We will continue to give the most current updates on the Raymond
Theatre project on this page. If you would like to receive even
more up-to-date news, please see our "Join Us" page to subscribe
to our monthly e-mail newsletters.
December 25, 2005
Pasadena Heritage's Preservation Easement:
Pasadena Heritage hold's a preservation easement on the Raymond
Theatre. The easement is in place to protect both the primary
and secondary facades and the open space surrounding the
theatre. The easement also has a clause that state’s "the
property shall not be subdivided."
The City Council requested that Pasadena Heritage make a
decision on whether to uphold their easement and preserve the
theatre, or sign off or the preservation easement and allow the
Raymond Theatre to be redeveloped into condominiums.
Pasadena Heritage was not present at Final Design Review or the
Subdivision hearing to render their decision. However, Pasadena
Heritage did sign off on the preservation easement that has
allowed redevelopment of the Raymond Theatre to go forth.
December 9, 2005
Subdivision of Property
A hearing was held on December 7, 2005, to subdivide the Raymond
Theatre property for condominium and retail space. Part of the
issue during the hearings was that the new project proposed by
the developers has never been evaluated for project consistency
by any city decision-making board. The Pasadena City Council had
previously given approval for specific uses of space and square
footage. The staff report stated the project is currently
150,000 square feet; the City Council only approved 82,000
square feet. The public asked the Subdivision Committee to
ensure the project's consistency before subdividing the
property.
The Subdivision Committee chose to grant the subdivision of the
property and ignore the public's request to check the project
for consistency with the City Council previous approvals before
subdividing the property.
November 21, 2005
Violation of the Brown Act
During the appeal process, we were informed that the majority of
the Design Commission had discussed the contents of their letter
to the Mayor and City Council between themselves, which was a
violation f the Brown Act. We alerted the City Attorney's
office, and the City Attorney called a new hearing of the Design
Commission.
To cure the Brown Act violation, the Design Commission wrote
another letter asking the Mayor and the City Council to again
evaluate the purview of the interiors. This time, the Design
Commission cited in their letter to the Mayor and City Council
that their action and the actions of the Mayor and City Council
were in violation of the Pasadena Municipal Code. It was hoped
that the Mayor and City Council would respond by further curing
the Brown Act and PMC violation and hold a hearing on the issue.
The City of Pasadena chose not to respond to the letter. It's
questionable whether the Design Commission's Brown Act violation
has been cured entirely. We will following up with a letter to
the Attorney General on this issue.
The Zoning Administrator is now reviewing the interiors of the
theatre for design and consistency and there will be no public
hearings on this matter.
November 2, 2005
Purview of the Raymond Theatre interiors.
The city Design Commissioners who reviewed the proposed
redevelopment project for the Raymond Theatre felt strongly that
the Zoning Administrator should not conduct design review on the
interiors of the Raymond Theatre. They believed that the
interiors should be reviewed by the Design Commission based on
CR - 1 (see below), which is a Condition of Approval.
The Design Commission wrote a letter to the Mayor and the City
Council that stated their position and asked that the issue be
called up for review. The Mayor responded by stating that
reviewing the Raymond Theatre's interiors lies within the
purview of the Zoning Administrator.
However, the Pasadena Municipal Code (PMC) requires that a
request for a call to review made by the Design Commission must
be voted upon by the Mayor and City Council. It is a breach of
the PMC for the Mayor to respond unilaterally and circumvent a
vote by the City Council. Furthermore, it is a breach of the PMC
for the Design Commission to vote on an issue until they receive
direction from both the Mayor and City Council.
Regardless, the Design Commission voted not to challenge the
Mayor's position, thereby relegating the theatre interiors to
the purview of the Zoning Administrator. Friends of the Raymond
Theatre and the Forecast Foundation attempted to appeal the
Design Commission's decision, along with the breach of the PMC,
to the Mayor and City Council. The city of Pasadena would not
accept our appeal.
October 25, 2005
Project to go before City Council:
On October 24, 2005, the Design Commission conducted Final
Design Review to convert conversion of the Raymond Theatre to a
mix-use housing development. The Design Commission requested
that 18 revisions be made to the project. These revisions will
be worked on by a subcommittee of the Design Commission.
The Design Commission was also asked to certify the
Environmental and Land Use elements for the proposed project.
