SR-506-004-01 (3)
'CA RLK: SSS :GKY :mc _ santa_onlca,
Council Htg. 03-13-, Callfornla
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.5CJ6-t/CJ5/-o/ 71t
TO: Mayor and Clty CounCll MAR 1 3 1979
FROM: Clty Attorney
S UEJECT: Public llearlng for Acqulsitlon of Easement for Fourth
Street Stalrway Replacement between Ocean Avenue (In
Los Angeles) and Adelalde Drlve (In Santa Monlca).
Introductlon
ThlS report transmlts for approval a recommendatlon for
Clty Councll to adopt the attached resolutlon regard1ng easement
acqulsltlon by Emlnent Domaln proceedlngs after a publlC hearlng.
Background
On September 27, 1977, the Clty Councll of the Clty dE
Santa Honlca approved the flnal draft of an agreement to be ~ntered
lnto between the Clty of Santa i-lonlca and the Clty of Los Angeles
wlth respect to constructlon of a relnforced concrete stalrway as a
replacement for the aglng, tlmber stalrway at Fourth Street between
Ocean Avenue and Adelalde Drlve. ThlS contract calls for the Clty
of Santa lbnlca to pay 20% of the total cost of the proJect, but not
to exceed the amount of $20,000.00. The contract draft was subse-
quently approved by the Clty Counell of the Clty of Los Angeles and
executed by the I~yor of Los Angeles on behalf of the Clty of Los
Angeles on or about May 3, 1978.
The need for the Clty of Santa Monica to acqUlre the ease-
ment ln questlon lS occasloned by the fact that the eXlstlng stalrway
is too steep, too narrow and has no 1andlngs. Hence, It 1.S the
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MAR 1 3 j~7'J
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Councll Mtg. 03-13-7_ Santa MOne, Callfornia
lntentlon of the Clty to wlden the stalrway and construct a landlng
turnlng at a 900 angle to street level.
Subsequently, all negotlatlons to acqulre the easement from
the property owners, r1r. and r'1rs. DeShazo, were unsuccessful. As a
resul t, lt was recomMended by the Los Angeles Clty Department of
PubllC {vorks, Bureau of Englneerlng, that the Clty Councll of the Clty
of Santa Monlca lnltlate proceedings to adopt a condemnatlon ordlnance
or resolutlon far the acqulsltlon of the casement. It was also Stl-
pulated that the Clty Attorney of the Clty of Los Angeles would, If
authorlzed and requested by the Santa MonJ..ca Clty Councll, prosecute
the emlnent domaln actlon In the name of the Clty of Santa Monlca.
The foregoing recommendatlon by the Bureau of Englneer1ng lS set out
In a letter from Donald C. Tlllman, Clty Englneer, WhlCh letter lS
attached hereto.
Thus In order for the Clty Attorney of Los Angeles to prose-
cute the emlnent domaln actlon, lt lS necessary for the Clty of Santa
Monlca, through lts Clty Councll, flrst to hold a hearlng pursuant to
Code of C1V1I Procedure Bectlon 1245.350 and second to adopt a resolu-
tlon flndlng and determln1ng the publlC lnterest, convenlence and
necesslty for acqulrlng and authorlzlng the condernnatlon of the
easemen t.
The legal descrlptlon of the easement to the acqulred lS
as follows:
"That portlon of Lot E, Tract No. 7433, as
per map recorded In Book 96, pages 74076 In-
cluslve, of Maps, ln the offlce of the County
Recorder of Los Angeles County, bounded and
descr1bed as follows:
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CA RLK:SSS:GKY:mc tt Santa Mo_a,
Council Mtg. 03-13-7 Callfornla
Beginnlng at the most southerly corner of
sald lot, sald corner lYlng In the north-
easterly Ilne of the strip of land, 10
feet \vlde, shown as Walk on the map of sald
tract; thence northeasterly along the
southeasterly l~ne of sald lot a dlstance
of 15 feet; thence northwesterly at rlght
angles from sald southeasterly llne to the
northwesterly l~ne of sa~d lot; then south-
westerly along sald northwesterly l~ne to the
southeasterly along sald southwesterly llne
to the pOlnt of beglnnlng. II
Al terna tl ve Solutions
1) Adopt attached resolut~on after a public hearlng on
the lssue of whether the publ~c lnterest, convenlence, and TIeCesslty
requlre tne acquls~tlon by the Clty of Santa Imnlca of an easement
In and to the real property herelnafter descrlbed.
