UN4LA News - July 2022
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.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS APPROVES L.A. RIVER MASTER PLAN IN SPITE OF BROAD OPPOSITION
In spite of broad opposition from community and environmental groups, on June 14 the LA County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the LA River Master Plan. While LA County Director of Public Works Mark Pestrella claims that Master Plan is a "visionary and holistic planning document for a reimagining of the iconic Los Angeles River," opponents were scathing in their criticism.
Laura Cortez, in letter sent on behalf of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ), says the team preparing the Master Plan ignored community input. According to EYCEJ, instead of embracing natural solutions focussed on restoration, the team that ultimately crafted the plan proceeded as though the LA River was “nothing more than a flood control channel”.
Friends of the LA River (FoLAR) posted a statement on their web site saying that the group was "strongly OPPOSED to this Master Plan because it reduces the river to an anti-flood channel, and does not promote habitat restoration that provides climate resilience." The statement echoes EYCEJ's complaint that community input was ignored: "The community engagement process outlined in the Plan’s Public Stewardship and Implementation section misrepresents the public's actual level of involvement in making the Plan." FoLAR also asserts that the Plan is an "Ineffective, excessive use of taxpayer money".
Board Of Supervisors Adopts LA River Master Plan, But Community Advocates Withdraw Support
FoLAR's Opposition to the County's LA River Master Plan
DEVELOPER DAVID LEE FOUND GUILTY OF BRIBERY
Developer David Lee, AKA Dae Yong Lee, was found guilty in June of providing a $500,000 bribe to former LA City Councilmember José Huizar in exchange for Huizar's help in resolving an appeal that could have slowed a proposed project. Lee's project, a 20-story residential skyscraper at the corner of Olympic and Hill in Downtown, had been approved by LA City Planning, but the approval had been appealed by CREED LA, a group associated with construction unions.
The Lee trial was the first of three that are related to the Department of Justice's wide-ranging investigation of corruption at LA City Hall. In October developer Wei Huang and his company Shen Zhen New World I, LLC, are scheduled to go on trial for bribery. In February 2023 Huizar and former LA Deputy Mayor Raymond Chan will be tried on multiple charges, including violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.
Click on the first link below for a succinct account of the Lee trial from the DOJ. Click on the second link to read an LA Times story that offers the lurid details of testimony by former Huizar aide George Esparza.
A 20-Story Tower. A Liquor Box with $100 Bills. The First Trial in the Huizar Case Begins
DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTION BAN GOES INTO EFFECT
Over two years after being approved by the LA City Council, restrictions on campaign contributions from developers went into effect in June. Developers who have submitted applications for significant planning entitlements (i.e. zone change, zone variance, density bonus) will be restricted from giving money to campaign accounts associated with the Mayor, the City Attorney or a Councilmember.
The LA City Ethics Commission web page offers more details.
Developer Contribution Ban Goes into Effect
DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY PLAN & NEW ZONING CODE TO BE CONSIDERED BY L.A. CITY COUNCIL THIS SUMMER
LA City Planning has announced that the City Council will be receiving the Final EIR and Determination Letter for the Downtown Community Plan and New Zoning Code later this summer. The new “Form Based” Code is a radical departure from the traditional approach, which focusses on prohibiting incompatible uses. The New Zoning Code emphasizes the physical design of a building and its use. According to the City Planning web site….
“The proposed zoning structure consists of five key parts or ‘districts’: Form, Frontage, Development Standards, Use, and Density. While Form, Frontage, and Development Standards regulate the built environment, Use and Density refer to the activities allowed on a site.”
The New Code seems designed to encourage greater density in many parts of LA. Article 2, ‘Form’, lays out a system of generous density bonusses, allowing significant increases in height and floor area ratio (FAR) in exchange for public benefits.
In tying adoption of the New Zoning Code to approval of the Downtown Community Plan Update, the City has taken a highly unusual approach. If approved, the New Code will at first only apply to the Downtown area, and will be applied to other areas as their community plans are updated.
As if that weren't complicated enough, inexplicably, LA City Planning is also preparing a separate Zoning Code for the Boyle Heights Community Plan Update.
New Zoning for Boyle Heights Community Plan Update
PRESERVATION WINS! CITY OF L.A. APPROVES THREE NEW HISTORIC LANDMARKS
Preservationists had good reason to celebrate on Friday, June 24. The LA City Council approved a number of nominations for designation as Historic Cultural Monuments (HCMs). In different ways, the various buildings involved represent the diversity of the city's cultures and the richness of its past. Below are brief summaries giving background on three of the sites, along with links to staff reports, which contain more information and images.
The Loren Miller Residence
The son of a formerly enslaved black father and a white mother, Loren Miller rose from poverty to become a journalist, attorney, and civil rights activist. Born in Nebraska in 1903, Miller earned a degree in law degree from Washburn University in 1928 and moved to Los Angeles in 1929. While he initially worked as a journalist in LA, he eventually returned to practicing law, arguing a number of cases involving housing discrimination. In 1948, Miller worked as co-counsel with Thurgood Marshall on McGhee v. Sipes, one of three cases that led to the US Supreme Court's ruling against racially restrictive covenants. Later in life, Miller served as a Los Angeles Municipal Court judge.
The Loren Miller Residence, designed for him by architect James Garrott, is a single-family home in Silverlake. Miller lived there from 1940 until his death in 1967.
Loren Miller Residence Staff Report
Mission Hills Bowl
Fans of mid-century modern architecture will be pleased to hear that the Mission Hills Bowl was awarded HCM status. Designed by prolific architect Martin Stern, Jr., the structure has gone through a number of incarnations over the years, and now houses a Ross retail store, but its strong modern lines still stand out. Some Angelenos may remember Stern's space-age design for Ship's coffee shop in Westwood (demolished long ago), but he's best known for his work in Las Vegas, including the Sahara Hotel, the International Hotel (AKA the Las Vegas Hilton) and the first MGM Grand Hotel.
The structure, located on Sepulveda between San Jose and Devonshire, was completed in 1958.
The Throop House
The Throop House is a single-family home located on San Pascual Avenue between Comet and Hough. It was built in 1885 in what was then the town of Garvanza, which was annexed by the City of LA in 1899. Present-day Garvanza sits between Highland Park and South Pasadena. In the early years of the 20th century, the community was served by the Los Angeles Railway, which took riders into Downtown LA. The Cultural Heritage Commission found that the Throop House met two of the criteria for HCM designation:
1) As a structure that exemplifies the cultural/economic/social history of the city because of its association with the early development of Garvanza.
2) The house “embodies the distinctive characteristics of a style, type, period, or method of construction” as a rare and excellent example of a 19th Century vernacular hipped cottage.
