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Life & Times Transcript
5/4/07 Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times -- Does affordable housing belong on the doorstep of the "Happiest Place on Earth"? Rob Doughty>> Anaheim needs to address the issue of affordable housing, but Anaheim also needs to protect its single largest source of revenue, which is the Anaheim resort area. Isaiah Staley>> In my opinion, you know, Disney is just about the money. They don't want to see anybody in affordable housing. Val Zavala>> And then, the Port of Santa Monica? Wait until you see what almost happened to Bay City?. It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times. Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. With additional support for Life and Times by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. Val Zavala>> Usually, relations between Disneyland and the city of Anaheim are pretty cordial and, when they do have disagreements, they settle them quietly. But this controversy has hit the headlines. It's about housing. Disneyland doesn't want it around the theme park. Why is that? Sam Louie has our story. [Film Clip] Sam Louie>> Disneyland has been marketed as the "Happiest Place on Earth", but these days, not everyone is happy with the Anaheim-based amusement park. It has to do with providing affordable housing for low-income families. Disneyland doesn't want it at their doorstep. Eric Altman>> The reality of what's going on here is that we have a deepening crisis of working poverty. Sam Louie>> Eric Altman is with OCCORD, which stands for Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development. Eric Altman>> This is the site where affordable housing could be built in a resort district. Sam Louie>> The nonprofit agency supports a proposed project to build fifteen hundred condos a couple of blocks away from Disneyland with a portion, fifteen percent, allocated for low-income residents. This is the proposed site. Right now, a mobile home park is here, but the land is in escrow about to be bought by a private developer. Affordable housing supporters welcome the development and feel that Disneyland officials should as well. Eric Altman>> It really, in some way, shocks and surprises me that they would go to such extreme lengths to stop this from happening. Sam Louie>> Altman says that Anaheim's working poor are facing a serious housing shortage. Eric Altman>> Today in Orange County, you need to earn as a family $28.56 an hour in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Sam Louie>> Case in point, Antonio Castillo lives in a one-bedroom Anaheim apartment with his wife and adult son. The apartment is also used for babysitting his two grandchildren every day. Antonio Castillo>> It's really, really tight here. Like they need a space for to play. Sam Louie>> Castillo works for one of the Disney hotels, setting up tables for banquets. He estimates that seventy percent of his income goes towards their nine hundred dollar rent. Antonio Castillo>> Sometimes when I count my money, I say to my wife, "You know, it's not enough." I think at this time I'm just living for to live. I don't save money. Sam Louie>> In fact, money is so tight, Castillo carries around several envelopes to make sure none of it is squandered. Antonio Castillo>> I separate money for my rent, money for a loan I have with a bank and for my brother. Sam Louie>> Because of the tight budget, he can't give his grandchildren the experiences many youngsters enjoy. Antonio Castillo>> Sea World, Universal Studios. Sam Louie>> The grandchildren do get one perk: free visits to Disneyland. But more than this, Castillo would love to find a bigger place for his family. You don't want to live in this kind of condition forever? Antonio Castillo>> No, no. I don't want to live in these kinds of conditions, but I think at this time I have no choice. Sam Louie>> Over the past ten years, Anaheim has built no low-income housing, none. So when the proposed housing development came up, the City Council also proposed an amendment to the general plan. The amendment would require a certain percentage of new housing to be allocated for low-income families within Anaheim's resort district. Eric Altman>> If you build residential housing, if you build condominiums in the resort district in Anaheim, that you're going to have to commit fifteen percent to be affordable. Sam Louie>> Rob Doughty of Disney acknowledges the need for more housing, but he says that the 2.2 miles zoned as a commercial resort district should stay as is. Rob Doughty>> Anaheim needs to address the issue of affordable housing, but Anaheim also needs to protect its single largest source of revenue, which is the Anaheim resort area. Sam Louie>> To protect it, Disneyland Resort has filed a lawsuit against the city of Anaheim challenging any potential zoning change. Rob Doughty>> Housing