The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and advocacy group Fix the City are pleased to announce they have reached a settlement agreement regarding the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures project. The settlement agreement ensures the Academy and Fix the City will work closely to minimize the Museum’s impact on surrounding neighborhoods. Per the agreement, the Academy and Fix the City will monitor and, if necessary, enforce mutually agreed upon standards for a variety of factors, including traffic, parking, signage, and noise for the benefit of the community. This monitoring and enforcement system will likely serve as a model for future development projects in the area.
“Our agreement with Fix the City is the result of several months of fruitful discussion and collaboration,” said an Academy spokesperson. “Our goal has always been to build a museum that not only enriches the public but is respectful to all our neighbors. We are thrilled to begin construction with the support of the community.”
“The settlement agreement embodies a trust, but verify approach with built in mechanisms to fix impacts rather than have them be merely a cost of doing business. Fix the City appreciates the Academy’s willingness to think outside the box on this creative settlement,” said Laura Lake, board member of Fix the City.
In June the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to approve plans for the Academy Museum. Construction begins this month and the museum is expected to open in late 2017.
Settlement Highlights
The Agreement provides creative approaches that balance community protection with the creation of a world class facility. The highlights are as follows:
- There is a reduction in signage:
- The banners on the western edge of the sphere have been removed.
- The large digital sign on the south side of the Sphere will not be visible from any public street by a motorist.
- The sign/banners on the east side of the Sphere will not be visible from any public street by a motorist.
- Signs in the Sign District are limited to only flags, internal signage, canopies, two street level display case monitors on Wilshire Blvd. and the iconic Oscar™ statuette.
- The Academy Museum and Fix the City will ask the City to amend the Sign District to reflect the limitations.
- There will be an innovative neighborhood traffic intrusion monitoring and enforcement system. The system monitors and reports on traffic associated with Museum regular operations and special events.
- There will also be noise monitoring and enforcement system that ensures operational compliance with the conditions of approval.
- There will be an innovative parking capacity monitoring system.
- All monitoring is privately operated and mechanisms for enforcement (if necessary) under the agreement do not rely on the City and are in addition to any provided by the City.
- There will be reporting on water use.
About the Academy Museum
The Academy Museum will be the world’s premier cultural institution devoted to the history and future of the moving image. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano and led by Director Kerry Brougher, the Academy Museum will explore the arts and sciences that have made motion pictures our most innovative and influential art form for more than a century. Piano’s design for the museum will restore and revitalize the historic Wilshire May Company and include a new spherical addition that will connect to the May Company building with glass bridges. The Academy Museum will feature a core historical exhibition and rotating temporary exhibitions complemented by special projects, publications, digital initiatives and a slate of public programs that will include screenings, premieres, panel discussions, gallery talks, and K-12 education initiatives.
About Fix The City
Fix The City is an all-volunteer, non-profit corporation focused on fixing the city by facilitating neighborhood improvements and neighborhood protection; supporting local infrastructure; improving the transparency and efficiency of local government; challenging harmful governmental policies and practices; and advocating for other improvements to the environment. Fix The City can be found on the web at www.fixthecity.org and followed on twitter @FixTheCityLA. Inquiries can be sent to [email protected].