09 Feb 2013
In April the City’s Cultural Heritage Commission voted against HCM status for the TCDS. The matter returned to the City Council for further deliberation.
On June 25th, the Council, after negotiation with Fred Gaines on behalf of Hoberman, voted 10-0 to designate an acre of oak trees for HCM status for the TCDS. Tuna Canyon Detention Station became Historic Cultural Monument #1039.
The Council in the same action established a working group to begin the process of memorializing TCDS. After meeting four times during the summer of 2013, and appearing to have arrived at a consensus plan for the site, the attorney for Snowball West Investments revealed that they had filed a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles to remove the HCM designation. That lawsuit was dismissed and thus the historic designation stands.
The working group subsequently organized into a nonprofit corporation, the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition. It is raising funds to develop a memorial on the monument site.