A working group including area residents, local community leaders and representatives of the developer of the Town and Country Mall project, at Third Street and Fairfax Avenue, has been formed to advise City Council Member David Ryu on the development of the site.
“Our goal is to facilitate a conversation between the developer and community stakeholders that is productive and positive, leading to real solutions and options,” explained Emma Howard, Senior Planner for Council Member David Ryu. “The hope is that we’ll get consensus on a site design that improves the property, provides community benefits, and minimizes impacts, especially to Hancock Park Elementary School during construction and after. This conversation isn’t meant to bypass the public process but to parallel it, and we expect the outcomes from the working group to help inform the public review and comment and vice versa.”
According to Howard, the group will have a short portion of their meetings open to the public,. The group will report on its progress and working group members who also serve on the Mid City West Community Council’s Land Use committee will make regular reports to that body.
Members of the working group include:
Karen Hollis former Assistant Principal, Hancock Park Elementary
Diana Plotkin, Beverly Wilshire Homes Association
Rosalie Wayne, MidCity West Community Council (MCWCC)
Keith Nakata, Co-Chair of MCWCC Planning and Land Use Committee (PLUM)
Mehmet Berker, Co-Chair of MCWCC Planning and Land Use Committee (PLUM)
Jim O’Sullivan, Miracle Mile Residents Association
Henry Van Moyland, MCWCC Transportation Committee and Abundant Housing LA
Teresa Feldman, Area Resident
Chris Scroggins, Park La Brea
Sharon Keyser, Senior VP Planning, Government & Community Relations, Caruso
Margalit Ward, Communications Liaison, Pan Pacific Park Advisory Board:
Shanon D. Trygstad, Friends of Hancock Park Elementary School
Al Grazioli, LASUSD
Gwenn Godek, CEQA Advisor LAUSD
Barbara Yaroslavsky, Area Resident
Development team members include:
Tom Warren- Holland Partner Group-
John Nahas- Regency Centers
Ed Reyes, Consultant
Eric Shabsis, Eric Shabsis Public Affairs
Representatives from CD4:
Emma Howard, CD4 Senior Planner
Rob Fisher, Mid City Field Deputy & Community Planner
Howard and her counterpart in CD10 previously formed a similar working group to consult with the developer of The Heights, a two-building project by Bastion Development at Manhattan Place and Olympic Blvd. That project ultimately won the support of the community and the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council.