The Design Commission agreed to approve the project, except for
Mitigation Measure CR-1which states:
"The applicant shall submit plans and elevations, together
with other supporting documentation, detailing the
rehabilitation and restoration of the Raymond Theatre.
Information shall include project specifications, materials,
samples, large-scale drawings and similar items illustrating all
aspects of the rehabilitation work to the historic portions of
the building. Such plans will include documentation indicating
how the integrity of these features will be protected during the
construction phase. The Zoning Administrator and the DESIGN
COMMISSION will review and approve this documentation. The City
shall withhold building permits for the project until the Zoning
Administration and the DESIGN COMMISSION complete their review."
The Design Commission has appealed the project to the City
Council to ask if CR-1 allows them to review the protected
interior spaces of the Raymond Theatre. The Pasadena City
Attorney has stated that the only person to conduct design
review on the interiors of the Raymond is the Zoning Hearing
Officer, who is not an architect. The City Council will make the
final decision on this matter.
Keep posted to our website for the date of the City Council
hearing.
October 24, 2005
The project to convert the
Raymond Theatre to a mixed-use housing project will go before
the Design Commission for review. If the project passes, 10 days
later building permits will be issued and demolition will start.
We ask the public to please attend this important hearing. As
soon as the city lets us know the location and time, it will be
posted on our website. If you need talking points for the
hearing, please contact us at:
RaymondTheatre@aol.com We hope to see
you at the final hearing.
Hearing Information:
Date:
October 24, 2005
Place:
All Saints Church, Sweetland Hall 132 North Euclid Avenue
Pasadena, California 91101-1796 (Corner of Holly and Euclid near
City Hall, entrance is on Euclid)
Time:
6:00 pm. Best arrival time: 7:00 pm
September 1,
2005
The project is currently in 50% Review and should go to Final
Design Review during the month of September. After Final Design
Review has commenced, 10 days later building permits may be
issued and demolition of the
Raymond Theatre will begin. Currently we are seeking volunteers
to help us with fundraisers, celebrity media conferences and
organization of rallies. If you would like to volunteer your
time, please contact us at
RaymondTheatre@aol.com
Please write us, or check the City of
Pasadena
website under the Design Commission for future hearing dates
August 15, 2005
The Raymond
Theatre is now in it's final hour. Our most critical need is to
raise money to legally defend the Raymond Theatre. If you would
like to make a donation you can do so by mail:
Friends of the Raymond Theatre
P.O. Box 91189
Pasadena, CA 91109 -1189
or online by Pay Pal.
.
July 11, 2005
AJB Enterprises
proposed their latest design plan before the Design Commission
on July 11th.
The project came back
with more design issues that the previous proposals. Certain
Design Commissioners felt the project should move past
Conceptual Design Review to 50%, only because the developer was
on a timeline and they thought AJB was working hard. Others
felt the project was nowhere near ready to pass Conceptual
Design Review.
The Design Commission
passed the project to 50% review with no commitment as to what
the design of the new building on the Raymond Theatre parking
lot was going to look like. There are no votes in 50% review;
it's an advisory review only. The public is allowed to
comment. Please check our website for future hearing dates.
At the hearing, a
Principal Planner with the City of Pasadena spoke to the issue
of ongoing demolition or alteration of the Raymond Theatre.
Hear his comment
July 6, 2005
The developers started
interior demolition of the Raymond Theatre on July 4, 2005, with
no demolition permit. Despite numerous calls to the several
City departments, including Code Enforcement, Planning and
Development, Zoning and Historic Preservation, no return calls
have been returned to date. Our Attorney has issued a warning
to the City of Pasadena to stop all demolition and/or alteration
of the inside of the Raymond Theatre and requested copies of all
building permits and "stop work orders" to evaluate if the AJB
had permits to demolish or alter the interior of the theatre.
As of July 7, 2005, we
spoke with Yolanda Flores and she stated no building permit had
been issued to start demolition. City Council approvals for the
developers project state that "no building permits are to be
issued until Final Design Review has been granted." The project
is still in Conceptual Design Review.
We ask the
community to keep an eye out on the Raymond Theatre. If anyone
sees any work is being done illegally, please contact us
immediately at: (8180 541-9522
July 9, 2005
Richard Becker is
produced an encore performance of The Bonnie Delight Revue to
help benefit Friends of the Raymond Theatre.
