January 10, 2013    |  By Judy Dunlap

History: The abandoned service station at La Cienega / Fairview / La Tijera has been the number one eyesore of North Inglewood for more than a decade.

The property is privately owned by owned by Thrifty Oil. For many years it was leased to BP-ARCO, the corporation that also closed down the station. That long- term lease ended on May 2012. In 2008, in an attempt to bring about a solution to this eyesore, I was able to get the Inglewood Municipal Code (IMC) amended to permit ancillary uses of this parcel. The ancillary uses consisted of a park, community garden, dog park, parking lot, etc. Members of the community were hopeful that something was finally going to be done and attended the Planning Commission and city council meetings in full support of the changes to the IMC. As a result of these changes, during the former tenant, BP-ARCO went through the application process to request that the site be converted into a small parking lot. Their plan was to tear down the current structures, install a grassy mound around the perimeter of the property to make it appear more “park-like” when viewed from the surrounding streets, and build approximately 20 videomonitored parking spaces. There was to be no over- night parking; vehicles that violated this statute would be subject to immediate towing. At the request of neighbors, the cut-out on the La Tijera side where vehicles currently park was to be eliminated. The estimated cost of these improvements was $150,000 and was to be borne solely by BP-ARCO. The community would have preferred pure open space but the decision was not ours to make.

After all the approvals for this project had been grant- ed to BP-ARCO, a final sign-off was required of the owner, Thrifty Oil. After first granting their approval at the Planning Commission level, Thrifty Oil changed their mind and notified the City that they would not permit the new use. Thus, the application “died” and the property remains in the same blighted condition that we see today. For those of you who have done research on this matter over the years, you know that there is a statute in the IMC that requires abandoned service stations to be torn down if they are blight- ed and are no longer operable. However, a legal opinion from Inglewood’s city attorney informed the City Council years ago that this code section, if acted upon, would subject the City to potential litigation and therefore was unenforceable.

Update: Thrifty Oil recently approached the City with a proposal to clear and landscape the property and install a two-sided V-shaped LED billboard, with one sign facing southbound La Cienega and one sign facing north- bound La Cienega. The submitted design has the display boards sloped in such a way as to diminish the light that might affect the residential properties to the west. The residential properties to the east would be mostly looking into the backside of the billboards where there is limited illumination.

Current zoning (R-1) does not permit the installation of billboards. In addition, billboard regulations in the IMC requires that seven square feet of existing bill- board space must be eliminated for every one square foot of new billboard space being created.
We are all tired and frustrated with the status quo blight and the rag-tag northern entrance into our city.

At the District 2 Town Hall meeting held on October 25, 2012, copies of Thrifty Oil’s proposal were distributed to those in attendance. If you would like a copy of this proposal, please call my office at or email us at .

In Conclusion: This property was NEVER in a Redevelopment Project Area, the City has NEVER had excess General Fund money with which to purchase it nor did we ever have any control over this property, and our attorneys would NEVER al- low staff to enforce the IMC statute which demands that the blighted structures be demolished. The city’s hands have been tied.

Please contact my office to let me know what you think about Thrifty Oil’s proposal to clear the site and install an LED billboard. Thank you!

Inglewood District 2 Council Member Judy Dunlap

December 10, 2012    |  By Judy Dunlap

What do Pincay Way, Kareem Court, Davis Drive, Justice Thurgood Marshall Plaza,Gladys Waddingham Lecture Hall, Rogers Park, Darby Park, Siminski Park and Vincent Park all have in common?

They are all public-owned streets/facilities that have been renamed by a vote of the Inglewood City Council.

What else do these renamed public-owned streets/ facilities have in common? NONE of them were renamed by following the process outlined in Inglewood Municipal Code (IMC) Section 2-293 – Procedure: Renaming of Public Streets/Facilities.

For those of you who watch Inglewood City Council meetings on Time/Warner Cable Channel 35 on Wednesday and Friday evenings at 7:00 p.m. or view them on the city’s website (cityofinglewood.org) via YouTube, you know that the council majority is doing everything possible to thwart the public interest when it comes to elected officials having the freedom to speak on items of concern/interest
to their community without having these issues first reviewed and ultimately controlled by city staff and/or the mayor.

The councilman from District 1 recently submitted an exciting proposal to rename Crenshaw Drive to Endeavour Lane to commemorate our city’s historic participation in the retirement of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, a once in a lifetime historic moment that will live forever in the hearts and minds of our community. Its spectacular two-day passage through our city along Manchester Boulevard, Crenshaw Drive and Crenshaw Boulevard on October 12 and 13th was not only broadcast nationally but internationally!

When will Inglewood residents be able to attend the ribbon cutting? If the mayor and the two council members who voted to censure and re- strict what the residents of Inglewood are allowed to know and act upon continue to have their way... NEVER! Or, maybe it would be more accurate to say, in 2016?

It seems that the street/facilities renaming procedure outlined in the municipal code, by which past mayors and city councils have apparently never abided in the past, has now become sacrosanct. Blocking a legislator’s ability to represent his constituency and the city-at-large because of petty politics is just plain wrong.

Inglewood residents deserve better.

December 08, 2012    |  By Judy Dunlap

When the City of Inglewood administration ran into trouble owing to waste, fraud and abuse that was rampant in the Section 8 Housing Program (as cited in the HUD audits of 2003, 2004 and 2005), those responsible took measures to cover up the problems instead of fixing them. Four million dollars of general fund money was quietly transferred into the housing account to cover the significant losses. This was money that could have been spent on neighborhood streets and sidewalks.

Since no one was held accountable and little to nothing was done to fix the problems, the mismanagement continued. In ensuing years, up- wards of $100k per month of general fund money was still being used to subsidize this federal program. General fund money is money for local neighborhood streets, sidewalks and other general government purposes. If it is being used to subsidize a mismanaged Housing Program, then it is not going to be available to resurface streets, trim trees or fill potholes. Even HUD stated that Inglewood residents were the losers in these money transfers. More recent HUD audit findings resulted in the city being forced to “write off” what amounted to a $5 million general fund “loan” to the Housing fund or risk losing all future funding. This action took place at the March 6, 2012 city council meeting.

The question has been asked, “Couldn’t the city have asked HUD for reimbursement of this money so the general fund could be repaid?” The answer is, “Yes, the city could have, but it didn’t.” No one in administration ever got around to filling out the paperwork for the $5 million reimbursement.

We now have a Housing Manager overseeing the Section 8 Program who will make sure that this lack of program oversight never again occurs. Secondly, as of October 1, 2012, we have a new Chief Financial Officer/Assistant City Manager, David Esparza, who will be examining the City’s processes and procedures for both reporting and accounting of all outside funds coming into the city. His many years of financial management expertise will bring a much-needed level of accountability to Inglewood residents and taxpayers. Check out the city’s Web site to read the background on the March 6, 2012 agenda item describing the $5 million dollar write off to the general fund. Also, the video of the meeting is available in the city clerk’s office or in the library. HUD audits are public records. members of the public should be aware of this form of due diligence available to them.