2) Refuse to adopt the resolutIon.
Recommendat1ons
It 15 recommended that the reso1utlon be adopted so that
subsequent approprlate actIon can be taken.
Prepared By: Gary K. Yano, Deputy City Attorney
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CA RLK:GY:mc e e
Councll t.ftg. 03-13-79 Santa Hon1ca, Callfornla
RESOLUTIOi-J NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA FINDING
AND DETERMINING THE PUBLIC INTEREST,
CONVENIE~CE AND ~ECESSITY FOR
ACQUIRING, AND AUTHORIZING THE
CONDEMNATION OF AN EASEMENT TO
CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY FOR A PUBLIC
USE, TO WIT: A PUBLIC WALKWAY.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES
RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. That the C1ty Councll of the Clty of
Santa Monlca flnds and determines that the publ1C lnterest,
conven1ence and necess1ty requ1re the development of a
publlC walkway, to wlt: A sta1rway at Fourth Street between
Ocean Avenue and Adela1de Dr1ve 1n the Clty of Santa Monlca.
SECTION 2. That the Clty Counc11 of the Clty of
Santa Mon1ca flnds and determ1nes that 1n order to construct
sa1d publ1C way, the publ1C 1nterest, convenience and
necess1ty reqUlre the acqu1sltlon by the C1ty of Santa i40nlca
of an easement 1n and to the real property 1n thlS sectlon
herelnafter descr1bed. That sa1d real property 1S sltuated
1n the Clty of Santa Monlca, County of Los Angeles, State
of Cal1forn1a and 15 more partlcularly descrlbed as follows:
"That port1on of Lot E, Tract No. 7433,
as per map recorded 1n Book 96, Pages
74 to 76 lnclus1ve, of Maps, ln the off1ce
of the County Recorder of Los Angeles
County, bounded and descr1bed as follows:
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RLK: SSS: nc _ e.
COUDCll Mtg. 3-13-79 Santa rlfonlca, Callfornla
Beglnnlng at the most southerly corner
of sald lot, sald corner lYlng ln the
northeasterly llne of the strlp of land I
10 feet wlde, shown as Walk on the map
of said tract; thence northeasterly
along the southeasterly llne of sald lot
a dlstance of 15 feet; thence northwesterly
at rlght angles from sald southeasterly
Ilne to the northwesterly Ilne of sald lot;
then southwesterly along sald northwesterly
llne to the southwesterly llne of sald lot;
thence southeasterly along sald sou th\-vesterly
11ne to the pOlnt of beglnnlng.
The Clty Councll of the Clty of Santa Monlca further
flnds and determlnes that the acqulsltlon of all of the
above descrlbed real property lS necessary for the development
and constructlon of sald publlc way.
SECTION 3. That the Clty Councll of the Clty of
Santa Monlca flnds and determlnes:
A. That a publlc walkway lS a use authorlzed
by la\v.
B. That the publlC lnterest, convenlence and
necesslty reqUlre the acqulsltlon of sald easement for a
publ1C walkway.
C. That the acqulsltlon of the easement to
sald real property lS necessary for the constructlon and
development of a publlC walkway.
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. RLK:SSS:mc
. Counc~l Mtg. 03-13-79 Santa Mon~ca, Californla
D. That sa~d easement to be used for sald publlc
walkway, lS located ln a manner WhlCh wlll be most compatlble
for the greatest publlC good and the least prlvate inJury.
