Seeds of a New Solution for the Japanese Garden?

In case you missed it, on Feb. 21, the Daily Bruin ran an offer to UCLA from a coalition of groups to maintain the Japanese Garden that UCLA controversially proposes to sell.  Excerpts:

On Feb. 9, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block wrote a piece in the Daily Bruin stating that the sale of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden is in the university’s best interests.  The organizations and the family of Hannah Carter who have formed the Coalition to Save the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden respectfully submit that other options are possible, and, indeed, preferable.

…On Jan. 31, the coalition convened a public informational meeting – the kind of meeting any preservation organization would have gladly convened on UCLA’s behalf had they truly wanted to “reach out to interested parties” and “preservation-minded groups and individuals.” The unanimous opposition of the nearly 100 attendees, along with more than 600 people who have since sent emails to the chancellor, signals that it is time for UCLA to take another approach.  What might a win-win situation look like?  UCLA would proceed with the sale of the former Carter residence, generating an estimated $10 million, but retain ownership of the garden. A sale of the residence would generate enough money to endow a fund to maintain the garden in perpetuity…

The coalition and UCLA could develop a management plan to address: maintenance and staffing; volunteer management; operating budget; interpretation and public access; educational mission and programmatic partnerships; and fundraising. Members of the coalition have experience with public/private partnerships.  With the City of Los Angeles, the Bel-Air Association and UCLA would address parking by developing alternative means of promoting broader public access.  Together, all partners would develop further relationships with cultural and civic organizations such as the North American Japanese Garden Association and institutions here in Los Angeles that support the preservation of Japanese culture…

On behalf of the Coalition to Save the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden, which includes the following groups: The Los Angeles Conservancy, The Garden Conservancy, California Garden & Landscape History Society, The Cultural Landscape Foundation, California Preservation Foundation, National Trust for Historic Preservation, American Public Gardens Association, North American Japanese Garden Association, The Hannah Carter Family (Partial list)

Full article at http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2012/02/coalition_looks_to_collaborate_with_ucla_to_maintain_perpetuity_of_hannah_carter_japanese_garden

The photo above is from a USC (!) website on Japanese Gardens in the local area:

http://www-scf.usc.edu/~suvarnab/final_project/primary.html

Note: Audio of the community meeting to which the item above refers is at:
http://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2012/01/audio-of-meeting-on-sale-of-ucla.html

Inch by inch, there might be some progress: