Whitebird Developers Hire Controversial PR Firm

La Tuna Canyon–According to Canyon Area Preservation (CAP), the first time many people became aware of the massive development plans in the Verdugo Hills at La Tuna Canyon was the slick mailer sent out this past month by the Nevada corporation, Whitebird, Inc. However, the flyer doesn't tell people virtually all of Whitebird's land is greater than a 15% slope and in some areas it is practically vertical. "Whitebird requires variances from zoning, the Community Plan, and the (future) Scenic Plan to achieve the density they are seeking on this project." (Email CAPViews@comcast.net)

Like a well financed political campaign, Whitebird has spent thousands of dollars to mail all the residents in the surrounding towns to give their own Public Relations spin on the Whitebird commercial endeavor to turn the Scenic Corridor into a high priced development.

To buy the best possible PR spin for their housing project, Whitebird has hired the Los Angeles based PR firm, Consensus Planning Group. The Consensus Planning Group promotes themselves as the largest firm in the US specializing in gaining community support for real estate development, transportation and public projects (www.consensusp.com).

Controversy has followed the PR firm. In 1998, the LA Times reported on the 2.2 million earmarked for Consensus Planning to gain support for yet to be approved LAX expansion. The Times reported on the circumstances of opposition leader City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, "The effort is so blatant, she said, that one of the consultants has a person attend Galanter's speeches to monitor her remarks. The councilwoman has taken to introducing the consultant, a representative of Consensus Planning, as 'her shadow'." (www.latimes.com)