Whittier Conservancy

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The Whittier Conservancy is a coalition of citizens in the city of Whittier, California. It was born from the rubble of the Whittier Narrows earthquake of October 1, 1987, which had led to the destruction of many historic buildings in Whittier, including the Lindley Building, one of Whittier's "Four Bricks", and the landmark Whittier Theater. In 1989, the Conservancy assisted the City to rezone the residential neighborhoods north of Hadley Street to protect this vital area from rampant, uncontrolled apartment construction. [1] The Conservancy spearheaded the preservation of the historic Whittier Depot and the McGee House. Though primarily a historic preservation organization, the Conservancy is also interested in open space preservation, and is involved in the continuing movement to preserve the Whittier Hills as part of the Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor [2] [3]

Whittier, California City in California in the United States

Whittier is a city in Southern California located within Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a population of 85,331, reflecting an increase of 1,631 from the 83,680 counted in the 2000 Census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles (38.0 km2). Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities. Whittier was incorporated in February 1898 and became a charter city in 1955. The city is named for the poet John Greenleaf Whittier and is home to Whittier College.

California State of the United States of America

California is a state in the Pacific Region of the United States. With 39.6 million residents, California is the most populous U.S. state and the third-largest by area. The state capital is Sacramento. The Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, with 18.7 million and 9.7 million residents respectively. Los Angeles is California's most populous city, and the country's second-most populous, after New York City. California also has the nation's most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The City and County of San Francisco is both the country's second-most densely populated major city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated county, behind only four of the five New York City boroughs.

1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake October 1987 earthquake in California, USA

The 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake occurred in the southern San Gabriel Valley and surrounding communities of southern California at 7:42 a.m. PDT on October 1. The moderate 5.9 magnitude blind thrust earthquake was centered several miles north of Whittier in the town of Rosemead, had a relatively shallow depth, and was felt throughout southern California and southern Nevada. A large number of homes and businesses were impacted, along with roadway disruptions, mainly in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Damage estimates ranged from $213–358 million, with 200 injuries, three directly-related deaths, and five additional fatalities that were associated with the event.

Cal-Domestic Lawsuit

On May 23, 2007, the Conservancy filed suit against the City of Whittier. This was in response to the Whittier City Council overruling the Historic Resources Commission by a 3-2 vote and approving the demolition of three buildings on the California Domestic Water property, across the street from Whitwood Mall, before an environmental impact report had been filed. [4] [5] The Cal-Domestic Lawsuit has been a major event in recent Whittier politics, as it led to the creation of the Coalition for a Better Whittier, a political action committee founded to support the city in the lawsuit (thereby counteracting the influences of the Conservancy) and to push for further mixed-use development in the City of Whittier.

In the United States and Canada, a political action committee (PAC) is a 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The legal term PAC has been created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. This term is quite specific to all activities of campaign finance in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, and registers with the Federal Election Commission, according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.

Mixed-use development Type of urban development strategy

Mixed-use development or often simply Live-work space is a type of urban development strategy for living spaces (housing) that blends residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment uses, where those functions are physically and functionally integrated, and that provides pedestrian connections. Mixed-use development can take the form of a single building, a city block, or entire neighbourhoods. The term may also be used more specifically to refer to a mixed-use real estate development project—a building, complex of buildings, or district of a town or city that is developed for mixed-use by a private developer, (quasi-) governmental agency, or a combination thereof.

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References

  1. ↑ Archived March 12, 2008, at the Wayback Machine .
  2. ↑ "About". The Whittier Conservancy. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
  3. ↑ [ dead link ]
  4. ↑ "News". The Whittier Conservancy. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
  5. ↑ "Former newspaper group editor Hope Frazier dies". Nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
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