MAHONY GIVES CITY EXTENSION ON DEMOLITION.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Cardinal Roger Mahony extended by one week - till July 22 - his deadline for the city to clear the way for razing St. Vibiana's Cathedral, and said Tuesday that he will appeal an injunction barring its demolition.

Speaking at a news conference in the abandoned cathedral's parking lot, Mahony said the church will argue that efforts to force the preservation of St. Vibiana's infringe on the archdiocese's First Amendment rights on freedom of religion.

``Because I find it intolerable to have our constitutional right to the free exercise so severely compromised, I am directing our archdiocesan attorneys to appeal last week's injunction handed down by Judge Robert O'Brien,'' Mahony said. ``As archbishop of Los Angeles, I have a solemn duty and responsibility to the Catholic community to defend and protect our religious and civil rights.''

Archdiocese attorney John McNicholas said he will file arguments Friday in the state Court of Appeal, asserting the state and U.S. constitutions provide special protection for churches from any governmental interference in their operations.

Mahony wants to tear down the 120-year-old cathedral, which is a historic city landmark, and replace it with a $45 million Cathedral Square complex at Second and Main streets downtown.

But the project was put on hold last week after O'Brien granted the Los Angeles Conservancy an injunction against any demolition without complying with state law for environmental review.

City officials issued a report Monday saying that requirement can be fulfilled by issuing a ``mitigated negative declaration,'' stating that the demolition would not have an environmental impact because key artifacts of the church would be preserved.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council scheduled a July 16 vote on a motion to remove the cathedral as a historic landmark and to adopt the negative declaration.

Conservancy Executive Director Linda Dishman said her organization will continue to demand a full environmental review before demolition.

``All we have asked is that they follow the law,'' Dishman said. ``One of the reasons for the laws is to determine the process to be followed.''

Mahony had vowed to build the cathedral elsewhere if he does not have clearance to build at Second and Main streets by July 15.

In agreeing to extend that deadline to July 22, Mahony cited the support of Mayor Richard Riordan, the City Council and other city officials in pushing for the demolition.

``I do this in response to the overwhelming goodwill and support for the Cathedral Square project demonstrated by the leadership, the public institutions and the people of Los Angeles,'' Mahony said.

By July 22, he said, he wants assurances that there will be no additional legal challenges to his plans and he is able to successfully negotiate with the owners of two adjacent properties.

``Should we continue to be prevented from building our new cathedral complex on this site, we shall with all due haste move to purchase appropriate property and pursue building at one of the alternative locations,'' Mahony said.

While refusing to name any sites, Mahony said there were three or four properties in the downtown area identified by the committee and an additional three or four outside the downtown region.

Councilman Richard Alarcon has said one of those other sites may be the old Alemany High School campus in Mission Hills, which was vacated following the 1994 Northridge Earthquake.

Mahony again lashed out at the conservancy.

``They may pay lip service to the great contribution Cathedral Square could make to help revitalize the entire historic core, but their obstructionist attitudes and actions belie the sincerity and integrity of their words,'' Mahony said.

Meetings have been held with the conservancy since December 1994 and Mahony said they have refused to work with the church.

``We have repeatedly invited the conservancy's leadership to work with us in identifying the best way to memorialize the old structure on the cathedral complex site, but at no time and in no meeting has the conservancy leadership offered any proposal other than the total retention or `saving' of the existing building,'' Mahony said.

Dishman said the conservancy has offered to work on a memorialization plan, even though the group's primary goal remains saving all or part of the cathedral.

``Part of the problem with memorialization is there's nothing you can do until there are some plans and there are no plans drawn yet,'' Dishman said.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

PHOTO (color) Cardinal Roger Mahony discusses his plans.

Mi chael Owen Baker/Daily News