Save the Capitol - Proposed Project to Demolish the State Capitol Annex

By Desert Star Staff SACRAMENTO, CA

- Four retired legislators called Senate President proTempore Toni Atkins’ claim that it would cost just as much money to rehabilitate the historic Capitol Annex as it would construct a new luxurious glass annex as “humbug.” They urge the newly elected members of the Legislature to have the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) assess the proposed project and the pro-Tem’s claim.

“It is difficult for the public to determine reality and illusion,” said former Republican Assemblyman Bill Bagley. “We appear to be awash in the wake of institutional fiction. The State can absolutely rehabilitate the Annex, just like they are doing with the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building and the Jesse M. Unruh State Office Building.”

Last month, the LAO announced that the Governor’s budget should make more cuts than his office anticipated, advising the Legislature “not to adopt the Governor’s spending solutions” but come up with other solutions.

“We believe that the LAO may find that rehabilitating the Capitol Annex would save more money in the Budget for education and helping the homeless,” concluded Bagley.

Former Democratic Assemblyman and Congressman Sam Farr added: “I believe that the Department of General Services and the Legislative Joint Rules Committee unlawfully entered into a confidential Memorandum of Understanding in November 2018 that defined the project as demolition without input from required state agencies.” As a result, Farr said, the Chair of the State Historic Capitol Commission and another member resigned in protest.

Former Senator Quentin Kopp, the Independent, declared that the State Historical Capitol Commission was established, by law, to “review and advise the Legislature on any development, improvement or other physical change in any aspect of the historic State Capitol.” In carrying out its duties, the Commission, he read, “ ... shall follow accepted standards for restoration, preservation, and maintenance of historic structures promulgated by the US Department of Interior.”

In addition to not taking input from the State Historical Capitol Commission, the former chair of the Joint Rules Committee also bypassed the law requiring the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to evaluate the project. Was he and (then) Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom apprehensive that SHPO would make a finding similar to that which saved San Diego’s famous Balboa Park from desecration? The proposal to demolish part of the Cabrillo Bridge and construct a new roadway there would have seriously affected the historic park.

Former Senator Alan Sieroty proclaimed that the State Historical Building Safety Board (SHBS) was created in 1975 by past Senate Pro-Tem James Mills (now deceased but a strong opponent of the proposed glass annex). The law gives authority to SHBS to consult and review issues of qualified historic buildings. “A former Legislature created these laws, and now the Governor and current Legislature is ignoring them,” Sieroty said.

It appears that the socalled people’s house will become a palace unless something Is done to stop it, despite the original legislation calling for consideration of rehabilitation, which is feasible, cost-¬effective, and time efficient,” Sieroty concluded.

“We strongly encourage the new members of the Legislature to obtain an opinion from the LAO about preserving one of the capital city’s last ties to its 19th and 20th-century history,” they stated in a joint statement.