UN4LA News - February 2023
A monthly newsletter published by United Neighborhoods for Los Angeles.
UN4LA's mission is to bring communities together to plan for a sustainable future. Growth must be shaped by community engagement, not developer dollars.
AS COLORADO RIVER CRISIS LOOMS, L.A. AREA CITIES TRY TO CUT RELIANCE ON IMPORTED WATER
While the recent rains have provided much-needed water for LA's plants and trees, it doesn't change the fact that our water resources are declining steadily. Snowpack may be far above average this season, but snowpacks in the Sierra Nevadas have been waning for decades and most climatologists believe that trend will continue. In addition, the Colorado River is simply overallocated, and the Federal government has warned that it may have to step in to limit deliveries.
This steep decline in available water resources will affect cities all over LA County, but the cities that will be hit hardest are those that rely most on imported water. The City of Long Beach, for instance, gets about 60% of its supply from local groundwater. The rest comes from the Colorado River and the State Water Project. In the City of Pasadena the mix was 42% groundwater and 58% imported as of 2016. Then you have the City of LA, which only gets about 10% of its supply from groundwater, and has to import the remaining 90%. LADWP is working feverishly to change that by investing heavily in groundwater remediation and recycling infrastructure, but it will take many years and many billions of dollars before the percentages shift dramatically.
At the same time, the seven states that rely on water from the Colorado River have been locked in tense negotiations in an effort to agree on reductions in deliveries. At the beginning of February, no agreement had been reached.
At the Heart of Colorado River Crisis, the Mighty ‘Law of the River’ Holds Sway
UN4LA/ANGELENOS FOR TREES WIN LAWSUIT FILED TO PROTECT URBAN FOREST
Advocates for the urban forest got a big boost in January when Judge Mitchell Beckloff ordered the City of Los Angeles to set aside the approval of the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for its Sidewalk Repair Program. Co-petitioners UN4LA and Angelenos for Trees filed the suit because of concerns that the EIR failed to analyze the impacts of tree removals over the 30-year course of the Sidewalk Repair Program. Both groups agree on the the need for safe sidewalks, but they also believe that LA's urban forest must be protected as the area grows hotter and drier. The following are some of the key points Judge Beckloff cited in his ruling:
The EIR didn't assess significant impacts to the wildlife that relies on the urban forest
The EIR failed to assess short-term impacts from loss of tree canopy during the many years it will take replacement trees to reach their full height
The EIR didn't analyze cumulative environmental impacts resulting from other causes, such as new development
Press Release on SRP EIR Ruling
L.A. METRO APPROVES DIGITAL BILLBOARDS
At their meeting on January 26, the LA Metro Board approved the installation of dozens of digital billboards throughout the City of LA. The billboards would range in size from 300 square feet to 1,200 square feet per sign, with the largest appearing adjacent to freeways. The plan would also remove a number of existing static billboards, with the project description promising to deliver about a 50% reduction in terms of advertising square footage.
While LA Metro has labelled the program the "Transportation Communications Network (TCN)", it actually seems to be nothing more than an extension of its existing billboard program, which is handled by Allvision. Under their agreement will Allvision, Metro has already been replacing static billboards with digital billboards throughout LA County for years. In a document from 2016, Metro actually talks about expanding the Billboard Program to the City of LA, provided that the City passes an ordinance removing restrictions on digital billboards. If the TCN is, in fact, nothing more than an extension of the existing billboard program, then it would seem that Metro has broken the law. The Environmental Impact Report frames the project as a new program, and doesn’t analyze impacts from other digital billboards that the agency has been installing for years in other LA area cities.
LA Metro Overview of Billboard Program & Revenue Services Contract, 2016
FORMER L.A. CITY COUNCILMEMBER JOSE HUIZAR PLEADS GUILTY
Just weeks before his case was scheduled to go to trial, former LA City Councilmember José Huizar pled guilty to federal criminal charges. This was just the latest in a string of guilty pleas that have resulted from a years-long investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) into corruption at LA City Hall. Huizar agreed to plead guilty to one count of violating the RICO Act and one count of tax evasion, thereby avoiding a much longer list of charges that included honest services fraud, extortion and money laundering.
The last remaining defendant in the DOJ's criminal probe is Raymond Chan, who was formerly head of the LA Department of Building & Safety and also a top aide to former Mayor Eric Garcetti. Chan is scheduled to go to trial later this month.
LAWSUIT ALLEGES UNLAWFUL PRACTICES AT LA DEPT. OF BUILDING & SAFETY
Meanwhile, it appears that the LA Department of Building & Safety (LADBS) may be dealing with its own corruption issues. Zachary De Corse, an employee of the Department, has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was subjected to retaliation for having spoken out against unlawful practices. According to de Corse, LADBS higher-ups have misappropriated funds and used their positions to benefit their associates. He claims that when he tried to call attention to these practices, he was marginalized within the Department and stripped of his responsibilities.
LA Building and Safety Worker Alleges Retaliation for Exposing Corruption
Of course, charges of corruption at LADBS are nothing new. The Department has been plagued for years by allegations of wrongdoing. Back in 2020, Steve Ongele, a former LADBS bureau chief, filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired for - guess what - speaking out against unlawful practices. In his lawsuit Ongele even levelled his accusations at some of the same people as De Corse: Osama Younan and Frank Bush, the current and former LADBS General Managers, respectively. You may not be surprised to learn that Bush's predecessor as General Manager was Ray Chan, who, as stated in the previous story on José Huizar, will be facing his own trial on corruption charges later this month.
Former L.A. Building Official Alleges He Was Ousted after Blowing Whistle on Fraud
CITY OF L.A. TAKES ACTION ON HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS
While renters cheered and landlords jeered, on January 20 the LA City Council voted to approve a package of tenant protections. With the City's temporary pandemic-related protections set to expire at the end of the month, the Council took action to extend tenants' rights and hopefully reduce the number of evictions.
LA City Council Votes to Expand Tenant Rights
Also in January, newly-elected Mayor Karen Bass took to the streets with an army of outreach workers to tackle homeless encampments in Venice and Hollywood. Offering to get homeless persons started on the path to permanent housing, city staff and personnel from a local non-profit spent days visiting the encampments, listening to the concerns of the residents and trying to find housing solutions to address their needs. By January 11, the encampments at Third and Hampton in Venice and on Cahuenga in Hollywood were gone. Bass acknowledges that this is only the beginning. Finding a permanent solution to LA's homeless crisis will be a long, difficult process.
Amid Heavy Rain, Bass Takes on Long-Standing Homeless Encampment in Venice
HILLSIDE PARCEL IN LINCOLN HEIGHTS SAVED FROM DEVELOPMENT
Neighbors successfully organized to save a patch of open space in the hills of Lincoln Heights from development. While the land is privately owned, area residents have gathered there for years, as the area has little public open space. The proposed project was 2-story, 4,000 sq. ft. single-family home, and many in the community felt it would open up the area to further luxury housing. The LA Department of City Planning ultimately denied approval of the project. Among the reasons cited were concerns about emergency access and the fact that the parcel is considered sacred by LA's indigenous people.
Lincoln Heights’ Scenic Overlook Is Safe from Development (For Now)