does not belong in the resort area. The city itself created the vision in 1994 and specifically said that residentials should not be allowed in the resort area and now they're going back on their word and that's just not right. Sam Louie>> But last summer, Anaheim's City Council voted to consider residential development inside the resort area. As a result, Disney is also on the offensive. Disney wants to lock in this area for resort use only and it looks like the clash could go to the voters. Disney and other big businesses are in the process of putting an initiative on the city ballot that would keep this a commercial district. If it passes, any future changes would require voter approval. Elaine Cali>> I think it's great for them to understand what tourism is all about, the importance of tourism, and let them have a voice. Let me understand that tourism is important and let them choose how they want their city to be represented. Sam Louie>> Among those who support the initiative that would restrict housing is Elaine Cali of the Anaheim-Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau. Elaine Cali>> It's just the synergy of the entertainment, the theme parks, the hotels, the restaurants. It makes it sort of a huge downtown environment for visitors which really kind of creates a lot of energy and gets people to want to come here. Sam Louie>> Disney is also looking to possibly build a third theme park on this strawberry field which Disney owns, making housing here even less appropriate. But those who have fallen on harder times see things differently. Isaiah Staley>> Disney is just about the money. They don't want to see anybody in affordable housing. Sam Louie>> Isaiah Staley and Lisa Matthews have been homeless off and on for the past several years. They rummage through trash bins looking for anything worth recycling. Lisa Matthews>> We have to do something like this until a job comes through and the job would probably be for maybe two days, a week or something like that, and that's not enough to really have a stable home. Sam Louie>> The possibility of having more affordable housing built nearby excites them. Lisa Matthews>> I love the sound of it if they will give people like us a chance. Rob Doughty>> Housing is absolutely an issue that needs to be addressed here, but it's a broader issue than just Disney or just Anaheim. It's a southern California problem. It's a California problem. It's even a national problem. Sam Louie>> But for those living in Anaheim like Antonio Castillo, he's slowly realizing that his American dream of home ownership may be out of reach. Antonio Castillo>> The money I'm earning is not enough for the payment of another apartment. Sam Louie>> So what will this area around Disney look like in the future? Will we continue to see more hotels and restaurants or will new neighbors get to call this place home? The City Council voted to support the development. Meanwhile, enough signatures have been gathered to put this issue on the February ballot. I'm Sam Louie for Life and Times. Val Zavala>> So should there by housing around Disneyland or not? We'd love to know your opinion and you can post it on our blog. Just go to kcet.org and click on the Life and Times Blog. Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, plus transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org, scroll down the page and click on "Life and Times". Val Zavala>> There are big things happening right in the middle of Los Angeles. Work is underway on a thirteen hundred acre state park with views to die for and that's great news for this park-poor city. Dave McNeill is head of the Baldwin Hills Conservancy. He gave me a tour of the construction site. About sixty of the thirteen hundred acres will be developed and, in the heart of it, a beautiful Visitors Center. And beyond that, a commanding view of the city. This has been your dream for about, what, seven years when you first acquired this land? Dave McNeill>> Well, yeah. When the state bought the land, it was in 2000 and we did a big planning process from 2000 to 2002 saying what do we want to put up here? We've got sixty-eight acres to work with. What kind of things would the community need? Val Zavala>> Sixty-eight acres, and this is going into the middle of Los Angeles which is notoriously park-poor, they call it. I mean, this is a big deal. Dave McNeill>> Yeah, this is. For me, it's kind of a lifetime dream. But for a lot of people before me, it's been ongoing. You don't get a big hit like sixty-eight acres that quickly. So that was a big landmark and this is, I guess, the jewel of Baldwin Hills because it's got the best views from the west to the east, to north and south, which is a hard thing to get in Los Angeles too. So it's coveted. Val Zavala>> So what is this construction going to be? Dave McNeill>> This is the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. It's