Comment on the LASHP General Plan Amendment (GPA) | Friends of Los Angeles State Historic Park

How to Comment on the LASHP General Plan Amendment

Please submit your own comment on the proposal to allow a gondola in Los Angeles State Historic Park by email.

If you’d like some talking points for your comments, we’ve provided some below. But please personalize and customize your comment with your own unique point of view. Why is the park important to you?

You can submit your comments by email directly to lastatehistoricparkgpa@parks.ca.gov.

Thank you!

Talking points for your comments on the L.A. State Historic Park general plan amendment

Please use these talking points to augment your own personal statement.

The proposed gondola is not just a bad idea — it is an unlawful and harmful one. Here is what the record shows:

THE PARK'S OWN GENERAL PLAN DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS. The existing general plan for L.A. State Historic Park acknowledges the importance of transportation access to the park. It does not — in any way — contemplate building transportation infrastructure through the park itself. The gondola violates the plan's intent entirely.
IT VIOLATES CALIFORNIA LAW. The use of L.A. State Historic Park that would be authorized by a general plan amendment enabling the gondola would contravene the California Public Resources Code governing state parks. The Commission cannot authorize a use that state law does not permit.
IT WOULD CAUSE IRREVERSIBLE HARM TO THE PARK. The gondola would fundamentally damage core values identified in the park's existing general plan — including its precious open space and the unobstructed views of the downtown Los Angeles skyline that define the park's character and draw visitors from across the region.
IT WOULD TAKE PUBLIC LAND AND AIRSPACE FOR A PRIVATE PROJECT. A massive gondola station would take public land and block the southwestern entrance to the park. Large gondola cars would fly just 26 feet above the ground across the western half of the park. This reduction of public land and airspace is contrary to the original purpose of the park and to statewide efforts to expand protected public lands to 30% of the state by 2030.
THE COMMISSION HAS A DUTY TO SAY NO. The Commission's principal responsibility is to approve general plans and amendments that protect the integrity of California's state parks. In this case, that responsibility demands that the Commission reject a general plan amendment that would commercialize and industrialize a public green space for the private benefit of billionaire Frank McCourt.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS SHOULD HOLD IN PERSON MEETINGS TO GATHER COMMUNITY INPUT. The “virtual open house” is an inadequate method of gathering public input when many people in the community do not have easy access to the internet and are not comfortable navigating a complex website. Is California State Parks afraid to interact with and listen to the voices of residents who live in the surrounding community and regularly use the park?

The proposed gondola is not just a bad idea — it is an unlawful and harmful one. Here is what the record shows:

1. THE PARK'S OWN GENERAL PLAN DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS. The existing general plan for L.A. State Historic Park acknowledges the importance of transportation access to the park. It does not — in any way — contemplate building transportation infrastructure through the park itself. The gondola violates the plan's intent entirely.

2. IT VIOLATES CALIFORNIA LAW. The use of L.A. State Historic Park that would be authorized by a general plan amendment enabling the gondola would contravene the California Public Resources Code governing state parks. The Commission cannot authorize a use that state law does not permit.

3. IT WOULD CAUSE IRREVERSIBLE HARM TO THE PARK. The gondola would fundamentally damage core values identified in the park's existing general plan — including its precious open space and the unobstructed views of the downtown Los Angeles skyline that define the park's character and draw visitors from across the region.

4. IT WOULD TAKE PUBLIC LAND AND AIRSPACE FOR A PRIVATE PROJECT. A massive gondola station would take public land and block the southwestern entrance to the park. Large gondola cars would fly just 26 feet above the ground across the western half of the park. This reduction of public land and airspace is contrary to the original purpose of the park and to statewide efforts to expand protected public lands to 30% of the state by 2030.

5. THE COMMISSION HAS A DUTY TO SAY NO. The Commission's principal responsibility is to approve general plans and amendments that protect the integrity of California's state parks. In this case, that responsibility demands that the Commission reject a general plan amendment that would commercialize and industrialize a public green space for the private benefit of billionaire Frank McCourt.

6. CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS SHOULD HOLD IN PERSON MEETINGS TO GATHER COMMUNITY INPUT. The “virtual open house” is an inadequate method of gathering public input when many people in the community do not have easy access to the internet and are not comfortable navigating a complex website. Is California State Parks afraid to interact with and listen to the voices of residents who live in the surrounding community and regularly use the park?

Setting the record straight on Frank McCourt's claims

Frank McCourt and gondola proponents have worked hard to create the impression that this project would be minimally invasive — a sleek, unobtrusive addition that floats above the park without disturbing it. That image is false. The project would take valuable land at the southwestern entrance to the park. And it would fly just 26 feet over the ground through the western half of the park.

These images tell the real story: the true scale, footprint, and visual impact of the gondola infrastructure on the park and surrounding neighborhoods. The contrast between McCourt's curated renderings and the reality on the ground is stark, and the public deserves to see it.

Los Angeles State Historic Park before the gondola. An accurate, objective rendering of Los Angeles State Historic Park during the annual Community & Unity People’s Kite Festival. Courtesy of Friends of Los Angeles State Historic Park.

Los Angeles State Historic Park after the gondola. An accurate, objective rendering of Los Angeles State Historic Park with a gondola based on data, diagrams, and illustrations in Metro’s Environmental Impact Report on the proposed gondola. Courtesy of Friends of Los Angeles State Historic Park.

This park belongs to the people of Los Angeles — not to a private developer, not to a sports franchise, and not to a gondola. We will protect it.

Email your comments directly to lastatehistoricparkgpa@parks.ca.gov.

The proposed gondola is not just a bad idea — it is an unlawful and harmful one. Here is what the record shows:

1. THE PARK'S OWN GENERAL PLAN DOES NOT SUPPORT THIS. The existing general plan for L.A. State Historic Park acknowledges the importance of transportation access to the park. It does not — in any way — contemplate building transportation infrastructure through the park itself. The gondola violates the plan's intent entirely.

2. IT VIOLATES CALIFORNIA LAW. The use of L.A. State Historic Park that would be authorized by a general plan amendment enabling the gondola would contravene the California Public Resources Code governing state parks. The Commission cannot authorize a use that state law does not permit.

3. IT WOULD CAUSE IRREVERSIBLE HARM TO THE PARK. The gondola would fundamentally damage core values identified in the park's existing general plan — including its precious open space and the unobstructed views of the downtown Los Angeles skyline that define the park's character and draw visitors from across the region.

4. IT WOULD TAKE PUBLIC LAND AND AIRSPACE FOR A PRIVATE PROJECT. A massive gondola station would take public land and block the southwestern entrance to the park. Large gondola cars would fly just 26 feet above the ground across the western half of the park. This reduction of public land and airspace is contrary to the original purpose of the park and to statewide efforts to expand protected public lands to 30% of the state by 2030.

5. THE COMMISSION HAS A DUTY TO SAY NO. The Commission's principal responsibility is to approve general plans and amendments that protect the integrity of California's state parks. In this case, that responsibility demands that the Commission reject a general plan amendment that would commercialize and industrialize a public green space for the private benefit of billionaire Frank McCourt.

6. CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS SHOULD HOLD IN PERSON MEETINGS TO GATHER COMMUNITY INPUT. The “virtual open house” is an inadequate method of gathering public input when many people in the community do not have easy access to the internet and are not comfortable navigating a complex website. Is California State Parks afraid to interact with and listen to the voices of residents who live in the surrounding community and regularly use the park?