Dateline Hollywood – The developer of the controversial Millennium twin-skyscraper project in Hollywood spent $649,341 on lobbyists in the run-up to a key Los Angeles City Council vote in July to approve the project despite warnings the two towers would – if ever built – likely be sitting on top of an active earthquake fault.
According to City Ethics Commission filings, Millennium spent $572,681 alone on the law firm of Sheppard Mullin, the developer's chief advocate at City Hall, during the third quarter of 2013, ending Sept. 30 (link to lobbyist report). In the same period, Millennium spent another $76,660 on lobbyist Marathon Communications (link to lobbyist report).
Millennium's payments to Sheppard Mullin were the largest paid to any single lobbyist during the third quarter of this year, according to a just released city Ethics Commission report.
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On July 24, Millennium's lobbyist-investment appeared to pay off when the City Council voted to okay the developer's $650 million project only four days after receiving an urgent email from state geologist Dr. John Parrish warning that the Millennium property, next to the iconic Capitol Records building, was probably crossed by an earthquake fault.
However, the project is now held up by a lawsuit filed by attorney Robert P. Silverstein in behalf of Hollywood activists. That lawsuit alleges the project was improperly vetted by city officials and, in particular, that the city suppressed evidence about the project's earthquake perils and seriously understated the project's traffic impacts.
Since 2009, Millennium has spent nearly $4.75 million on lobbying city lawmakers.
Sheppard Mullin's dealings with City Hall have been controversial. During the first few months of this year, the son of Raymond Chan, the chief of the city's Dept. of Building and Safety, was working as a paid intern at Sheppard Mullin while his father's department was reviewing the Millennium project, including its proximity to the Hollywood Fault.
A city ethics complaint was filed against Mr. Chan by a Millennium opponent. It claimed the son's hiring by Sheppard Mullin had the appearance of a special favor that could have unduly influenced Mr. Chan's handling of his department's review of the Millennium project. Mr. Chan later claimed the ethics complaint was dismissed. However, the city Ethics Commission has refused to disclose any details of its findings.
Mr. Schwada may be contacted at john.schwada@gmail.com