going to be an eight thousand square foot facility. It's going to feature interpretive exhibits. It will start off with an interpretive exhibit that talks about the built environment versus the natural environment and the evolution of Los Angeles from downtown all the way out to the ocean. Then you'll go through these long halls that have different descriptions of what's going on, what you're going to see at the park, and then there will be an administrative building obviously for the staff. Then last will be the media theater, so you'll be able to sit inside the room and they'll have a projection screen and a ranger talking to you from either the desert in Anza Borrego or the beach near you. Val Zavala>> So you can come here and get an overview of all the variety of parks and topography throughout California? Dave McNeill>> Correct, correct. Yeah, they have the breeding of the sea lions in Ana Nuevo down at the coast too, so you'll be able to see those kinds of things. So you'll get the first taste of California state parks in an urban setting and then, hopefully, spur their desire to see more. Then there will be a plaza and a multi-purpose room. So that'll be something that people can come and rent and do their kind of activities, whether they want to meditate or have a meeting or just have a small get-together. The plaza will spill out some concessions. You know, some people can get some coffee or a sandwich, etc. And the plaza will be set out where people can sit outside and enjoy the view. As you go past that, there will be an interpretive garden that will have all the native plants that we have around California, drought-resistant. We will promote the idea of saving water and conserving and having the beauty that we see, you know, in our natural deserts and/or the mountains, the coastal range. Val Zavala>> But, of course, one of the main reasons that people will come here is this incredible view. So let's take a look at what will happen if we walk through the Visitors Center, right, and then what we see after that. Dave McNeill>> Fantastic. [Film Clip] Val Zavala>> So there's basically three incredible views. One is the Getty, one is the observatory, and now we're going to have the Baldwin Hills Overlook? Dave McNeill>> Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook. Val Zavala>> Scenic Overlook. And this is the western ridge, you call it? Dave McNeill>> Yeah, this is the western ridge of the Baldwin Hills. They're split by La Cienega, so the western side is closest to the ocean and the eastern side is closest to downtown. Val Zavala>> And there's actually going to be a physical overlook where people can perch, in a sense, and really enjoy the view. That's going to be amazing. Dave McNeill>> That's funny. Yeah, it's going to be a bird's eye view of Los Angeles as you stated with the perch. It's pretty unique and it's one of a kind. We're on the inside looking out and that's pretty rare in Los Angeles because everything's surrounding it. Val Zavala>> And it is incredible what we can see. Westwood is right over your shoulder and the Mormon Temple. And you can see all the way across down Wilshire Corridor into Culver City and even all the way over to Marina del Rey and ultimately, I guess, the airport. I mean, it's an incredible view and this is only half of it. Dave McNeill>> (Laughter) This is the west side, right. This is one that's west of the 405, let's say. No, the 405 is over here, but yeah. Val Zavala>> But tell us what it means also to this area. Because not that far from us is south Los Angeles. Dave McNeill>> This is the story that, you know, doesn't get told very often and that is, you know, we have a lot of resources in California, a lot of beauty that doesn't get seen by a lot of people. Like you said, people don't make it to the beach and certainly people don't always make it to the Santa Monica Mountains or to Lake Tahoe or any of the places that you have the state investing money in. This is a bus ride away. It's a bicycle ride away for a lot of kids. We have about three million people living within a five-mile radius of the Baldwin Hills and they are indisputably park-poor with one acre per one thousand people. That's just any kind of park, grass and trees. We're talking about a unique kind of park that really speaks to California's native heritage, native culture, native environment and they'll be able to see things they haven't seen. What we try to do with this scenic overlook is incorporate a really big educational component into it. We're working with partners like the Sierra Club and the Audubon Society. They'll be able to work here and give tours and, you know, hand out literature. California State Parks will certainly be talking about all the things that they do throughout the state. Val Zavala>> So when is all of this going to be ready for people to enjoy? Dave McNeill>> Well, we're