UN4LA News - November 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.
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AHF, TENANT GROUPS FILE TO REPEAL COSTA-HAWKINS
In October representatives of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, and Eviction Defense Network filed paperwork to start the ball rolling on an initiative that would overturn the Costa-Hawkins Act. Costa-Hawkins, passed by the California Legislature in 1995, placed limits on cities' ability to enact rent control ordinances. Tenant advocates say repeal is needed because of increasing housing costs and the rising number of evictions. Landlords and real estate interests argue that rent control suppresses new construction of residential housing.
This will definitely be one of the major battles of 2018. Read more about it on Curbed.
Tenant Groups, AHF File to Repeal Costa-Hawkins
STILL NO ACTION ON HOME SHARING ORDINANCE
Once again the proposed Home Sharing Ordinance was on the docket for the Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee in October, and once again a decision was postponed. The Ordinance would place restrictions on Short-Term Rentals (STRs, i.e. Airbnb, VRBO, etc.). One of the key issues is a cap on the number of days a unit could be used as an STR. Housing advocates argue that the limit must be 90 days or less, because anything higher makes it more profitable for landlords to turn apartments into hotel rooms. While this is already illegal, the practice is rampant throughout LA, and the City Attorney has done almost nothing to enforce existing laws. Take a look at the Ordinance for yourself by clicking on the link below.
Draft Home Sharing Ordinance
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER BUILDING MOVES CLOSER TO BEING A LANDMARK
On the last day of October, the Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee recommended that the Hollywood Reporter Building be designated a Historic-Cultural Monument. The building could be threatened with demolition by the massive Crossroads Hollywood project which would rise at the intersection of Sunset and Highland. Preservationists and members of the Hollywood community argued that the building was an important piece of Hollywood history, and the PLUM Committee listened. The recommendation must be voted on by the full City Council before being finalized.
Thanks to Hollywood Heritage, The Art Deco Society, The LA Conservancy, and the many members of the community who worked so hard to make this happen. To learn more about the building, check out the Conservancy's write-up on it.
Hollywood Reporter Building
THE LAKE ON WILSHIRE
On October 12 the City Planning Commission gave their blessing to a huge new development in the largely immigrant, low-income community surrounding Westlake/MacArthur Park. The project includes a 41-story apartment tower, the conversion of a 14-story office building into a hotel, and a new multicultural center. Jenna Monterrosa, of the Department of City Planning, said the project would “bring much-needed housing to Westlake.” But housing for who? While The Lake on Wilshire will include 49 very-low-income units, the remaining 400+ units will be far beyond the reach of the people who live in the community, and if recent history is any indication, this development will trigger yet another wave of gentrification and displacement in a low-income area. Ellis Act evictions in 2017 are already on track to exceed last year's number of 1,372. With more projects like this in the pipeline, you can be sure that in 2018 the number will rise even higher.
Curbed gives an overview here.
Commission Backs Big Westlake Development
And Streetsblog offers a blistering critique here.
Speculators Discover Westlake
