After nearly a year of warnings from the landlord, Swarthmore merchants began learning the grim reality Monday: If they elect to renew their leases this spring, their rent will nearly double. Three representatives from Palisades Partners, a multi-family trust that owns 18 of the 22 retail and commercial properties on the 1000 block of Swarthmore, met with four of the business owners at one-hour intervals Monday to announce terms of the new five-year leases (which replace month-to-month leases). Most rents will jump from about $2.50 to about $4.50 a month, plus about 50 cents a month for ‘triple net’ (a payment for all utilities plus a percentage of property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs). Trustees John Wilson, Bob Stelzl and John Watkins held their meetings at a table outside Mort’s Deli, close to the front window of the vacant Billhauer-Sato Chiropractic office, one of their properties. The window was plastered with 50 ‘SAVE OUR VILLAGE’KEEP THE RENTS REASONABLE’ signs that had been hand-colored by shoppers at Sunday’s farmers market. Asked why they chose to meet in such a public location, one of the trustees told the Palisadian-Post: ‘We were trying to make a statement, loud and clear, that we’re not intimidated.’ The trustee, who spoke for publication only on the condition that he not be identified, added: ‘We talked to the tenants last year and told them this was going to happen. We thought it was fair to let them them know things were going to change, and give them a year to determine if they could adjust to the higher rents.’ On Monday, the trustees met with Katie O’Laughlin of Village Books, kids’ clothier Ivy Greene, and Marice McCrory-Irwin, her sister Anne and her brother Martin of Michelle International and Palisades Beauty Supply. Meetings with other Swarthmore merchants will resume next Monday. These businesses include Mort’s Deli, Palisades Playthings, The Prince’s Table, Bentons Sporting Goods, Roy Robbins, Baskin-Robbins, Wells Fargo and three restaurants’Dante’s, Terri’s and ‘ la Tarte. Owners of the new Boca Woman store, who paid for a complete remodeling of the former Video 2010 space, already have a five-year lease. Three other storefronts owned by Palisades Partners remain empty, including the former Emerson-LaMay Cleaners and Palisades Camera. ‘They have every right to be businessmen,’ said O’Laughlin, who opened her popular bookstore in July 1997, ‘but this is a significant jump’a pretty dramatic change in the situation with no change in everybody’s shopping habits. They didn’t put any deadline on signing the lease, but I assume they are not going to sit around now that they’ve got the ball rolling. I have to get out my calculator and figure out what it would mean [to renew].’ Ivy Greene, a Palisades resident who has owned her 950-sq.-ft. store since 1995, said: ‘It’s scary, but I’ll find a way to come up with the money. I think the owners really do want to make the street look nice [with upgraded storefronts and new paint jobs], so I’ll figure out a way to stay here. My customers are very supportive.’ Martin McCrory said he and his sisters face ‘a major problem’ with the new lease figures”with triple net, we’re talking about a doubling of our rent. But I’m hopeful that further negotiations can be held and an amicable agreement can be reached.’ He added that all the other businesses ‘will be seriously affected by the situation. Whether they will all be in a position to stay, I can’t say.’ Meanwhile, Bob Benton, owner of Bentons Sporting Goods since 1981 and a former Chamber of Commerce president, continues to await a resolution of his lease negotiations. After Palisades Partners rejected his latest proposal on March 8, he told the Palisadian-Post: ‘If we can’t resolve this, somehow, and I can’t find another location in the Palisades, I guess I will go out of business.’ This unanticipated admission by a popular and successful local businessman triggered the SAVE OUR VILLAGE signs and an outpouring of letters to the Palisadian-Post in support of Benton’s position. But Tuesday night, he admitted the situation remained rather discouraging. ‘So far, it looks like they’re playing hardball. But I’m still hoping they will make me a deal. After 23 years here, you would think they would want to keep some semblance of the town’s tradition on this street. Business is business, and the owners have a right to increase the rent, but it should be reasonable. They shouldn’t make good people go away. Nobody has ever heard of rent increases like this.’ Benton is seeking a lease in the $4 area, up from $2.50. Said one of the three representatives of Palisades Partners on Tuesday: ‘Our position with Bob is that our offer is there, he knows what we want. If he’s smart, he’ll stay there and try to adjust. He has a tremendous business and if he spent more time on his business plan, he could expand that business. He has put a lot of effort into the store and he’s built a tradition. I would hate to see it end.’ The spokesman continued, ‘I like to see the same old thing on Swarthmore, day and in and day out, but the reality is, times change, the community changes. You have to have a good mix on the street, and the mix is not dictated by the store owners’it’s dictated by the people who consume the product. We offered Bob a downsize, and we offered him another good location at about the same rent, but the issue still comes down to money. That’s just an unfortunate aspect of life today.’

