UN4LA News - June 2019
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.
CUTTING OFF THE CAMPAIGN CASH: IS THE CITY OF L.A. FINALLY GOING TO TAKE ACTION?
At the urging of six LA City Councilmembers, the City's Ethics Commission has drafted recommendations for new rules regarding campaign contributions from real developers. It's high time. After years of pay-to-play deals, City Hall needs to clean up its act. UN4LA strongly supports these propsed reforms. For more details, follow the link.
High Time for Ethics Reform
SB 330: WOULD IT REALLY PRODUCE MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING?
In May SB 330 was approved by the State Senate, and it's now headed for the Assembly. The bill's author, State Senator Nancy Skinner, claims it would remove unreasonable local restrictions that impede new residential development, and thereby speed the production of housing. But this complex and confusing bill seems likely to cause more problems than it solves. If approved by the State Legislature, SB 330 would:
Void local development policies, standards, or conditions enacted after January 1, 2018, that do not comply with the bill.
Limit the number of hearings that can be held for proposed projects.
Create a new type of housing project application, a “preliminary” application, without bothering to define exactly what that is. It also starts the clock for the approval process from the time the "preliminary" application is submitted.
Delay enforcement of housing code violations for seven years if the correction is not necessary to protect health and safety.
All of these proposed mandates are troubling, and have the potential to cause problems for communities and planning agencies. While the bill has a number of supporters, it's opposed (unless amended) by the California Chapter of the American Planning Association and the League of California Cities.
You can read SB 330 here.
SB 330: Housing Crisis Act of 2019
And you can read the objections submitted by the California APA and the League of California Cities below.
SB 330: American Planning Association, California Chapter
SB 330: League of California Cities
L.A.U.S.D. WANTS TO CUT DOWN 48 TREES AT GRANT HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS
Is LAUSD actually going to cut down 48 mature trees on the Grant High School campus? Right now it looks like that's exactly what's going to happen, unless community activists are successful in getting the District to rethink its plan. LAUSD has proposed an ambitious renovation project which would bring the school's structures up to date and make it compliant with seismic safety laws. No one disputes that the campus needs an upgrade. The question is whether it's really necessary to cut down so many trees in the process. Members of the surrounding community are also asking why they weren't informed earlier that the renovation involved the destruction of so much of the school's tree canopy.
The school, located in Valley Glen, falls in LAUSD's 3rd District, which is represented by Scott Schmerelson. Area activists are hoping they can convince Schmerelson to put a hold on the plan until other options are explored. For more information see this post on the project from the Greater Valley Glen Council.
Grant High School Renovations to Uproot 48 Mature Trees
WARNER BROS. BUYS A NEW SITE IN BURBANK, AND PLANS TO BUILD OFFICE TOWERS
A big real estate deal just went down in Burbank, where Warner Bros. has purchased a new campus and plans to build more office space. The former home of NBC, at the intersection of Alameda and Olive, was sold to the studio earlier this year. Architect Frank Gehry will design a row of office towers near Riverside Drive which will Warners will occupy. As part of the transaction, the studio has sold the Ranch Lot, its production facility on Hollywood Way. For more details, read the story in the Times.
Warner Bros. Buys Burbank Studios