expecting to have a grand opening, the California State Parks and everyone who's been involved in the process, a year from now. Val Zavala>> That's fast. Dave McNeill>> Well, things have been going along pretty good. This has been a fourteen-month construction schedule and we're already three or four months in, so this is great. Val Zavala>> So there will be a big ribbon cutting, I assume? Dave McNeill>> Yeah. Will you be there? Val Zavala>> You got it (laughter). Obviously, besides all the educational amenities and the Visitors Center, there's good old plain hiking, right? Dave McNeill>> There's the best hiking you can find five minutes away from your car and you'll see some of the same things you'll see all the way up and down the coast in this coastal zone. This park is weaved together very nicely. It's coming together and that's the idea of having this master plan because you take different pieces and you expose people to certainly ball fields and certainly the Visitors Center, but we also have a lot of things that people can't see in terms of the habitat, the coastal sage scrub, the birds, you know, just the wildlife that's here. Val Zavala>> So this is an important link in a chain of nature areas or parks, is that correct, that's going to stretch from where to where? Dave McNeill>> Well, you know, if you look at it and it's hard to look at this and say, "How are we going to create some sort of corridor?" Because the dream is really to get from the ocean to downtown and experience the built and the natural environment. Val Zavala>> Wow, that's amazing. Well, Dave McNeill, congratulations on a very, very tough project, but it's all coming together beautifully and we know you've put a lot of work into it. Dave McNeill>> Well, a lot of people put a lot of work in, but thanks to you for coming back out. Val Zavala>> My pleasure. Dave McNeill>> All right. Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address: Life and Times 4401 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90027 You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org. Val Zavala>> Did you know that a railroad used to run alongside Santa Monica Beach? And some people wanted Santa Monica to become the huge port that Los Angeles Harbor is today? But Santa Monica Beach was destined for different things and now a local historian is telling its story. His book is called "Santa Monica Beach: A Collector's Pictorial History". Vicki Curry talked with the author, Ernest Marquez. Vicki Curry>> Ernest Marquez has spent years compiling his family history, but that history is also the history of the town of Santa Monica. In 1839, the Mexican government granted much of the land there to his great-grandfathers, Ysidro Reyes and Francisco Marquez. Ernest Marquez>> It consisted of six thousand six hundred fifty-six acres and they settled in Santa Monica Canyon. My great-grandfather had a home in Santa Monica Canyon and so did Ysidro Reyes and they raised cattle. This was a cattle ranch at that time. Ysidro Reyes's youngest daughter and Francisco Marquez's youngest son, Pascual Marquez, married and they are my grandfather and grandmother. Vicki Curry>> So they settled here in the 1830's and cattle-ranched, but they soon found that a lot of people liked to come and visit from Los Angeles and they allowed those people to hang out on their land. Ernest Marquez>> That's right. During the 1850's, Santa Monica Canyon was a popular resort for people living in Los Angeles. They had a horse and buggy that would bring people to the beach at the mouth of the canyon. There was obviously nothing there but the creek and a few sycamore trees and people set up tents and they could stay there over the weekend or as long as they liked. Vicki Curry>> Santa Monica started booming in 1875 with the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The township was established and the Santa Monica Hotel was built at what is now the corner of Ocean Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. It was soon followed by the first bath house built by Michael Duffy in 1876. Ernest Marquez>> And all through the years, they just kept getting bigger and bigger. After Michael Duffy's bath house, the Santa Monica bath house was established and then, later in 1894, the North Beach bath house was built. But in order to reach the beach, they built a staircase at the foot of Arizona Avenue and it was a wooden staircase that had ninety-nine steps in it. They called it the Ninety-Nine Steps throughout its entire life. That access to the beach is still there today. Today it's a cement overpass that crosses over the Coast Highway to the beach. Vicki Curry>> The luxury Arcadia Hotel was built in 1886 and included Santa Monica's first roller coaster built not for amusement, but for transporting guests to the center of town. Ernest Marquez>> The thing traveled about five hundred feet, but it took a whole