The show included a mid-show auction to
benefit the historic Raymond Theatre.
A great deal of money was raised to help continue efforts to
preserve the Raymond Theatre. We thank Richard Becker for
producing a second fundraiser to help raise money for the
Raymond Theatre.
June
29, 2005
AJB Enterprises
unveiled their revised plans for the Raymond Theatre and the
adjoining parking lot. Overall, the Design Commissioners did not
like the new plans, nor did the community. The Design
Commissioners asked for revisions and gave suggestions for
changes. The project did not pass Conceptual Design Review.
HEARING DATE:
DATE: Wednesday, July
11, 2005
START TIME: 6:30 P.M.
PLACE: Pasadena
Conference Center Building
(next to Pasadena
Civic Auditorium)
300 East Green Street,
Room 211, Pasadena
June 6, 2005
AJB Enterprises
unveiled their new plans before the Design Commission by F & A
Architects. The City staff recommended the Design Commission
disregard that the new project has major modifications.
They asked the Design
Commission focus on 7 design issues from a previous (2004)
version of the project by the architects Togawa and Smith.
Which does not relate in ANY way to the new project by F & A
Architects. The City recommend the Design Commission vote these
7 items are consistent with CEQA, while not addressing if the
new project is compliant with City Council approvals, mitigation
measures or CEQA.
The City stated in the
staff report, that they do not want to penalize AJB for having a
proposed a flawed project which could not be built as designed,
so they picked a few design issues from a design concept that
that no longer exists and used them to deem the project had only
minor modifications.
This way, AJB would
not have allow the public or the City to review the new plans in
their entirely as required by law. The City could deem the
project only required minor modifications. Minor Modifications
do not require original decision maker approval.
The Design Commission
vote in favor of this scheme. As the project stands now there
has been no review of interiors of exterior of the Raymond
Theatre, no review to see if the project is compliant with City
Council approvals, mitigation measures or CEQA.
The Design Commission
did not like the new changes to the building; they gave a
checklist of suggested revisions. The project did not pass
Conceptual Design Review.
HEARING DATE:
DATE: Wednesday, June
29, 2005
START TIME: 6:30 P.M.
PLACE: Pasadena
Conference Center Building
(next to Pasadena
Civic Auditorium)
300 East Green Street,
Room 211, Pasadena
May
18, 2005
Excerpts from the Pasadena Weekly Article dated May 18, 2005
"Payback time"
Pasadena officials
could face misdemeanor convictions and heavy fines for alleged
'pay-to-play' under Supreme Court-backed anti-corruption
initiative.
By Joe Piasecki
Pasadena City
Councilman Chris Holden and Board of Education member Esteban
"Steve" Lizardo have a price on their heads.
Each is in violation
of Measure B, an anti-corruption initiative that makes it a
crime for Pasadena public officials to accept campaign
contributions from those whom their votes have benefited - and
offers cash rewards to citizens who prosecute them.
Though the city has
repeatedly challenged the measure as an unconstitutional
restriction of political speech, the California Supreme Court on
April 27 upheld the 2001 voter-approved ballot initiative by
denying the city's petition for review.
"Pasadena has no other
legal options. They have to enforce Measure B," said consumer
advocate Carmen Balber, a spokeswoman for initiative authors the
Oaks Project, which operates under the Ralph Nader-backed
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights.
More than $1,000 in
reward money awaits any citizen who successfully sues a city
leader over alleged violations of the measure, violations which
currently total thousands of dollars in gifts from some of the
area's wealthiest men to city officials who have supported their
business causes.
Under Measure B,
offenders can be fined up to five times the amount of their
violation and, in particularly flagrant or repeat offenses, can
be convicted of a misdemeanor or barred from public office.
Holden's numerous
alleged violations of at least $2,100 in campaign gifts came
less than a year after he cast deciding votes on the fate of the
Raymond Theatre and changed city development rules to
accommodate a massive downtown development for one of the
world's richest men.
"Holden should come
forth quickly with information in his defense, or otherwise we
have to assume it뭩 pay-to-play," said San Gabriel Valley open
government activist Rich McKee.
