Just before the latest economic recovery numbers for May were released, members of the Hollywood business community gathered on June 16 for the Hollywood Economic Development Summit 2011.

Jerold Neuman (center) moderated a discussion with former City Councilmembers Michael Woo and Jackie Goldberg that focused on the current and future economic state of Hollywood. The discussion was hosted by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. (photo by Matt Wilhalme)

The event, held at the Arclight Hollywood, was presented by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and featured panel discussions on Hollywood’s past with former L.A. City Council representatives; Michael Woo and Jackie Goldberg and a discussion of its future with current developers.

“While a lot of the city (of Los Angeles) has stopped development altogether, Hollywood has never stopped,” City Council President Eric Garcetti, 13th  District, said in a video segment shown at the summit. Garcetti was not present because he was fulfilling his Naval Reserve obligations. “We have had ground breakings and ribbon cuttings, even through these bad times, it has never stopped.”

Illustrating that fact is Hollywood landing the hottest show in town.

On July 21, Cirque du Soleil’s latest creation, “Iris”, debuts at the Kodak Theatre. Iris, a Hollywood film inspired show, will take viewers on a journey through the history of cinema, according to Cirquedusoleil.com.

“We have probably the biggest infusion of visitors to Hollywood in a decade with the opening of Cirque du Soleil that will bring in more than one million visitors to Hollywood who otherwise wouldn’t be there,” Garcetti said.

But people weren’t always coming to Hollywood, said Goldberg, former Hollywood representative on the L.A. City Council from 1993-2000.

“We had maps of everyone who was leaving, we had no green dots for people who were coming in,” Goldberg said.

More than 25 years ago, the Hollywood Redevelopment Plan was adopted by the city council, added Woo, who represented Hollywood on the city council from 1985-1993.

“Times were really different then, especially, as we got to the early ‘90s, the economy was in the state of recession, and there hadn’t been any major projects in Hollywood in a while,” Woo said.

The challenge was getting a plan together that could gather enough community support and make it through the city council, which was no easy task, according to Woo. At the time, there was a greater need to demonstrate that a project could really happen.

“Whoever the next council member is going to be doesn’t have to address that same fear that nothing is going to happen in Hollywood,” Woo said mentioning Garcetti’s termed-out status for the 2012 election. “The next council member needs to have some ideas.”

When Goldberg took office in 1993, she said she looked at Hollywood as three separate areas: places people lived, places people worked and places for entertainment.

“We started with housing, we started with parks and then we got a little lucky,” Goldberg said, “You never call an earthquake lucky, but it was lucky, because some of the worst slum lords decided not to fix their buildings and that gave us an opportunity.”

Goldberg said that today’s Hollywood is about 85 percent of what her vision of the future is on the area.

Developers at the summit still have grand visions for Hollywood.

“I think we have to be realistic,” said Michael Gargano, managing director at Argent Ventures. “The economy is really challenging right now…but I think long term the trend is unstoppable growth.”

But despite economic factors, Bob Champion, founder and president of Champion Real Estate Co., said the area still maintains a hip image for young people and as the public transportation system becomes more developed, there will be more jobs, and more growth.

“Hollywood is one of the larger urban areas that still has substantial underdeveloped land,” said John Given, principal for investment and development for the CIM Group. “In the early years, there was a tremendous effort that Councilmember Goldberg’s office made to expedite permits for small businesses and production companies so that Hollywood would be a good place to do business.”

But the members on the city council need to continue their support for business in order to keep development projects alive, Given said.

At the summit, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce called for the reform of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) laws. These laws, the chamber noted, have caused more than 6,000 jobs to be lost in Hollywood over a two year time period.

Adopted with the purpose of protecting the environment, CEQA has been abused to delay development projects in Hollywood to the point where developers can no longer hold on to properties and are forced to give up on projects, a statement released by the chamber said. CEQA requires state and local agencies to identify the impact of proposed projects and find ways to correct any potentially negative consequences.

In order to support growth in Hollywood, Goldberg said, once an elected official decides to back a proposal, they need to commit to the fight for development at the legislative level.

“I think the next councilmember for Hollywood needs to have guts and spine,” Goldberg told the audience of mostly developers. “But that could mean saying no to everyone in this room.”