CATHEDRAL DEMOLITION BILL GETS MIRED IN COMMITTEE : CALDERA PLEDGES TO TRY AGAIN NEXT MONTH.Byline: Mark Katches Daily News Sacramento Bureau A bill that could pave the way for the demolition of St. Vibiana's Cathedral stalled Wednesday in a Senate committee, but the author promised to revive the measure next month. The bill by Assemblyman Louis Caldera caldera: see crater. caldera Large, bowl-shaped volcanic depression that forms when the top of a volcanic cone collapses into the space left after magma is ejected during a violent volcanic eruption. The term is Spanish for “caldron. , D-Los Angeles, fell one vote short of advancing out of the Senate Natural Resources and Wildlife Committee. His legislation, AB 1056, would grant an exemption to the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Archdiocese from state law that would require an environmental impact report before the 120-year-old cathedral could be demolished to make way for a new $45 million church. ``This exemption is both appropriate and necessary,'' he said. ``This project is tremendously important to the downtown area.'' Caldera said he was optimistic about getting his bill out of the committee when the Legislature returns next month after its summer break because he had received a 5-1 vote in support. He needed six votes, however, and five committee members were absent. Sen. Tom Hayden Thomas Emmett "Tom" Hayden (born December 11, 1939) is an American social and political activist and politician, most famous for his involvement in the anti-war and civil rights movements of the 1960s. , D-Los Angeles, the committee chairman, was the lone member of the committee who voted in opposition. ``We got very close to a compromise where the archdiocese would do an EIR EIR n. popular acronym for environmental impact report, required by many states as part of the application to a county or city for approval of a land development or project. (See: environmental impact report) and the conservationists would not sue,'' Hayden said. ``And then it fell apart.'' The hearing included impassioned pleas from historical preservationists who want to preserve the landmark downtown cathedral. Supporters of the legislation say that the environmental review would take too long and force the archdiocese to abandon the downtown site. ``This project will not be built there if we do not pass this legislation,'' Caldera said. City leaders testified that demolishing the cathedral and replacing it with a $45 million Cathedral Square Cathedral Square is often the name of the square located in front of the main cathedral of a city. Among others, Cathedral Square can refer to:
Cardinal Roger Mahony His Eminence Roger Michael Cardinal Mahony (born February 27, 1936) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the fourth Archbishop of Los Angeles, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1991. has said he wants to move quickly so he can open the new project by the year 2000, marking the start of the third millennium. Before a building listed as a historic landmark can be demolished, the owner must comply with a lengthy process under the California Environmental Quality Act The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a California law (California Public Resources Code section 21000 et seq.) passed in 1970, shortly after the Federal Government passed the National Environmental Policy Act. . Mahony has said that would force him to look elsewhere for the archdiocese's headquarters. He has said that sites in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and the Burbank-Glendale area could be options if the archdiocese's headquarters leaves downtown. |
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