UN4LA News - June 2017
A monthly newsletter published by United Neighborhoods for Los Angeles.
UN4LA's mission is to bring communities together to plan for a sustainable future. This city's growth must be shaped by community engagement, not developer dollars.
Contact UN4LA
DON’T LET THE LANDLORD MAKE YOUR APARTMENT A HOTEL ROOM
City Hall is currently considering the Home Sharing Ordinance, designed to regulate short-term rentals (i.e. AirBnB, etc.). As property owners have found that they can reap huge profits by turning apartments into short-term rentals, thousands of units, many of them rent-stabilized, have been removed from the rental market. In addition, residential neighborhoods are impacted by visiting tourists who often have little regard for the community.
There are many good aspects to the Home Sharing Ordinance, but the current version would allow people to offer a unit as a short-term rental for 180 days per year. This would only encourage the current practice of turning apartments into hotel rooms. City Hall needs to reduce the limit to 60 days to discourage this practice.
Keep Neighborhoods First has been working with the City to craft an ordinance that would allow home sharing within reasonable limits and protect existing rental stock. You can join them in their efforts by signing the petition below.
Keep Neighborhoods First Petition
MASSIVE CROSSROADS PROJECT PROPOSED FOR SUNSET/HIGHLAND
The proposed Crossroads Hollywood Project will range over 4 city blocks at the intersection of Sunset and Highland. The project would be comprised of eight new mixed-use buildings, with residential, hotel, commercial/retail, office, entertainment and restaurant uses. Crossroads of the World, a historic landmark, would be preserved and integrated into the new complex. All other existing uses would be removed, including 84 residential units in addition to other retail and office buildings. The completed project would consist of about 1,432,500 square feet of floor area, including 950 residential units, 308 hotel rooms, 95,000 square feet of office space, 185,000 square feet of commercial/retail. The developers are also asking for a Master Conditional Use Permit to allow the sale of alcohol in 22 different establishments within the project, as well as a permit to offer live entertainment.
You can view the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) by clicking on the link below.
Crossroads Draft Environmental Impact Report
And if you have comments, you can send them to Alejandro Huerta at the Department of City Planning. Comments are due by June 26, 2017.
Alejandro Huerta
Environmental Review Coordinator
Department of City Planning
alejandro.huerta@lacity.org
TESORO MERGER BRINGS REAL RISKS FOR HARBOR AREA RESIDENTS
The people who live in the Harbor area face higher levels of contamination and higher health risks than any other community in LA. In spite of this, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) approved the Tesoro refinery merger, which has the potential to drastically increase health and safety risks for all the surrounding communities. The AQMD approved a seriously flawed Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which underestimated existing contamination and failed to consider the higher risk of a major accident resulting from the switch to more volatile crude oil.
To find out more, read the May 2017 press release from Communities for a Better Environment.
CBE Press Release
The Tesoro merger isn’t just bad for the Harbor area, it’s bad for all of Southern California. If you agree that it brings unacceptable health and safety risks, write to your representatives in the state legislature. If you don’t know who they are, click on the link to find out.
Find Your California Representative
SOUTHWEST VALLEY PLANS
The Department of City Planning (DCP) is starting the process of updating its 35 Community Plans over the next 6 years. The DCP is currently updating the plans for the following 3 areas:
Canoga Park-Winnetka-Woodland Hills-West Hills
Encino-Tarzana
Reseda-West Van Nuys
You can get involved by following the link below to learn about upcoming community meetings and registering for updates. Residents of these areas should seriously consider getting involved. If you don’t participate in the planning process, others will make these important decisions for you, and you may not like the results.
The Southwest Valley Plans
