
Attorney and Home Depot behind closed doors. We actually
found out the details about this from Kerry Cavanaugh
from the Daily News. Somebody dropped the ball.
2. Allowing Home Depot to "stay" their lawsuit under the
condition that they can resume it at any time is not a
productive or fair environment for resolution to a problem
of their own creation. If they do not like the way things are
going, they have the option of pulling out at any time for any
reason, and reinstating the lawsuit. Unlike us, they have
nothing to lose, and everything to gain. They come to the
table with a "trump" card. In contrast, we just get to come to
the table. This hardly seems fair or ethical.
3. For reasons beyond us, the City Attorney agreed to a 5
month time limit on their Project Permit Compliance Review
process, with a provision that both parties can agree to an extension,
if necessary. A full Environmental Impact
Report can take up to a year. Home Depot's agreement with
the City Attorney to rush this process and contain it within a
5 month period clearly demonstrates that they are still
working to avoid full disclosure on the impacts of this
Project.
4. The Sunland-Tujunga community has repeatedly asked
Home Depot to meet with the community for almost 4 years.
They have repeatedly rejected that offer. For them to now
ask the City Attorney to facilitate "constructive discussions"
with unknown participants reminds us of Home Depot's past
tactics of stacking meetings with paid supporters. The STNC
and the STA are already established groups who represent
the Community, and have been working on this issue for
years. In effect, Home Depot is dismissing us, as they do not
like the challenges we present, the questions we ask, and
the stand we have taken. They have characterized us as a
"small but vocal minority", they have accused us of being
"racists" and working for a competitor. None of these
allegations are true, and had no effect, so now it appears
that Home Depot is looking for new ways to divide the
Community and present a distorted picture of what the
Community really wants.
Hang in there S-T, we've been through this before!
| To qualify for a permit: A group must be non-profit.(Incorrect) Updated 6/12/08: The activity requested must be not for profit. |
A group must be non-profit." |
| Newsflash |
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