1. No one in field facilities anywhere has the authority to waive 91.117. The catch is subpara (d) of 91.117, which reads:
(d) If the minimum safe airspeed for any particular operation is greater than the maximum speed prescribed in this section, the aircraft may be operated at that minimum speed.
Hey, that was me - sorry, I'm not a controller at Socal, but quite a way west of there...
