Inglewood businesses are being relocated to build parking lots
By: 2UrbanGirls
The city of Inglewood has a parking problem for its newly activated sports and entertainment district and the only logical solution is to build more parking. To achieve the monstrous task they will use eminent domain to uproot long-time businesses to do so.
The City approved a nearly 80,000-seat NFL stadium knowing full well the City didn’t have the capacity to park that many vehicles. Add in the approval of a nearly 25,000 seat NBA arena and the issue is expounded.
It was clear while SoFi Stadium was being built back in 2017 that parking was an issue because the Forum no longer had use to the parking at the former Hollywood Park Racetrack due to construction. This prompted Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. to reach out to local businesses to help the Forum with overflow parking. Simultaneously, a former principal at Inglewood High School caught a case for running an illegal overflow parking operation on the campus.
Butts’ plan backfired when it made the evening news that Inglewood Park Cemetery was doubling as an after-hours parking lot. Butts was forced to squash public dissent.
“The City of Inglewood gives our appreciation to Inglewood Park Cemetery for helping out in this time of transition while overflow parking is unavailable due to the construction of the new NFL arena. On approximately 5 occasions over the past 3 months, the Forum was allowed to park overflow vehicles on the property. The Forum provided security and lighting and clean up services to ensure the parking areas were left clean and unblemished. The parking fees generated for IPC allow the Cemetery to accelerate grounds maintenance.
My parents rest in Inglewood Park Cemetery and I empathize with the concerns of family members. The City has opened its parking structure on Locust Street, its structure adjacent to City Hall for Forum’s 300 employees and the school district has made lots available for patron parking. McCormick’s Ambulance has helped out as well. Effective June 15, 2017, overflow parking will once again be available adjacent to the site of the football stadium. I again salute all the community partners who have stepped forward and ask for patience as the City rebuilds and progresses,” said Mayor Butts.
Butts was narrowly elected last November when his popularity plummeted and he won with only 54% of the vote. Had the relocation plans been unveiled for the Inglewood Transit Connector project which will displace nearly 50 businesses and lose 500 part-time and full-time jobs, there is no doubt he would have either been forced into a runoff or lost outright.
Businesses will be displaced at Florence and Market Street and Prairie Ave. and Hardy. Plans show that Florence and Market Street will be turned into a parking lot and businesses at Prairie and Hardy shared with 2UrbanGirls that’s the plan for that property too.
When Mayor Butts was elected back in 2011 his top priority became removing two council members who both privately and publicly disagreed with him. He helped finance the campaigns of Councilmembers George Dotson and Alex Padilla and once Ralph Franklin got fed up and left the nomination process was rigged to allow Dionne Faulk to join the council with no opposition.
Collectively the five-member body is destroying the City for what is believed to be their personal gain at the expense of long-time residents who call these people “neighbor”.
They have bought multiple homes for themselves and their family, drive fancy Tesla’s, hobnob at SoFi Stadium events, and pose for pictures like celebrities all while tearing down long-time business owners who looked forward to their business prospering as the City transformed. Many of them were early supporters of the stadium petition initiative for this very reason.
How Inglewood residents allowed themselves to forego their voting rights is a mystery.
Inglewood City Clerk Aisha Thompson is currently running ads on KJLH, with taxpayer dollars, promoting the importance of voter’s rights is a slap in the face to the residents who allowed these rights to be taken away for the NFL and NBA is beyond absurd and disrespectful.
It’s like the scene from Training Day when Ethan Hawke realizes Alonzo set him up and he counters with “I been planning this all week”. In Inglewood’s case, Butts been planning this since the day he decided to run for office.
WAKE UP Inglewood.
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