City Hall’s Puzzling Attitude
As thefrontpageonline.com reported over the weekend, the small, environment-oriented Star Prep Academy, operated by one member of the Bozzi family, opened about three years ago inside of the Star Eco Station, owned and run by two other Bozzi family members, assertedly without notifying City Hall. The city did not learn of the Star Prep Academy’s existence, it says, until two years after the Academy went into operation at 10101 Jefferson Blvd. The neighborhood has been zoned for small industry. You would think City Hall would be doubly mad because the owners evidently did not disclose the school’s existence, did not take out papers and are operating at a location not zoned for a school. On the contrary. The strongest feeling City Hall could work up was, “Oh, fudge.” Or, “darn, darn, darn.” And then poof, the negative feelings went away. City Hall appears to me to be treating this matter with all the seriousness of a $35 parking ticket. Whoop-dee-doo.
A Matter of Personality
City Atty. Carol Schwab is one of the nicest people I know. Her niceness is genuine. Almost a year after City Hall discovered that the Star Prep Academy was in permit violation, Ms. Schwab sent a kid-gloves letter to the owner of the Star Prep Academy. Far from a crackdown or a threat of further action after apparently making no progress on compliance, Ms. Schwab sent out a soft letter this past June 7. It was the kind of letter that I think would have businessman Les Surfas doing cartwheels down Culver Boulevard if City Hall treated him so generously. Ms. Schwab wrote: “Please be advised that this is not a situation that can be permitted to continue. Unfortunately, it appears that correspondence and phone calls from city staff to you have failed to produce the results that the city needs to see to preclude the possibility of taking civil and criminal action against you. In light of the foregoing, it seems that the next reasonable step that the city can take, short of commencing civil and criminal action, is to invite you to attend an office conference with city staff whereby any confusion or misunderstanding regarding the seriousness of this situation may be clarified, and any questions or concerns you have may be adequately addressed.” To be slightly hyperbolic, it seems to say, we have the option of hanging you, but, aw shucks, it is merely a misunderstanding, so why don’t we sit down and clarify the little wrinkle so we all can go on with clean hearts.
Postscript
Also in the files on this case is an Aug. 1 letter from a Star Eco Station neighbor, M-E Engineers. While expressing concerns about perceived dangers caused by the school, the company says it wants to be a good neighbor but “we are not sure” the present location is appropriate for a school, even a small one. And so, after failing to convince the Academy people for more than a year to comply with regulations, City Hall seemed to me On Monday night, the city was asking the Redevelopment Agency to consider waiving the Design for Development restriction would not allow a school to operate at that address or even in that neighborhood. Pretty amazing, I would say.