Neighborhood Councils Oppose Cellular Antennae Near Southwest Museum

The on Thursday evening joined a chorus of community voices  expressing opposition to a plan supported by the Autry National Center to place a "cellular technology package" atop a storage bin near the in Mount Washington.

The Newport Beach based telecommunications company Clearwire Corp.  began applying for land use permits last year as a "non exclusive agent" of the Autry National Center, which owns the Southwest Museum.

According to a land use application filed with the Los Angeles City Planning Department by Clearwire Corp. with permission from Autry National Center, the plan call for the installation of antennae on three existing pole mounts and one GPS antenna atop the shed.  The application also calls for the installation of a five foot tall screen around the top of the shed.

The shed is located on top of a hill that overlooks the Southwest Museum; it is also directly in the sightline of several Mount Washington homes.

According to the , community members are speaking out against the project because they believe it would detract from the historical character of the Southwest Museum and cause visual blight.

Other local organizations to formally state their opposition to the project include and the Mount Washington Homeowner's Alliance.

On March 1, the heritage trust wrote a letter to the planning department, urging them to reconsider their decision to grant the project a mitigated negative impact declaration--a decision which amounts to the planning board stating that the project would have no negative environmental impact if some minor changes were made to the plan.

"Highland Park Heritage Trust believes the Mitigated Negative Declaration is insufficient and requests that the city undertake additional environmental review to look at two "environmental factors potentially affected" that were not included in the initial study checklist: 1) Cultural Resources and 2) Land Use and Planning," the letter states. "We do not agree that aesthetics is the only potential environmental impact."

The letter points out that the Southwest Museum is included in the Highland Park-Garvanza Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, is listed as a Historic Cultural Monument and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and that any alteration of the property's character should have been considered in the initial environmental review.

In their application however, Clearwire Corp. states that the placement of wireless telecommunications facilities have always been based on technical requirements, including geographical elevation and customer demand. As a result, their application states, "wireless telecommunications facilities have been located adjacent to and within all major land use categories including residential, commercial, industrial, open space, etc. and have proven to be compatible with all locations."

However, Nicole Possert of the the Highland Park Heritage Trust, told the neighborhood council last night that Mount Washington residents have already expressed concerns about the height of the project.

The empty storage shed is 10 feet tall, and according to the application, the cellular technology package and attendant fence would add another five feet of height.

"The shelter would go from 10 feet to 15 feet and would be much more apparent on the nook to the overlook," Possert said.

She added that the footprint of the lease would extend far beyond the shed.

"The area that would be leased by Clearwire is much larger than than the project area and would include access via a residential lot on Crane Blvd.," she said.

The next step in Clearwire's application process will be a public hearing with a planning department hearing officer, during which the public will be able make comments about the project.

The hearing has yet to be scheduled.

Janet Dodson, of the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, said she believed the Autry's efforts to install the cellular technology was part of a deliberate plan to degrade the historical character of the Southwest Museum, in an effort to strengthen their case that the museum is not an appropriate location for the vast and valuable collection that is currently housed there.

Museum supporters from Mount Washington and Highland Park have clashed with the Autry brass since the Autry National Center merged with the Southwest Museum in  2003.  In 2005, the Autry shut down public exhibitions at the Southwest Museum and then completely closed its doors to the public in 2009.

Local museum boosters believe the Autry National Center is dead-set on relocating the historical collection to a more affluent neighborhood, which they argue is evidenced by their recent purchase of a storage facility for the Southwest Museum's collection in the city of Burbank.

"The Autry has shown a consistent inclination to devalue [The Southwest Museum] as a building and historic site, and putting up this kind of structure will further that," Dodson said.

Yadhira De Leon, spokesperson for the Autry National Center, said the Autry plans to lease the storage shed to the Clearwire if they are able to secure the needed land use permits. However, she said the Autry is not investing any energy in supporting Clearwire's effort to attain the needed permits.

"The agreement is that the Autry will lease the shed to Clearwire if they can secure the needed permits, if they can't secure those permits, we're not going to force the issue," De Leon said.

De Leon also told Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch the Autry is still interested in reopening the Southwest Museum to display its massive collection, but has yet to find the appropriate partners.