"It's this kind of
thing that gives public agencies a black eye," he said.
Now, thanks to the
Supreme Court, anyone who would sue Holden over Measure B
violations would stand to recover attorneys' fees and profit up
to 10 percent of the fines assessed against him, which could be
as high as $10,500.
But that's not all.
Also according to campaign finance records, Holden also received
$100 from Hahn & Hahn attorney R. Scott Jenkins, who represented
Munger and his Montana projects before the council.
Just two days after
receiving the Jenkins and MS contributions, Holden took $500
from Buchanan-Symonds,
listed owners of the
embattled Raymond Theatre, and another $500 from the Gene
Buchanan-headed AJB Enterprises.
In May 2004, Holden
moved that the city adopt a concept design review for converting
the historic theater into
luxury apartments, and
then cast the deciding vote for its approval.
"That's darn
ridiculous," said Buchanan, who was not familiar with provisions
of the measure, and now feels it violates his rights to back
political candidates.
"I give
money to all of them. Now nobody can vote?" he asked before it
was explained only donations made after a vote are subject to
the measure.
"That's no favor to
me," he said of the Raymond Theatre vote. "He's just doing his
job as a council person. He voted what was code. I wasn't doing
anything that wasn't according to code. ...That means anybody
who does any business in the city, the council can't take
anything from him?"
Incidentally, Holden
contributor Jenkins also represented Buchanan before the City
Council Measure B was approved by more than 60 percent of
Pasadena voters in March 2001. A similar measure, Prop LL, was
approved in 2000 by Santa Monica voters.
After the 2001
election, Pasadena city officials tried to scrub the Measure B
by refusing to report election results to the state.
Many Pasadena City
Council members have said they fear implementation of the
initiative would discourage public participation in government,
and have expressed some confusion about what actually amounts to
a violation.
Though allegedly
having violated Measure B twice, Lizardo remains nonetheless a
proponent of the law, which no other city officials have vocally
supported.
I think that our elected
officials' motives should not be subject to question. If some
contributions call those into
question, they should
be returned so that there is no question," he said. "Even
without this measure we must be aboveboard at all times."
May 20,
2005
AJB Enterprises has
filed for Design Review. The City staff report states "the
project could not be built as designed" therefore the developer
was required to make major modifications to the project. Major
modifications to a project require that a new application be
filed original City decision maker approval. The project is
therefore required to be heard in front of the Zoning Hearing
Officer or the City Council.
The new project
breeches prior City Council approvals, mitigation measures and
new significant alterations are being made to the theatre with
no requirement for supplemental CEQA review. We ask the public
to attend this important hearing.
HEARING DATE:
DATE: Wednesday, June
6, 2005
START TIME: 6:30 P.M.
PLACE: Pasadena
Conference Center Building
(next to Pasadena
Civic Auditorium)
300 East Green Street,
Room 211, Pasadena
April 4, 2005
The rummage sale was a
huge success! Two days before the sale, people were calling
nonstop and dropping by the location to ask about the sale. At
5am people started arriving. By 9am there was a crowd of 50
people waiting to get in. It took three people to service the
lines of people wanting to buy items. We raised a significant
amount of money for the Raymond Theatre. Celebrities, Yanni
and Fritz Coleman even came by our sale! Thanks to everyone who
helped make this rummage sale a success.
March
16, 2005
The Raymond Theatre
Rummage Sale is planned for Saturday and Sunday, April 2nd and
3rd, from 9am to 4pm daily. There will be antiques,
collectibles, hundreds of LP's, 45's, cassettes, CD's, DVD's,
movie and music collectibles, books, office supplies, computers,
electronics, vintage clothing and jewelry, garden tools, stamps,
household items, glassware, kitchenware, children's item's,
sports and exercise equipment and much, much more. The sale
will be held at Rock Castle Drive, La Canada-Flintridge CA. No
early birds!
March 15,
2005
The Conditional Use
Perfect for the developers project has expired. Friends of the
Raymond Theatre and the Forecast Foundation personally went to
the City and requested to see the extensions for 2002 and 2003.
The City found no extensions on file. To ensure a building
permit does not run out, work on a project must commence.
