UN4LA News - March 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.
IPCC REPORT: CLIMATE EXTREMES HAVE CAUSED IRREVERSIBLE IMPACTS
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released its Sixth Assessment Report. The news is not good. Here's an excerpt from the Summary for Policymakers.
"Human-induced climate change, including more frequent and intense extreme events, has caused widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people, beyond natural climate variability. [....] The rise in weather and climate extremes has led to some irreversible impacts as natural and human systems are pushed beyond their ability to adapt."
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
The release of the IPCC report comes shortly after the publication of a study showing that the Western US is experiencing its driest period in 1,200 years.
Study Finds Western Megadrought Is the Worst in 1,200 Years
What does this mean for the LA area? A lot less water. All of the water resources the region depends on are declining. With snowpacks receding in the Western Sierras, there have been major cuts to deliveries from the State Water Project. Loss of snowpack in the Eastern Sierras has also impacted deliveries from the LA Aqueduct. And last year the Federal Government declared the first-ever water shortage on the Colorado River.
There's no way around it. Unless a miracle happens, LA area residents are going to have to make do with less water.
COURT STOPS PROJECT THAT INVOLVED DEMO OF 40 R.S.O. UNITS
In February LA Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff handed UN4LA a win its suit to stop a hotel project that involved the demolition of 40 rent-stabilized units. In 2016 the owner of the apartments at 1719 Whitley filed an application to build a 10-story hotel. The LA Department of City Planning approved the project, claiming that it was exempt from environmental review required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
UN4LA challenged the approval. Attorney Sabrina Venskus argued that, under the law, the CEQA exemption should not have been granted because the City hadn't considered whether the project was consistent with its Housing Element. The court agreed.
Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the story. While the court's decision seemed like good news for the people living at 1719 Whitley, it may not help them at all. In spite of the fact that the hotel project has been stopped, we've learned that the owner of the property still plans to evict the tenants when COVID restrictions expire. This is one more reminder of the grim reality that renters in LA area dealing with every day.
Order Granting Petition for Writ of Mandate
STATE REJECTION OF HOUSING PLANS SUBMITTED BY L.A. AREA CITIES COULD LEAD TO FUNDING CUTS
Last year a number of LA area cities submitted their updated Housing Elements to the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD), as required by law. In February many of these cities received letters informing them that HCD considered their plans inadequate. The letters also make clear that the State could withhold funding for those municipalities it deems non-compliant with State law.
The consequences could be devastating. If they do not comply with the State’s demands, these jurisdictions face the loss of crucial funding for affordable housing, collectively amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. You can read some of the letters by clicking on the links below.
California HCD Letters to LA Area Jurisdictions Re Housing Element Updates
STATE TELLS CITY OF L.A. TO UPZONE FOR 250,000 MORE HOUSING UNITS BY OCTOBER
The City of LA's Housing Element has been rejected by the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD). In a letter outlining the reasons for the rejection, HCD told the City that it has until October to increase its zoning capacity to allow for 250,000 more housing units than currently allowed, or risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.
Many at City Hall were stunned by the letter. At the March 1 meeting of the Planning & Land Management (PLUM) Committee, Director of Planning Vince Bertoni expressed surprise at the rejection, and disbelief that the State was setting such a tight timeline. According to Bertoni, the Housing Element actually planned for more than the 456,643 new units required by the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA), but the process of upzoning to allow for the construction of those units was to take place over three years. By mandating that the City increase its zoned capacity by 250,000 units in just seven months, HCD is effectively telling LA to skip public review required by the City Charter, and also to ignore environmental review mandated by State law.
The stakes are high. At the PLUM meeting, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez stressed that the loss of State funding for affordable housing would be devastating. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield asked if it was even possible to meet the October deadline. In answer, Bertoni said, "I think it's really a challenge to meet the October deadline. I mean’s that’s seven months away.” He went on to emphasize, "There's no way to do it that you have any kind of meaningful input and dialogue with our communities."
The meeting ended with the Committee agreeing that it needs relevant City departments to report back ASAP. PLUM Chair Marqueece Harris-Dawson stated that the Committee would probably need to schedule a special meeting for further discussion, probably within a few weeks.
You can hear the PLUM Committee's discussion of the State's action by clicking on the link below. The portion relating to the Housing Element starts at 1:18:00.
L.A. PLUM Committee Meeting, March 1, 2022
COURT BLOCKS WESSON FROM FILLING RIDLEY-THOMAS' COUNCIL SEAT
More proof that the LA City Council has no problem with ignoring any law it doesn't like. After suspending District 10 Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas, who has been indicted on bribery charges, the LA City Council voted unanimously to appoint former Councilmember Herb Wesson to fill the vacant seat temporarily.
Apparently nobody at City Hall, including the City Attorney, bothered to look at the City Charter, which clearly states under Section 206, "No person may serve more than three terms of office as member of the City Council." Wesson was first elected to represent CD 10 in 2005 to fill a vacancy created by the departure of Councilmember Martin Ludlow. He was elected three more times to serve full terms in 2007, 2011 and 2015. The math is pretty simple. The Council just chose to ignore the law.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference filed a suit to block Wesson's appointment, and Judge Mary Strobel granted a temporary restraining order. Strobel also commented that she saw no language in the City Charter authorizing the Council to appoint a temporary member. A hearing has been scheduled for March 17.
Judge Blocks Appointment of Herb Wesson to LA City Council
