The city of Inglewood has a parking problem for its newly activated sports and entertainment district and the only logical solution is to build more parking. To achieve the monstrous task they will use eminent domain to uproot long-time businesses to do so.
The City approved a nearly 80,000-seat NFL stadium knowing full well the City didn’t have the capacity to park that many vehicles. Add in the approval of a nearly 25,000 seat NBA arena and the issue is expounded.
It was clear while SoFi Stadium was being built back in 2017 that parking was an issue because the Forum no longer had use to the parking at the former Hollywood Park Racetrack due to construction. This prompted Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. to reach out to local businesses to help the Forum with overflow parking. Simultaneously, a former principal at Inglewood High School caught a case for running an illegal overflow parking operation on the campus.
Butts’ plan backfired when it made the evening news that Inglewood Park Cemetery was doubling as an after-hours parking lot. Butts was forced to squash public dissent.
“The City of Inglewood gives our appreciation to Inglewood Park Cemetery for helping out in this time of transition while overflow parking is unavailable due to the construction of the new NFL arena. On approximately 5 occasions over the past 3 months, the Forum was allowed to park overflow vehicles on the property. The Forum provided security and lighting and clean up services to ensure the parking areas were left clean and unblemished. The parking fees generated for IPC allow the Cemetery to accelerate grounds maintenance.
My parents rest in Inglewood Park Cemetery and I empathize with the concerns of family members. The City has opened its parking structure on Locust Street, its structure adjacent to City Hall for Forum’s 300 employees and the school district has made lots available for patron parking. McCormick’s Ambulance has helped out as well. Effective June 15, 2017, overflow parking will once again be available adjacent to the site of the football stadium. I again salute all the community partners who have stepped forward and ask for patience as the City rebuilds and progresses.”
Mayor Butts
Butts was narrowly elected last November when his popularity plummeted and he won with only 54% of the vote. Had the relocation plans been unveiled for the Inglewood Transit Connector project which will displace nearly 50 businesses and lose 500 part-time and full-time jobs, there is no doubt he would have either been forced into a runoff or lost outright.
Am I misreading something here or are all the businesses at the Regent/Market block being displaced for a…parking lot? And the Vons is being rebuilt with parking under the maintenance facility? It’s wild how they are sacrificing so much of the community for even more parking. pic.twitter.com/ts0HLUXRuW
— Metamodernism (@metamodernismyt) February 24, 2023
Businesses will be displaced at Florence and Market Street and Prairie Ave. and Hardy. Plans show that Florence and Market Street will be turned into a parking lot and businesses at Prairie and Hardy shared with 2UrbanGirls that’s the plan for that property too.
When Mayor Butts was elected back in 2011 his top priority became removing two council members who both privately and publicly disagreed with him. He helped finance the campaigns of Councilmembers George Dotson and Alex Padilla and once Ralph Franklin got fed up and left the nomination process was rigged to allow Dionne Faulk to join the council with no opposition.
Collectively the five-member body is destroying the City for what is believed to be their personal gain at the expense of long-time residents who call these people “neighbor”.
They have bought multiple homes for themselves and their family, drive fancy Tesla’s, hobnob at SoFi Stadium events, and pose for pictures like celebrities all while tearing down long-time business owners who looked forward to their business prospering as the City transformed. Many of them were early supporters of the stadium petition initiative for this very reason.
How Inglewood residents allowed themselves to forego their voting rights is a mystery.
Inglewood City Clerk Aisha Thompson is currently running ads on KJLH, with taxpayer dollars, promoting the importance of voter’s rights is a slap in the face to the residents who allowed these rights to be taken away for the NFL and NBA is beyond absurd and disrespectful.
It’s like the scene from Training Day when Ethan Hawke realizes Alonzo set him up and he counters with “I been planning this all week”. In Inglewood’s case, Butts been planning this since the day he decided to run for office.
WAKE UP Inglewood.
1 Comment
Hmmm this entire Stadium- Arena poorly planned ^¥£€,!! kinda sounds like the logic of inviting 500 guests to a sit down dinner in your studio apartment when the 6 unit complex has no community room, and then expecting the other apartment renters to be okay with your telling your guests that every apartment is open to their dinning pleasure no matter the neighbor is not home AND THEN getting angry that your neighbors (whose kids are frightened with the unknown fence to fence crowd they encountered blocking the path to their home) having the nerve to think you should have realized the 500 would not fit at your 4 seat table !! Oh and neighbors here’s the bill for the food that was catered!!!!!!
It is soon Hollywood award season — given their love for photo opportunities and press attention……Perhaps we should have our own version of awards.
Here are a few suggested categories:
City Council members most unlikely to EVER vote No about anything their leader supports
Mayor consistently displaying greatest disrespect for residents – especially those who point out his false statements
Planning Commissioner most likely to vote recieve significant City Subsidy
Finance employee most willing to misrepresent (accidentally of course) anticipated income and expenses,
Police Chief- Least likely to conduct press conference Regarding homicides or serious crime.
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What ? Did you miss the similarities with movie magic.? The promises made to the residents of Inglewood about the cure our finance short comings / the entirely privately funded / the only 8 games a year traffic congestion/ the parking will not be a problem fantasy was simply an illusion masterfully presented by the media relations contractors we paid big dollars to sooth our concerns.
Yes some fell for the stellar performance that all would be wonderful and chose to ignore reality !
Some because we don’t have a business to loose, some are renters and taxing property owners is their problem, some because they couldn’t question a council that looks like us, some because at least their kid might get a backpack….
Yes the excuses are many when will we say it is time to say we are done with believing the fantasy “they” have been selling!!
Some may wonder why our electeds and our employees are the focus rather than the Billionaires who bought them – simple the billionaires did not pretend for two seconds they would care or represent us and oh yes we do not pay their salaries for destroying our lives…or do we? oh wait they have tax.caps and we do pay the employees who maintain the Kroenke landscape….Hmmmm why are we so so generous ?