The City stated, "They
had to find a way to help the developer keep his CUP permit, so
issued a building permit to start renovation and structural work
on the Raymond Theatre." The City Council final approvals for
this project state that no demolition or alternation of the
Raymond Theatre is to occur, until after Final Design Review and
building permits are issue. The project has not started Design
Review.
Public participation
was completely eliminated and to date nobody other than Pasadena
Heritage, the City and the developer know what the facade of the
Raymond Theatre will look like when it's complete. The facade
of the Raymond Theatre is now under construction and the marquee
has been removed from the theatre.
March 6,
2005
The fundraiser for the
Bonnie Delight Revue was a hit! The event was standing room
only. We raised a significant about of money for the Raymond
Theatre and a good time was had by all! Thank you Richard
Becker and Miss Bonnie Delight for all your hard work on putting
together a spectacular fundraiser for the Raymond Theatre.
February
11, 2005
Mark your calendars
early! March 5, the Bonnie Delight Revue is staging an
old-fashioned variety show with a modern day twist! Proceeds
from this show go to help save Pasadena's historic Raymond
Theatre! The show is being held at the California Institute of
Abnormal Arts (
www.ciabnormalarts.com ) in North Hollywood. Doors open at
8pm, show starts at 9pm. Tickets are $15 at the door. The show
features Miss Bonnie Delight, and will be emceed by baggy-pants
comedian Shecky Greenblatt (Scott Whitesell), ably assisted by
comic Charlie Singer (Hal Cartrett) and stage Mom Mamie Delight
(Phyllis Harlow).
There will be an
incredible lineup of acts including:
The fan dance of Eliza
Bane!
The witty magic of
Doug Barat!
Comedy with Tarun
Shetty!
The lounge song
stylings of Tony Bisbee Junior!
Mother and daughter
comedy team Coco and Penny!
The lovely Victoria
Lane!
What뭩 cooking with
Sweet Kellianne!
The amazing Robin
Coleman!
The hypnotic magic of
Mark Prines!
The bagpipe
extravaganza of Orion McCabe!
After the show, stay
for our special added guest, DJ Steve Boyett, spinning the best
in techno and industrial music for your dancing and listening
pleasure!
Proceeds from this
show go towards helping save Pasadena's Historic Raymond Theatre
DATE: March 5, 2005
PLACE: C.I.A (
www.ciabnormalarts.com
)
11334 Burbank Blvd.,
North Hollywood
TIME: Doors open at
8:00 pm. - Show starts 9:00 pm
TICKETS: $15 at the
door.
This event produced by
Richard Becker for Friends of the Raymond Theatre.
January 9,
2005
Big news! Foothill
Records is La Canada-Flintridge has donated over $10,000 worth
of rare records, CD's, video's DVD's and rare movie and music
memorabilia. People from all over LA are giving us items to
sell at rummage sale. The more items we have, the more money we
can raise! Please contact us if you have items you would like to
donate.
December
15, 2005
We have a huge garage
sale planned for April 4, 2005. We are seeking donations; we
will accept anything that has a value of over $5. If you would
like to donate items for our sale, please contact us.
October 4,
2004
A buyer has been found
for the theatre, the owner refused the sale. Friends of the
Raymond Theatre are working on fundraising and have started work
on a big rummage sale and a variety show for early next 2005.
September
19, 2004
The proposed project
to convert the Raymond Theatre to mixed-use housing project is
currently on hold. Friends of the Raymond Theatre are
continuing our fundraising efforts because we know further legal
defense of the theatre will be necessary.
August, 18 2004
Friends of the Raymond
Theatre have filed a second lawsuit against AJB Enterprises and
the City of Pasadena. The lawsuit alleges that changes to the
project have caused significant new impacts to the Raymond
Theatre, which have not been evaluated by CEQA. Also, changes
have been made to the project, which are not consistent with the
original City Council approvals.
July 12,
2004
We have raised money
in the nick of time to file our second lawsuit. Thanks to
everyone who helped us achieve our goal.
June 20, 2004
Friends of the Raymond
Theatre are working hard to raise money to file a second
lawsuit. We ask the public for their continued support. Please
visit our "donate" link and see how you can help!
June
8, 2004
We
disagree with the Pasadena City Councils decision that the new
project proposed by the Buchanan /Perkins Limited Partnership is
consistent with approvals given by the City Council in 2002. Our
single most important need is donations so that we may continue
our efforts to save the Raymond Theatre.