For decades, park agencies have looked with envy at the coastal valley stretched between the Santa Monica Mountains in Calabasas, a 588-acre parcel that until now has eluded public purchase. Now owing to the confluence of a willing seller, unanimous government support, and a herculean fundraising effort, the property will be acquired as parkland. In a turnabout last year, the present owners, Soka University, agreed to sell, setting the price at $35 million with an April 15 deadline. Called by many the heart of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the site is unusual because so much of it is so flat, says Steve Harris, Mountain Restoration Trust executive director’the agency that coordinated the community-support part of the funding puzzle. About 100 acres have no more than a 5 percent grade, according to Rorie Skei, chief deputy director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, who helped negotiate the sale. With existing buildings, including dormitories and the historic Gillette ranch house, the possibilities for public amenities are broad. ‘The park agencies will not have an immediate opening to the general public,’ Skei said, adding that Soka University will lease back the property for three years while transferring activities to its campus in Aliso Viejo. ‘Through the planning process with all the parties we can flesh out what kinds of permanent uses will be in place, who will manage what, and if there will be a transfer of ownership from the Conservancy to State Parks or the National Park Service.’ In discussing the ownership question, Skei was referring to the complex mix of federal, state, county, city and private money that was cobbled together in just six months. The chief negotiating agency, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, contributed $10 million from Los Angeles County, followed by funds from state parks, the state wildlife conservation board, coastal conservancy, the cities of Calabasas and Agoura, Proposition A funding, plus significant support from over 100 individuals and 18 community organizations, including the Temescal Canyon Association which committed $5,000. ‘It’s amazing how all these bureaucrats came together,’ Harris said. ‘It’s a credit to the Conservancy, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavky, Senator Sheila Kuehl and Assemblymember Fran Pavley.’ Down to this week, the negotiating parties were still on pins and needles. Thursday morning Conservancy Executive Director Joe Edmiston and Skei were scheduled to join Pavley in Sacramento in securing approval from the Coastal Conservancy Board. ‘We arrived at the Burbank airport for our early morning flight, only to be delayed for three hours because of fog,’ Skei told the Palisadian-Post. ‘We missed the meeting altogether.’ Fortunately the Commission approved the purchase, followed the next day by approval from the California Public Works Commission, which authorized the state park’s purchase of 102 acres. ‘We worked out just about everything in putting together the funding sources and anticipated any question that these agencies might ask,’ Skei said. Skei had every reason to be cautious, for this property had slipped through the state’s fingers twice before. In 1978 a State Parks planner was eager to press to purchase. ‘The ponds, the grassy areas, the Gillette Mansion, and numerous substantial seminary structures would provide a wide variety of recreation facilities,’ he said. But the Department of Recreation and Parks’ attempt to buy the ranch failed when the department fell short of the funding needed. In 1986, the National Parks Service attempted to buy the ranch for use as public parkland, but was outbid by Soka University. That same year, the National Parks, State Parks and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy made a futile attempt to purchase the property. ‘Acquisition of the King Gillette Ranch has been a top priority of all the area park agencies for many, many years,’ said Assemblymember Pavley. ‘Once Soka came to the table as a willing seller, we simply couldn’t let the opportunity slip away.’

Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan addressed members and guests of the Rotary Club of Pacific Palisades last week, delivering a perspective on education in the state that combined a bottom-line reality with his demonstrable passion for ensuring the best resources for all students. Now serving as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Secretary of Education, Riordan brings to the job decades of experience through his foundation, which focuses on computer-based early childhood literacy programs. He also carries the respect of a former top city official, and entrepreneurial success. Taking an omnibus approach to the topic at hand, Riordan gave a brief overview of the future of the U.S. economy. ‘What will the middle class be like in the years to come,’ he asked. ‘Who would have thought 20, 30 years ago that now we’d have such efficiencies across the job market that have taken away so many quality middle class jobs? We use 25 percent of the work force in agriculture that we did years ago.’ Riordan predicted that the United States would become more and more a service economy. He tied the success of our economy to education, citing a variety of statistics that point to our country’s decline in providing scientific and technological experts, and to our failure to educate our children. ‘In the Western World, we are at the bottom for not having top-notch people in the world,’ he said. ‘And a majority of our students do not graduate from high school.’ He cited the 1983 ‘A Nation at Risk’ report that stated that ‘the educational foundations of our society are being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.’ He aimed his harshest attack at unions, which, he said ‘have taken over California and continue to advocate for more money for the schools”a solution to which Riordan objected. ‘Another check will not solve the problem. Putting money into diffusion, ambiguity and a dysfunctional system is a disaster. Teachers, principals and students need to be held responsible. In our current system incompetent people are tolerated.’ Turning to solutions, Riordan said that school principals must have power. ‘They must have power over the budget and to work with the school superintendent in determining how they will be meet the standards kids need. ‘If you empower educators, you will attract strong, entrepreneurial men and women to the profession. You will no longer have to move the lemons around.’ Riordan also advocated for smaller schools in smaller districts. ‘It’s vital that the principal be able to relate to every kid every day, and with smaller districts, the superintendent could relate to the principal every day. With 700 schools in the district, Gov. Romer certainly can’t do that.’ Much of Riordan’s philosophy is based on empirical evidence. He has been traveling the state and country to find examples of methods and systems that work. He was eager to learn about the charter schools in the Palisades, acting more the interlocutor than speaker with Palisades Charter School Executive Director Jack Sutton an Paul Revere Charter School Principal Art Copper. Sutton explained that Palisades Charter is not only a school but a district, entirely independent from the Los Angeles Unified School District. Copper explained that Revere, while a charter school in curriculum and hiring, is part of LAUSD. The Rotary Club presented Copper with a $5,000 check to support the school’s theater project, an after-school drama program that is the first step towards bringing a full drama department back to the middle school.