Save LACMA, a non-profit entity that has formed in response to public outcry against the controversial Atelier Peter Zumthor-led replacement proposal for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) campus, has announced that it is considering placing a ballot measure on the 2020 ballot that could challenge the standing of the project as recently approved.
In a fundraising email sent to the group's newsletter subscribers, Rob Hollman, Board Chair for Save LACMA, writes that the group has recently retained the services of the ballot initiative law expert Bradley Hertz and the Sutton Law Firm, where Hertz is a Partner.
In the message, Hollman writes, "After thoroughly briefing Bradley on LACMA's situation, and the museum’s insistence on moving forward with demolition of its existing campus to clear space for an unpopular, undersized and underfunded new building by Peter Zumthor, he suggested a bold line of defense that could reverse this destructive action ... [by placing] a measure onto the Los Angeles County ballot, giving the community that loves, supports and owns LACMA a real chance to have a say in its future when they cast their vote."
Details for the potential ballot initiative are still being hammered out by the group and its lawyers, but would generally be focused on attempting to bring public accountability to the project that has, in the eyes of Hollman and other critics, been sorely lacking thus far.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is a public institution located on public land that will, in part, make use of public funds to build the redevelopment scheme. Because of these reasons, vocal members of the preservation, arts, and architecture communities, as well as the general public, have spoken out against the opaque rationale and process that has guided the proposal's evolution over the last two decades.
If supported by a plurality of voters, the initiative would supersede approvals granted for the project through the Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
6 Comments
it's just a museum guys, calm down
Starting to agree with this.
Yeah, I mean really, what else could you do with $650m? Not including overruns.
approximate cost of a las vegas casino... or 3-4 submarine-launched nukes
“Nuclear casino”, great metaphor for militarization.
LACMA's project is a foolish boondoggle. The LA city and county leadership failed the public by approving it.
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