Aaron Epstein directs the attention of two concerned citizens to the paradise he has created for them whilst a bunch of homeless creatures, some of them in violation of Los Angeles Municipal Code §41.18(d), frolic in the foreground. A badly designed mixed-use structure looms in the background and BID security patrols chase sinners in the upper left. In March 1999, Aaron Epstein, an owner of assessed property within the borders of the Hollywood Entertainment District BID, managed by the “Property Owners Association,” found that “[t]he POA’s monthly meetings were not open to the public, much to the distress of plaintiff.” Epstein sued for a declaratory judgment stating that the BID was subject to the requirements of California’s open meetings law, known as the Brown Act. Although his motion was denied by the trial court, that decision was overturned on appeal. The appellate court’s opinion is scathingly, corrosively, beautifully, decisive, referring as it does to the BID’s and the City of LA’s legal theories as “subterfuge” designed “to circumvent the requirements of the Brown Act.” It’s well worth reading, and here are a few selections: Continue reading No One Shall Expel Us from the Paradise Epstein has Created for us→
