Two Special Requests
Desperation in their voices, the supporters made two urgent requests of the City Council:
- To intervene with the Metropolitan Transit Authority to once again push back The Jungle’s vacate deadline, which originally was September.
- To find a one-acre site that will keep one of only two nurseries in Culver City at home base.
Mr. Saez and his hopeful party were given scant encouragement by the City Council or by Todd Tipton, administrator of the Community Development Dept. Mr. Tipton explained, as he has numerous times in similar situations in recent years, that he and his staff have diligently scoured Culver City for a relocation site. He said the one open acre that The Jungle requires made the task especially difficult.
Was Saez Warned?
When Mr. Saez spoke privately later with thefrontpageonline.com, he rolled his eyes when he was asked to evaluate City Hall’s relocation efforts. He described himself as “desperate and frustrated.” Council members Carol Gross and Steve Rose steadfastly maintained that Mr. Saez has known from the day he moved in to 8817 Washington Blvd., that “his days were numbered.” The property on which The Jungle sits is owned by the MTA, automatically making it radioactive land. Mr. Rose and Ms. Gross, both known as strict, by-the-rules persons, echoed the same thoughts. They seemed to be wondering why Mr. Saez was shocked and disappointed at the prospect of being forced to abandon his present site. The Last Hope
Vice Mayor Alan Corlin, a birthday boy, provided the only spark of hope for The Jungle partisans. When he and fellow Council subcommittee member Scott Malsin attend Thursday afternoon’s regularly scheduled meeting of the construction arm of the light rail project at the County Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles, they will deliver a City Hall-sanctioned letter. But, as Mr. Corlin said later, “all we can do for Mr. Saez is to buy him more time.” That, said Mr. Saez, is all he wants, while he, with the help of the city, finds a new property. In the entirety of the crowded Council Chambers, however, no one could be found who believed that a relocation would be executed in the near term.
The Straight Truth?
Although there appeared to be confusion last night, Mr. Corlin said this morning that, regardless of the lease or rental arrangement Mr. Saez is working on, “he always has known his days were numbered. “We have been trying to find a piece of property for him, but he has rejected numerous pieces. I would say he has turned down 3 to 6 locations. ‘Too this’ or ‘too that.’ As I see it, there are only two reasons for this: His expectations may be too great. Or, he may not have the money to close the deal.”
Postscript
Before the crowd departed City Hall, a consultant for The Jungle assembled supporters in the ground floor lobby. After Mr. Saez thanked them for their loyalty, the consultant exacted a promise from each rally participant. All would write letters of support for The Jungle, filing them at The Jungle’s website (carlos@thejungle.biz) in time for Thursday’s downtown meeting.
