Kings Road

The opening sentence of Diane Haithman’s recent article (“Builder, Architects Have Designs on Kings Road” in “Arts Notes,” Dec. 7) states that the Schindler House in West Hollywood is a designated historic landmark and the sentence ends by asking “but what about the house next door?” This is an excellent question. We are curious, however, why the question is never answered or explored.

The property in question, at 825 Kings Road, is not described. The cultural heritage nomination on the property is not reviewed. The guidelines that the West Hollywood Cultural Preservation Commission will use to answer this question are not examined or discussed.

Haithman decided to provide the developer, Richard Loring, an unchallenged opportunity to groan and moan about the slings and arrows of public discourse. We are curious why Mr. Loring is the only individual quoted.

Mr. Loring complains about the “little monkeys” on his back and fumes about the obscenity of defending his project. His comments unfairly suggest a lack of civility in the public debate. His comments further suggest that the very existence of a public debate is somehow offensive.

The debate raging on Kings Road is multifaceted and complex, involving the uncomfortable intersection of emotion and economics. Parties with wildly different agendas and motivations are advancing competing and incompatible visions and strategies for urban redevelopment or preservation in a very special place.

Bruce Kaye

West Hollywood

Anthony Fernandez

Los Angeles

Bruce Kaye and Anthony Fernandez served as the lead project specialists for the Committee for the Preservation of Historic North Kings Road.