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

How to Comment on the LASHP Draft General Plan Amendment

California State Parks is currently considering an amendment to the Los Angeles State Historic Park (LASHP) General Plan. This proposed General Plan Amendment (GPA) would add a transit land use to the General Plan, allowing the proposed Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART) project to be considered.

The Draft GPA is now available at https://lastatehistoricparkgpa.com/.

Please provide your feedback on the Draft GPA by July 22, 2026.

Public feedback may be submitted by email or U.S. mail:

Email: lastatehistoricparkgpa@parks.ca.gov and send a copy to SPR.Commission@parks.ca.gov.

Or via U.S. mail to:

California State Parks
Strategic Planning & Recreation Services Division
c/o Los Angeles State Historic Park General Plan Amendment
P.O. Box 942896
Sacramento, CA 94296-0001

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

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? How would a gondola change your experience of the park?

You can submit your comments by email directly to lastatehistoricparkgpa@parks.ca.gov. And please send a copy to the California State Park and Recreation Commission, which will make a decision on the GPA later this year, at SPR.Commission@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 LASHP 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.
THIS PROJECT WILL NOT ENHANCE ACCESS TO L.A. STATE HISTORIC PARK. People already have access to LASHP via the Chinatown station of the Metro A line, which is only steps away from the entrance to the park that would be obliterated by a gondola station. A UCLA study found that hardly anyone would use the gondola to get to the park. Why would they? The gondola will make the park less appealing not more accessible.
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.
THIS GPA WOULD SET A TERRIBLE PRECEDENT FOR STATE PARKS THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA. Allowing a private company to take land and airspace from LASHP, for a use that has nothing to do with the park’s purpose, would set a terrible precedent for giving away valuable state park resources.
CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS SHOULD HOLD IN-PERSON MEETINGS TO HEAR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE GPA. 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? State Parks should hold in-person meetings to hear public comment on the GPA.
THE CALIFORNIA STATE PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION SHOULD REJECT THE GPA: NO GONDOLA IN 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 LASHP 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. THIS PROJECT WILL NOT ENHANCE ACCESS TO L.A. STATE HISTORIC PARK. People already have access to LASHP via the Chinatown station of the Metro A line, which is only steps away from the entrance to the park that would be obliterated by a gondola station. A UCLA study found that hardly anyone would use the gondola to get to the park. Why would they? The gondola will make the park less appealing not more accessible. 

6. 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.

7. THIS GPA WOULD SET A TERRIBLE PRECEDENT FOR STATE PARKS THROUGHOUT CALIFORNIA. Allowing a private company to take land and airspace from LASHP, for a use that has nothing to do with the park’s purpose, would set a terrible precedent for giving away valuable state park resources.

8. CALIFORNIA STATE PARKS SHOULD HOLD IN-PERSON MEETINGS TO HEAR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE GPA.  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? State Parks should hold in-person meetings to hear public comment on the GPA.

9. THE CALIFORNIA STATE PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION SHOULD REJECT THE GPA: NO GONDOLA IN 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?