Neighbors and patrons of Plummer Park have accumulated nearly 700 signatures for a petition to halt the park’s construction project, which is scheduled to commence after the beginning of the year, possibly in January or February.

Major renovations at Plummer Park in West Hollywood are likely to begin in January or February. (photo by Aaron Blevins)

West Hollywood officials are seeking to remodel the park, by adding subterranean parking, more green space and additional amenities. The project will completely renovate Fiesta Hall, while demolishing Great Hall/Long Hall, which will not be rebuilt. The preschool building will be demolished and rebuilt.

“We’re at the point where we’re ready to move forward,” West Hollywood human services director Sam Baxter said, adding that construction preparations are 98 percent completed.

However, the project has resulted in plenty of opposition, with some residents pleading for an opportunity to be heard before the bulldozers infiltrate Plummer Park.

Stephanie Harker, a 28-year resident on Vista Street, said she has been following the project for several years. The more she analyzes the project, the less she understands the city’s objective, she said.

“There’s not one aspect of this that makes any sense, except that they are hell-bent on spending the $41 million,” Harker said. “They don’t ask us if we want [the project]. They say, ‘This is what we’re doing.’”

She said her issues with the project are numerous, but it initially caught her attention when she learned that the city would be altering Fiesta Hall and Great Hall/Long Hall, which were built in 1950 and 1938 respectively.

Though remonstrators were fewer in number then, Harker said she didn’t feel like the city was entertaining their suggestions. That indifference, coupled with the city’s lack of public outreach, is among her greatest concerns, she said.

“They’re not listening to us,” Harker said.

Baxter said the city is trying to address mitigation issues to keep the park as accessible as possible for park patrons throughout the construction. He said the city is taking into account the suggestions made a couple weeks ago at a public meeting at Plummer Park, though they have not been incorporated yet.

“Those plans haven’t been finalized,” Baxter said.

The project will leave intact the community center, the northern portion of the park, the tennis courts and the north parking lot. Baxter said about one-third of the southern parking lot will be open when construction commences. The section of the park that connects to Fuller Street will close after the subterranean parking construction is completed. Baxter said the city will divert park usage to areas unaffected by the work.

Some building uses will also be shifted to West Hollywood Park, Poinsettia Park or Fairfax High School, where city officials are looking to enter a joint-use agreement, he said. Fiesta Hall will be closed throughout the majority of the project, Baxter said, adding that the project should take approximately 22 months.

Tenants of Great Hall/Long Hall will relocate. Baxter said the Russian Library will move to a city-owned building across Santa Monica Boulevard, and the Los Angeles Audubon Society will relocate to a location to be determined.

He said the renovations are part of the city’s Plummer Park Master Plan, which was approved in 1994 and revised in 2004. The project’s $41 million cost will be paid through tax-increment funding and the issuance of bonds and debt payments, Baxter said.

Considering the tough economic times, the $41 million could be spent elsewhere, Harker said. Fellow Vista Street resident Cathy Blaivis echoed that statement, and said she too has several issues with the project.

“The city has a terrible disconnect with what their constituents, i.e. voters, want,” Blaivis said.

While city officials say they are trying to keep the park open as much as possible, she said the city plans to put an 8-foot security fence around the park during the construction. The majority of the park will be impacted by the construction of the underground parking lot as well, Blaivis added.

“In terms of park usage for dog walkers, picnickers and playing chess, the park will be closed,” she said.

Additional issues stemming from the project include the loss of several 100-year-old trees, the loss of shade in the park and new architecture that won’t fit in with surrounding structures.

“How do you find it reasonable to take the birds and trees out of the park?” Harker said, referencing the community center renovations that removed the former bird sanctuary. “They are destroying the park. That’s the bottom line.”

According to city documents, the project will renovate and expand Fiesta Hall, which will serve as a multi-purpose performance venue with theater-style seating. It also includes an interactive water feature, a formal landscaped garden area, new playground equipment, a central park promenade and a Tiny Tot Program building.

Previously, Mayor Pro Tempore Jeffrey Prang said the West Hollywood City Council is interested in resident input on the project, though the plan is in its final stages.

“It is important, at this point, that we pause for a second to see if there’s something we’ve missed or something we can improve upon before it’s officially carved in stone,” Prang said. “We’re just hoping to listen and do whatever we can do to ensure the people feel the process has been fair and open.”

Blaivis said residents may present their petition to the council at its next meeting. She said some aspects of the park could use some work, but not necessarily in the form that the city is proposing.