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Grand View access plan gets OK
Superior Court judge agrees with proposal, giving relatives first chance in months to enter the cemetery.
By Ryan Vaillancourt
LOS ANGELES — Friends and family members of those buried at Grand View Memorial Park will soon have their first chance in more than seven months to visit their loved ones at the troubled cemetery after a Superior Court judge on Monday approved a tentative public access plan.
The plan, which attorneys involved in a series of legal actions against the cemetery signed off on, envisions up to 40 volunteers staffing the park from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 30.
Composed of members from various community organizations, including the Boy Scouts, the tentative volunteer corps will help distribute information regarding cemetery rules and guide visitors around the site, attorneys said.
The one-time opening will be treated as a trial run, but if all goes smoothly later this month, it could lead to regular monthly visitations, said attorney David Baum, who represents cemetery operator Moshe Goldsman.
“That’s the hope,” he said.
On the same day the plan was unfurled, attorneys also informed Judge Anthony Mohr that they are looking to settle a series of legal actions against the cemetery instead of going to trial.
Attorney Paul Ayers, who represents families involved in a pending class-action suit against the cemetery, said attorneys for the cemetery and its insurance company initiated the settlement discussions.
Those talks are expected to continue in the coming months, after attorneys agree to mediation methods.
Gates to the beleaguered cemetery have been locked since June, when city-funded public visitations were canceled because of drought-induced safety concerns.
Prompted by a public nuisance abatement order filed by the city, cemetery operator Moshe Goldsman has since spent $105,400 mitigating the safety hazards: thigh-high grass has since been mowed, brittle trees were trimmed and an above-ground irrigation system that will draw from reclaimed water was installed.
But the irrigation system, needed to keep the broad lawns and hundreds of trees alive, also presents a potential financial obstacle to opening the park in the future, Baum said.
Opening the park entails three major costs: staffing, ongoing maintenance and, eventually, water.
Staffing costs have been temporarily sidestepped by enlisting volunteers. And the cemetery’s monthly income — derived from rental properties on the site and the interest from a private endowment care fund — is enough to cover the monthly maintenance.
But there may not be enough money in the cemetery’s coffers to cover the water bill, Baum said.
Recent rains have allowed Goldsman to keep the irrigation system off, but Baum said he anticipates water will be the biggest expense. Baum said he has been lobbying the city to forgive the water bill, or at least allow postponed payments.
Since the city staffed the park for public visits for almost one year, city officials have been reluctant to commit more taxpayer dollars to the cemetery: Forgiving Grand View’s water bill, in particular, is an unlikely prospect, said Peter Kavounas, Glendale Water & Power water systems administrator.
“From the point of view of the citizens of Glendale, the water utility needs to be financially liable and what that means is the bill has got to be paid,” Kavounas said. “Grand View is one of the larger users, not in the top 10, but if we forgive their bill then who’s going to pay?”
Baum said he would continue to press for either a discounted water bill or permission to delay payment.
In the meantime, Baum and Ayers are both likely to lend much focus to the March 30 opening. Unlike previous openings, visitors are asked to proceed in their vehicles through the cemetery gates instead of stopping to get information. Once parked, volunteers will direct visitors to informational literature or deliver it themselves, Baum said.
The park has been tangled in a series of lawsuits since a state inspector in October 2005 discovered approximately 4,000 bodies that were not properly interred.
In November 2005, the state prohibited the cemetery from conducting any new business. Goldsman closed the park in June 2006, citing financial woes. In response to public outcry, the city of Glendale stepped in within months and opened the site for limited visitations until closing it down once again a year later.
RYAN VAILLANCOURT covers business, politics and the foothills. He may be reached at (818) 637-3215 or by e-mail at ryan.vaillancourt@latimes.com.
The plan, which attorneys involved in a series of legal actions against the cemetery signed off on, envisions up to 40 volunteers staffing the park from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 30.
Composed of members from various community organizations, including the Boy Scouts, the tentative volunteer corps will help distribute information regarding cemetery rules and guide visitors around the site, attorneys said.
The one-time opening will be treated as a trial run, but if all goes smoothly later this month, it could lead to regular monthly visitations, said attorney David Baum, who represents cemetery operator Moshe Goldsman.
“That’s the hope,” he said.
On the same day the plan was unfurled, attorneys also informed Judge Anthony Mohr that they are looking to settle a series of legal actions against the cemetery instead of going to trial.
Attorney Paul Ayers, who represents families involved in a pending class-action suit against the cemetery, said attorneys for the cemetery and its insurance company initiated the settlement discussions.
Those talks are expected to continue in the coming months, after attorneys agree to mediation methods.
Gates to the beleaguered cemetery have been locked since June, when city-funded public visitations were canceled because of drought-induced safety concerns.
Prompted by a public nuisance abatement order filed by the city, cemetery operator Moshe Goldsman has since spent $105,400 mitigating the safety hazards: thigh-high grass has since been mowed, brittle trees were trimmed and an above-ground irrigation system that will draw from reclaimed water was installed.
But the irrigation system, needed to keep the broad lawns and hundreds of trees alive, also presents a potential financial obstacle to opening the park in the future, Baum said.
Opening the park entails three major costs: staffing, ongoing maintenance and, eventually, water.
Staffing costs have been temporarily sidestepped by enlisting volunteers. And the cemetery’s monthly income — derived from rental properties on the site and the interest from a private endowment care fund — is enough to cover the monthly maintenance.
But there may not be enough money in the cemetery’s coffers to cover the water bill, Baum said.
Recent rains have allowed Goldsman to keep the irrigation system off, but Baum said he anticipates water will be the biggest expense. Baum said he has been lobbying the city to forgive the water bill, or at least allow postponed payments.
Since the city staffed the park for public visits for almost one year, city officials have been reluctant to commit more taxpayer dollars to the cemetery: Forgiving Grand View’s water bill, in particular, is an unlikely prospect, said Peter Kavounas, Glendale Water & Power water systems administrator.
“From the point of view of the citizens of Glendale, the water utility needs to be financially liable and what that means is the bill has got to be paid,” Kavounas said. “Grand View is one of the larger users, not in the top 10, but if we forgive their bill then who’s going to pay?”
Baum said he would continue to press for either a discounted water bill or permission to delay payment.
In the meantime, Baum and Ayers are both likely to lend much focus to the March 30 opening. Unlike previous openings, visitors are asked to proceed in their vehicles through the cemetery gates instead of stopping to get information. Once parked, volunteers will direct visitors to informational literature or deliver it themselves, Baum said.
The park has been tangled in a series of lawsuits since a state inspector in October 2005 discovered approximately 4,000 bodies that were not properly interred.
In November 2005, the state prohibited the cemetery from conducting any new business. Goldsman closed the park in June 2006, citing financial woes. In response to public outcry, the city of Glendale stepped in within months and opened the site for limited visitations until closing it down once again a year later.
RYAN VAILLANCOURT covers business, politics and the foothills. He may be reached at (818) 637-3215 or by e-mail at ryan.vaillancourt@latimes.com.
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