May
17, 2004
The City
Council continued the May 3 discussions on how a project is
deemed consistent with original approvals. The Council also
conducted a Conceptual Design Review. As with all Raymond
Theatre hearings, there was a standing room only crowd in
attendance. Mayor Bogaard reminded the City Council that the
hearing had been classified as "de novo," meaning that the
issues of both consistency and design could be addressed by the
public and the Council. However, Councilman Chris Holden tried
several times to limit the scope of the hearing to approving the
skylights and windows for the auditorium space, approving that
the brick facade would be returned to its original cream color
ONLY if deemed feasible, and that Pasadena Heritage would be
allowed to sign off on the preservation easements at final
Design Review or during construction. These were the three
issues the Buchanan/Perkins Limited Partnership needed approval
on in order to move forward with their project. Mayor Bogaard,
Councilman Tyler and Councilman Little voted that the project
was not consistent with original approvals. All other Council
members voted in favor. The City approved Conceptual Design
Review and deemed the project consistent with their 2002
approvals.
May
3, 2004
The City
Council held a public meeting using the Raymond Theatre as an
example of how the City Council determines if a project is
consistent with original approvals. The City Council discussed
the matter in detail, yet when it came time for the public to
give testimony, several Council members left the room. Because
city business cannot be conducted in the absence of a quorum, it
was determined that public comment could not be heard.
April
29, 2004
Friends
of the Raymond Theatre won a preservation award from the
California Preservation Foundation for exemplary work in the
field of historic preservation.
April
19, 2004
Councilman Holden's motion to call up the Design Commission's
decision was seconded. The matter will be on included on the May
17 agenda as a Public Hearing.
April
13, 2004
A day
before the results of the Design Review hearing were published,
Councilman Chris Holden appealed the decision of the Conceptual
Design Review process to the City Council.
April
12, 2004
At the
March 15 hearing, the Design Commission requested that the
Buchanan/Perkins Limited Partnership, owners and developers of
the Raymond Theatre, come back before the Commission with the
revisions necessary to continue Conceptual Design Review of
their project. No revisions were made and the Buchanan's stated
that they would take the project to the City Council where they
would get approval. The Design Commission found the project
remained inconsistent with the original approvals made by the
City Council in 2002. Some of the inconsistencies include: the
project has changed from apartments to condos; the total number
of available units has decreased, no longer meeting the need for
increased affordable housing in Pasadena, which was the basis of
why this project was approved by the City Council. Also, the
number of stories to be built in the theatre's interior has
increased from six to seven stories, creating a greater overall
impact on the theatre. Additionally, the commercial square
footage increased by 3,924 square feet; retail sq. ft. by 3,104
square feet; and the residential space increased by 799 square
feet. While the project increased in square footage, the has
parking decreased. The Conditions of Approval for inclusionary
housing and to market the theatre for sale for four months were
also not met. The City also specifically stated that the
protected theatre space (between front of stage and front of
balcony) would be marketed for sale for theatre use, or used as
a unique commercial or retail space. Before adhering to the
Conditions of Approval to market the theatre space for sale, the
Buchanan/Perkins Limited Partnership sought approval to cut 12
louvered skylights and windows into the auditorium space and use
the area as an atrium for apartments. This is a breech of the
Conditions of Approval as set forth by the City Council. This
new change also warrants further environmental review to
determine the effects of elements such as air and light would
have on the historic auditorium. The Design Commission required
a total 39 revisions be made to the design of the project. Also
changing the project from apartments to condos would require
both the Raymond Theatre and its adjoining parking lot to be
subdivided. Pasadena Heritage's historic preservation easement
specifically states that subdividing the property is not
allowed. Ultimately, the proposed redevelopment of the Raymond
Theatre was rejected a second time by the Design Commission and
the Buchanan/Perkins Limited Partnership was again asked to make
revisions. Additionally, the Design Commission also asked the
Commission chair to write a letter to the City Council to
express the Commission's concern over the overall
inconsistencies with what Council approved in 2002.
March
15, 2004
The
Design Commissioners found that the project originally approved
by the Pasadena City Council in 2002 was not the same project
the developer proposed at tonight's hearing. After five hours of
developer presentations, debate, and public comment, the Design
Commission found numerous mistakes and issues with the
developers plans and requested revisions be made. The hearing
was continued to April 12, 2004.