minute to do it. It went very slowly and it was all gravity-run. They would start down a steep hill and that was enough momentum to take it all the way to the other side. Vicki Curry>> Although Santa Monica was quickly becoming a resort town, the businessmen of the time weren't interested in tourism dollars. A railroad magnet named Collis P. Huntington wanted Santa Monica to compete with San Pedro to be the primary harbor for the city of Los Angeles. Ernest Marquez>> To do that, he built a wharf just above Santa Monica Canyon that extended out into the sea four thousand seven hundred fifty feet. It was almost a mile long and, at that time, it was the largest wooden pier in the world. He got the right-of-way for railroad tracks that would be run from Los Angeles through a tunnel all along the base of the cliffs here to the long wharf and then out onto the wharf. Finally the Congress of the United States said the harbor should be at San Pedro and not anyplace else. When that happened, of course, businesses and the long wharf declined, and by 1916, it was half demolished and, about 1920, it was gone completely. Vicki Curry>> But during the short life of the long wharf, a Japanese fisherman came to town and a village of about three hundred families soon developed. Ernest Marquez>> The Japanese families in Los Angeles started coming down here. They had Japanese fishermen there who would go out fishing and soon they built hotels and it became a resort for the Japanese families in Los Angeles. Vicki Curry>> The long wharf was just one of many piers built and destroyed during the early years of Santa Monica, but one still remains. The Santa Monica Pier. It was originally called the Municipal Pier and was built in 1909 to hold a sewage pipe. That didn't stop it from being a tourist attraction, especially when an amusement pier was built right alongside it. Ernest Marquez>> Well, the second pier was built in 1916 by a man named Charles Looff. He was a manufacturer of amusement rides. He made carved animals for carousels. It's still there. The carousel is still there and the bowling and billiard building are the only two original buildings that were built in 1916 that are still on the pier. Vicki Curry>> Santa Monica continued to grow in the early days of the twentieth century. The Santa Monica Land and Water Company, which had owned most of the land on the beach, began selling lots to individuals for private homes. Ernest Marquez>> In the 1920's, the movie industry and movie stars discovered this area that would be a nice place to have a home because it would be isolated. They started buying these lots and building homes on what they called the Gold Coast. The largest home built on the coast was Marian Davies' house. It was paid for by William Randolph Hearst. Vicki Curry>> It was during this time that Ernest Marquez was born and, over his eighty years, he has watched the landscape of Santa Monica grow from a small town to what it is today. Ernest Marquez>> Well, it's changed so much that I don't recognize it as my hometown. All the things I knew as a young man or a young boy are no longer there. It's not the same place. I just don't recognize it. Vicki Curry>> One thing he does recognize is a place in a canyon neighborhood hidden away from public view. So, Ernest, this is something that's not included in your book, but I wanted to come and see it because it's a very interesting part of your family history. What is this place? Where are we? Ernest Marquez>> We are in our own family private cemetery that we think was established sometime in the 1840's by my great-grandfather, Francisco Marquez. He was living here in the canyon. Right where we're standing was where his adobe was constructed. Vicki Curry>> And this is the primary marker. There's one other on the lot, but that's it. The rest of the graves are unmarked. Ernest Marquez>> The other graves had wooden markers and, over the years, they've been taken away or lost, or I don't know what's happened to them. Vicki Curry>> And it's just this little piece of land that's tucked in amongst a bunch of houses that have grown up around it here in Santa Monica Canyon. Ernest Marquez>> That's right. I think it's charming just the way it is. You know, it's natural in its own way. Vicki Curry>> Ernest Marquez, author of the book, "Santa Monica Beach", thank you so much for sharing all of this with us. Ernest Marquez>> Oh, you're welcome. Val Zavala>> The name of his book again is "Santa Monica Beach: A Collector's Pictorial History". And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time. Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education. And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg. With additional support for Life and Times from The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation. Sponsored in part by:  | |
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