UN4LA News - March 2025
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.
L.A. CITY COUNCIL CONSIDERS STREAMLINING APPROVALS OF OLYMPICS PROJECTS
Remember how we were told that LA wouldn't have to build much for the 2028 Olympics because we already had most of what was needed? Well, apparently that wasn't true, because just before the LA City Council recess in December, Councilmembers Traci Park and Adrin Nazarian introduced a motion instructing city departments to prepare an ordinance that would exempt Olympics-related projects from planning approvals, zoning regulations, height limits, etc.. The motion included temporary and permanent venues, training facilities, media centers and transit infrastructure in the list of projects that could be approved pretty much as soon as they were proposed.
The motion was originally on the council agenda for February 21, but it appears that a flood of negative feedback from citizens made the Council think twice, because it was pushed back to February 28, and a number of amending motions were introduced. It was still approved, and an ordinance may still be considered, but the amended motion asks for a report back on the feasibility of fast-tracking projects, along with a list of what projects could be included. This is certainly an improvement, but it still leaves serious questions about the planning process for the Olympics.
2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games/Exemptions/Planning Approvals/Zoning Regulations
Original Motion by Traci Park and Adrin Nazarian
L.A. CITY FINANCIAL STATUS REPORT RAISES SERIOUS CONCERNS
The mid-year financial status report for the City of LA has been released, and the picture it paints is not pretty. The most recent data shows that revenues are currently $13 million below expectations, and the gap could widen. To quote from the report:
Among the revenue sources causing concern are transient occupancy, property, and sales tax, which continue to lag behind plan demonstrating signs of slowness in those key sectors. We expect the Palisades wildfire to have a notable impact on City receipts due to a decline in economic activity as well as from the tax relief or deferrals for business, sales, and property tax payments currently being considered by the City and County. Further, we are facing uncertainty as the federal government considers and attempts to implement policies that economists have characterized as inflationary, which could put additional pressures on our economically sensitive revenues.
The City Council is exploring new sources of revenue, but there's no quick or easy solution. There may be hard times ahead.
Third (Mid-Year) Financial Status Report from CAO
APPROVED PROJECTS NOT BEING BUILT IN WEST HOLLYWOOD
The State of California has told the City of West Hollywood that it must build 3,900 new housing units by 2029, but even though West Hollywood has approved a number of projects in recent years, in many cases developers have not yet begun construction. The City Council is trying to identify new strategies to encourage the production of new units, but if economic factors such as high interest rates, high labor costs or prohibitive costs for materials are holding these projects back, it may prove difficult to jump start them.
WeHo Looks to Reignite Stalled Developments
CITY OF L.A. CONSIDERS CHANGES TO HOME SHARING ORDINANCE
The City of LA's Home Sharing Ordinance (HSO) was supposed to regulate short-term rentals (AirBnB, VRBO, etc.), but six years after the Ordinance was adopted, it's clear that we need to tighten enforcement. One investigation found that about a third of the short-term rental units advertised in the city were illegal. It also found that short-term rentals had removed over 7,000 units from the housing market, reducing stock available to renters. Now, a report from the Housing and Homelessness Committee is making its way to the full Council. If approved, it could mark a big step toward better regulation of short-term rentals and stronger enforcement against those who abuse the system. It calls for the creation of a single city office to regulate short-term rentals, which would also have the ability to crack down on party houses. It also calls for the annual monitoring of the city's residential hotel stock, a class of housing that serves many elderly and low-income tenants, to make sure that long-term rental units aren't being occupied by tourists. The report also recommends that the Home Sharing Ordinance be amended to allow a private right of action, meaning that any interested party could file a lawsuit against those who abuse he system.
This report from the Housing & Homelessness Committee still needs to be heard by the Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee before it gets to the full Council. The PLUM hearing has not yet been scheduled.
Report from Housing and Homelessness Committee
L.A. COUNTY D.A. TARGETS HUNTINGTON PARK POLITICIANS
A corruption probe in Huntington Park entered a new phase in February as the LA County DA's office executed a number of search warrants on current and former elected officials. The investigation is focussed on a 30,000 sq. ft. aquatic center with an Olympic-size pool that was approved years ago but never built. In the approving the project, Huntington Park city officials skipped a formal bidding process and awarded the $23 million contract to a construction firm that does not appear to have had experience in projects of this kind.
Huntington Park City Hall among 11 Locations Raided in Public Corruption Probe
PROBLEMS AT CALIFORNIA HOMELESS SHELTERS
As cities across California are rushing to remove homeless encampments from their streets, the short-term solution for people needing housing is to send them to shelters. But CalMatters has found numerous, serious problems with this approach, as many of these shelters are dirty, unhealthy, and sometimes dangerous. While many millions of dollars have been poured into shelter systems, there's no State agency that tracks where this money goes or what the outcomes are. It seems unlikely there will be any improvement in the services shelters provide until there's some degree of accountability.
7 Takeaways from Our Investigation into California Homeless Shelters
MOTION TO CREATE BUREAU FOR OVERSIGHT OF HOMELESS SPENDING
The City of LA spends over $1 billion a year on homelessness programs, but it does not have an office tasked with oversight of these funds. There is no entity within City government that provides analysis of data, operational oversight, or develops policies to improve performance. Councilmember Nithya Raman has introduced a motion in the hope of remedying that problem. She proposes creating a bureau within the LA Housing Department to track the money and report on outcomes.
Motion to Create Bureau for Oversight of Homeless Spending