February 12, 2004
In spite
of an imminent appellate court ruling, the owners of the Raymond
Theatre have filed for Conceptual Design Review. Their project
proposes to gut the Raymond Theatre and convert it to an
apartment/retail/office building. A hearing before the Design
Commission is scheduled for March 15, 2004. A hearing before the
Design Commission is scheduled for March 15, 2004. The City of
Pasadena expects record-breaking crowds to assemble in defense
of the Raymond Theatre, and have moved the March 15 public
hearing from City Council chambers to the Pasadena Conference
Center Building (next to the Civic Auditorium) at 300 E. Green
Street, Room 211. The hearing will begin at 6 p.m.
May
27, 2003
On May
27, 2003, Friends of the Raymond Theatre and the Sage Council
filed a write of mandate to the appellate courts. The appellate
courts will decide the final fate of the Raymond Theatre this
year. The Buchanan/Perkins Limited Partnership filed a Motion
for Attorney's fees. They are asking us to pay approximately
$114,000 in Attorney fees, which we will be challenging in the
courts. July 2, 2003 The court ruled that Friends of the Raymond
Theatre were not liable to pay $114,000 in Attorney fee's to the
Buchanan/Perkins Limited Partnership. August 12, 2003 Friends of
the Raymond Theatre made an attempt to settle the appellate
court case with the Buchanan/Perkins Limited Partnership. We
asked to allow a specified amount of time to market and sell the
Raymond Theatre. After months of negotiations, the Buchanan's
set an unreasonable price and terms for a sale. The
Buchanan/Perkins Limited Partnership stated if we did not accept
their offer to drop the lawsuit and sell the theatre on their
terms, that they would start construction before the appellate
courts reached a decision. Friends of the Raymond Theatre chose
to not accept the settlement and to retain our legal rights to
continue protection of the Raymond Theatre.
March
8, 2003
On March
7, 2002, LA Superior Court Judge Dzintra I. Janavs ruled that
the City of Pasadena acted lawfully in granting approval to
allow redevelopment of the Raymond Theatre into an
apartment/retail complex. Friends of the Raymond Theatre have
till May 27, 2003 to made a decision to appeal the case to the
appellate courts. Please check back with us for updates.
February 28, 2003
On
February 11, 2003, Judge Dzintra Janavs postponed the Raymond
Theatre court date to March 7, 2003.
The
Judge requested all Attorneys read the case of San Franciscans
Upholding the Downtown Plan v. City of San Francisco (Forest
City Development, Inc.) (2002) 102 Cal. App. 4th 656; published
October 2, 2002.
Below
are notes (partly paraphrased) on the proceedings.
LA
Superior Court Judge Dzintra I. Janavs: "I have read the briefs
and the record. I don't see anyone citing [San Franciscans
Upholding the Downtown Plan v. City of San Francisco (Forest
City Development, Inc.) (2002) 102 Cal.App.4th 656; published
October 2, 2002]. That case, and this (Raymond Theatre, both
involve CEQA and have other parallels, and are similar
factually. In the San Francisco case, the historical building is
'The Emporium,' which was the seat of the California Supreme
Court for 10 years. Like your case, it had a long history of
development plans, modifications, and feasibility studies. You
should all be familiar with the case. Has anyone here read it?
You should, and be prepared to discuss it. One difference is
that your case (Forecast) has a 'facade easement' or 'open space
easement,' depending on which side you're on. Let's put this
over until the 4th or 5th of March"
Discussion of schedule with Attorneys: Date is reschedule for
March 7, 2003.
Attorney
William Garr (developers Attorney) asks: "Do we need to brief
you on this case, and whether it is distinguished [different] or
not?"
Judge:
"No more briefing, I have enough papers, just come prepared".
Both
cases continued to March 7, 2003, at 9:30 a.m.
We
encourage the public to attend the court date and show your
support for the Raymond Theatre.
When:
March 7, 2002
Where: Los Angeles County Courthouse
111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles,
Dept. 85
9:30 am.
