L.A. Film School May Destroy Hollywood Farmers' Market to Erect New Building

Does Hollywood have room for film productions and fresh produce? The battle to protect the Hollywood Farmers' Market has taken a dramatic plot twist as the Los Angeles Film School has unveiled plans to erect a large classroom building right at the heart of the cherished weekly market. The startling news follows the recent announcement that the film school plans to revoke its consent for the market's street closure permits in order to allow for more student parking on Sundays.

As the landowner, the school arguably may have the legal right to do as it sees fit with its property. But by reducing the size of the market or potentially forcing it out altogether, L.A. Film School threatens the livelihood of many farmers and could dramatically reduce access to fresh produce for thousands of people. And we're not just talking about depriving shoppers in Tinseltown of healthy foods, either: Low-income communities across the city rely on revenue from the Hollywood location to support smaller, local farmers' markets in economically disadvantaged areas.

The market was granted a 90-day extension thanks to an outpouring of public support, including more than 300 signatures from Change.org readers. However, we need to keep up the pressure to protect this invaluable farmers' market.

The film school argues that the newly revealed building plans are still "theoretical" and are unrelated to the school's request that the market relocate to allow unhindered access to one of its parking lots, said spokesmen Antoine Ibrahim.  But the deflective response sounds even flimsier when we consider that the institution is planning to expand its activity at the Film School-owned Ivar Theatre, located immediately next to the proposed building site. Both sites are located at the center of the Hollywood Farmers' Market, just one block north of the parking structure that the school now wishes to access on Sunday mornings. Ibrahim said that "We haven't even begun to complain yet about our access to Ivar Theatre."  However, talk of shuttle buses, weekend festivals, and speaker series suggest that the film school has big plans for that stretch of road.

The Hollywood Farmers' Market scuffle may have begun with a debate over parking access, but as the film school's real desires slowly come to light, we see that the issue is about much more than that.  L.A. Film School certainly has the right to grow and thrive, but to be a good neighbor the school needs to be forthright about its plans and respect the tremendously important contribution the farmers' market makes to the area and the city at large.  Both institutions should be allowed to thrive. Sign our petition to help save the Hollywood Farmers' Market and protect local food security in Los Angeles.

Photo credit: Jason Anfinsen via Flickr