Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well as we learn and experience the effects of climate change. From heatwaves to unprecedented ice loss in Greenland, it is becoming more clear that we must do everyone in our power to push our government leaders to take bold environmental pro-action - even if it's just a small 14-acre orange grove - it matters. It matters because it has the potential to turn into something truly spectacular and we deserve that in this community and beyond. Please see below for updates and urgent actions everyone can take to help this cause. 

1. The most important action to take right now: 

Make an official public comment on this link by clicking NEW button - https://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=19-0782

By making an official public comment on the link above, you are going on the record with the City of Los Angeles. If you live in the City of Los Angeles or LA County please make that clear! If you don't live in either of those places your comment still matters as this property could be a destination people visit when coming to LA, etc. 

2. LA City's Planning & Land Use Management Committee is meeting on Tuesday, August 6th, to discuss Councilmember Blumenfield's motion to preserve Bothwell Ranch. The meeting is open to the public, so if you're able to come and join us please do so!

Meeting is on Tuesday, August 6th, at 2:30 pm at LA City Hall (downtown LA) in Room 340. It's important we show up to let the Committee Members and City Council at large know the community cares about this property and wants the City to do everything it can to save it. If you'd like to attend and want to carpool from the West Valley (Woodland Hills/Tarzana area) please reach out to Miles Lewis directly (who I've been working closely on this issue). His number is 818.390.2215

The meeting will be about whether or not the committee will authorize the initial study into the value of the landmark status. The study will investigate history of the property, how it came to be, what it’s role in agriculture industry was, how that role relates to overall history of Los Angeles, how it played a role in agriculture development of the valley. Basically it will dive deep and uncover the historical record of Bothwell Ranch and how that interplays with the City of LA's development and the City's overall role in agriculture / citrus industry. 

3. I recently attended a Woodland Hills Neighborhood Council Environmental Committee meeting that was open to the public regarding the Bothwell Ranch. The Bothwell Family council (lawyer) and their longtime accountant were present to plead their case. The family has been very quiet and has not publicly commented on this matter.

The Bothwell Family representatives made it clear that the property is currently costing them a lot of money to keep it running. Approximately $45,600 / year to just water the trees (remember this is currently being run with traditional/chemical agriculture and if it were transitioned to biodynamic/regenerative agriculture the watering would significantly decrease). Additional expenses include roughly $80,000 to professionally harvest the trees. 

The Bothwell Family representatives made it clear their "private farm" has not turned a profit in 50 years. They also said that they've reached out to a few foundations to see if they would be interested in buying it and preserving it as a green space but that was not an option for them as these particular foundations were looking for a +$10 M endowment to help with property management costs for decades to come. 

It's becoming very clear that the quickest way to see this property saved and potentially transformed into a truly spectacular green space would be if a wealthy individual(s) purchased it with the intention of working with the local community for upkeep, community & education opportunities, etc. If you happen to know someone and/or a foundation that may be interested in purchasing the land or working with City, County, and State officials on a joint-ownership of it please reach out to me directly at elizabeth.a.kahn@gmail.com. 

I am reaching out to individuals and foundations I know of through my personal network and I welcome help on this front. 

4. Keep sharing the petition as well as the official City Clerk comment link so we can show our local government that this private property matters to our community. It's a vital reason why we love our community and we think it is their duty to protect for its environmental, cultural, and historic benefits. 

Please know that this is going to be a journey, my friends. Please know I am engaged with this as well as other environmental issues. Feel free to reach out to me directly on Twitter. 

Hope you have a lovely and relaxing summer evening,

Lizzy