February 4, 2003
The
court date for the Raymond Theatre is scheduled for February
11th, 2003 at the Los Angeles County Courthouse, 111 North Hill
Street, Los Angeles, Dept. 85 at 9:30 am. The Judge is Honorable
Dzintra Janavs. Parking is available around the courthouse. The
public is invited and we encourage those who support
preservation of the Raymond Theatre to please attend. On this
date, a decision will be made on if Raymond Theatre will be
preserved or allowed to be redeveloped into an apartment/retail
complex. If you need further directions to the courthouse,
please e-mail us at:
RaymondTheatre@aol.com
December 18, 2002
We are
asking all our supporters and everyone who visits our website to
help us by asking your friends, family, neighborhood
associations, church and social groups to join our campaign to
help preserve The Raymond Theatre. You can join our cause by
e-mailing:
RaymondTheatre@aol.com
November 19, 2002
We have
been working very hard on fundraising over the past few months.
Friends of the Raymond Theatre is still in need of donations.
Our legal brief was filed in November 2002 and we will be filing
our final reply brief in January 2003. A court date has been set
for The Raymond Theatre in Los Angeles Superior Court, on
February 11, 2003 at 9:30 p.m., Dept. 85.
April
14, 2002
We are
looking for volunteers to help us with the many tasks this
project requires. We need help with public relations, press,
flyer distribution, fundraising, event coordination, raffle
sales, eBay auctions and much more. If you would like volunteer
your time, please e-mail us at:
RaymondTheatre@aol.com
March
1, 2002
Friends
of the Raymond Theatre has started a campaign to raise funds to
pay for legal costs, advocacy efforts, legal fees and assist
with the many daily operating expenses this project requires. A
donation of any amount will help us to continue our 16-year
preservation effort to see Pasadena's historic Raymond Theatre
preserved and revitalized.
February 7, 2002
On
February 7, Friends of the Raymond Theatre filed a lawsuit
against the City of Pasadena for their decision to allow
redevelopment of the Raymond Theatre and it's adjoining parking
lot based on violations of the state California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA).
CEQA law
protects both the environment, endangered species, as well as
historic buildings and places. Under state law, if the City had
one alternative that was feasible to preserve the Raymond
Theatre or lessen the impact on this historic structure, the
City must choose this option under law. Clearly the City Council
did have an option to preserve the Raymond Theatre and chose to
override those considerations.
Friends
of the Raymond Theatre decided to file the lawsuit with another
Pasadena based non-profit organization named the Sage Council.
The Sage Council has offices on Raymond Avenue in Pasadena, CA
and Carthage, NC.
Over the
years, the Pasadena Sage Council has opposed the Raymond Theatre
redevelopment project during hearings and has provided their
expert guidance to Friends of the Raymond Theatre on
CEQA-related legal issues.
Over the
past decade, the Sage Council has successfully litigated
numerous Southern California development projects at the federal
level and also against the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Sage
Council offered to allow us to become a "member group" which
will enable Friends of the Raymond Theatre to receive tax
deductible donations, support and guidance, attorney referrals
and legal review.
We
choose to become co-defendants on the legal suit against the
City of Pasadena so our combined expertise will help us build a
strong team of experts to help defend The Raymond Theatre as we
move through the legal process.
The Law
Office of Craig Sherman, San Diego, CA has been hired by Friends
of the Raymond Theatre and The Sage Council.
Gina
Zamparelli
Executive Director
Friends of the Raymond Theatre
RaymondTheatre@aol.com
www.raymondtheatre.com
Leeona
Klippstein
Executive Director
Spirit of the Sage Council
leeona@sagecouncil.com
www.sagecouncil.com
January 2002
The
Pasadena City Council voted to allow conversion of the Raymond
Theatre to an apartment/retail complex. The plans call for
building apartments in what is now the Raymond Theatre's stage
and stage house, the main auditorium would be converted to
retail space and the balcony would house several floors of
office space. A large apartment building would be built on the
Raymond Theatre's adjoining parking lot.
1989
- January 2002
Over the
years, Friends of the Raymond Theatre have successfully stopped
conversion of the Raymond Theatre to an office building and
modernized nightclub. We are currently working to protect the
Raymond Theatre from conversion to an apartment/retail complex.
After 16 years of successfully winning hearings, the Pasadena
City Council voted in favor of redevelopment in January 2002.