SECTION 4. That the Clty Attorney of the Clty of
Los Angeles 1S hereby authorlzed, empowered and directed
to brlng an actlon or actlons In the name of the Clty of
Santa Monica ln the Super lor Court of the State of Callfornla,
for the County of Los Angeles, for the condemnatlon of the
easement In and to the real property descrlbed ln Sectlon 2
of thlS resolutlon, and to take all steps necessary for the
condemnatlon of the easement to sald real property ln the
name of the Clty of Santa Monlca, and to acqulre unmedlate
possesslon of all of sald property.
SECTION 5. The Clty Clerk shall certlfy to the
adoption of thlS resolutlon, and thenceforth and thereafter
the same shall be ln full force and effect.
ADOPTED and APPROVED thlS day of ,
1978.
MAYOR
ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
I hereby certlfy that the forego~ng resolution was
duly adopted by the Clty CauDell of the Clty of Santa Man1ca
at a regular meetlng thereof, held on the day of
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RLK:SSS:mc _ 'nta Mon~ca,
Counc~1 Mtg. 3-l3-79 Callfornia
, 1978, by the followlug vote of the
Couucll:
AYES: Councllmember:
NOES: Councllmember:
ABSENT: Councllmember:
CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
~ J q~,'~~,
. .u_e,-1
CITY ATTORNEY
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, L Lr
SANTA MONICA
C.L.\LIFO Rt\L\
Joyce Smder 1685 IvIam Street. Santa MOnIca. Ca 90401
CIty Clerk Telephone (213) 393-9975
CITY OF SA~TA ~IONIC\
COU~TY OF LOS ANGELES
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
I , JOYCE SXIDER, CITY CLERK in and for the City of
Santa MonIca certify that a maIlIng was completed to
the persons attached hereto In notIfIcation of the
fa 11o,';lUg :
/1 S;~ --
'~--eL <-//~k
DATE: February 23, 1979 / CE S:.\IDER
// CITY CLERK
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R~r ['VEO 1/1
OfFic"f OF THE
. en) CLERK
3 42 flA '19 12 l-1arch 1979
MAR ,j MAR 1 3 1979
Santa Monica City Council SA" r", ~u;.ICA. CALif.
1685 Main Street
Santa Monics. california 90401
Dea(C!et-c~P-~C-C..k~
At the t~rch 13 meeting of the ~anta Monica City Council, a hearing ~s
scaeduled to consider condemnation of a fifteen foot port~on of our real
ryrooerty, a str~p oE land at the edge of Santa l~n~ca Canyon across from ~
our hOMe on Adelaide ~rive, at the request of the C~ty of Los Angeles for
LtS DUrpose in reconstructing the staircase from the north-end of Fourth
Street down to the canyon floor.
.,Je have previously refused to sell this property to Los Angeles for the
following reasons:
1. T~ object to concrete stairs because --
a. They are physiologically ill-conceived. At least 95h of the
year-round cur~ent use of the steps is [or ?hys~cal C0nditLon-
ing by fitness buffs who would incur risk of several kLnds of
inJuries on concrete, not likely on wood.
b. They are esthetically less desirable, not only in t~eir in-
trinS1C quality, but also because they invite ;raffiti. The.
existing top two steps, Doured ~n 197~ are concrete and covered
'..nth words, initials, etc.
c. {.Jooden stairs. if replacement is truly necessary, will cost far
less of tax-payers' money.
d. Wooden stairs do not detract from the environment. The cluster
of low-growing trees on the land you are asked to condemn will
continue to dispense oxygen as well as lacy beauty on the hill-
side. The animals may live undisturbed.
e. Concrete stairs may actually deteriorate faster than wood be-
cause of certain cracking in an area of shifting earth.
f. In short, they may constitute an "~mprovement.. which vl~ 11 not,
in fact, improve.
2. Enlarged stairs may well prove to be an "attractive nuisance." by
encouraging heavier usage and thereby increasing our already severe
existing problems of loitering and littering.
:t. We wonder why half of the desired land is not being sought on the
J.
other s1de of the stairs. We also Honder if the other similar s~e:lS
up the block are also to be replaced. and if not. ~o1hy one. .'lnd not
the other? ?A-
MAR 1 3 "979
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