UN4LA News - May 2023
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 APPROVES HOLLYWOOD AND DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY PLANS, AND NEW ZONING CODE
After taking turns heaping praise on each other and City Planning staff, the LA City Council voted unanimously on May 3 to approve both the Hollywood and Downtown Community Plan Updates, along with the New Zoning Code. LA's leadership repeatedly expressed the view that these plans represent the beginning of a new phase for the City, emphasizing their view that the significant increases in allowable density will promote the creation of affordable housing, increase transit ridership and protect the environment. The fact that the City has for years been engaged in extensive upzoning without achieving any of those goals did not come up for discussion.
Approval of the Downtown Plan was also tied to the approval of the New Zoning Code, which will only be used in Downtown for now, but which will be applied to other parts of the City as the various community plans are updated. The NZC is a radical departure from the current code, emphasizing form over use, and allowing significant density bonusses in exchange for community benefits. As part of the Downtown Plan, the Council also adopted an amendment from Councilmember Kevin DeLeon which mandates the use of inclusionary zoning. This means that new residential projects will be required to include a percentage of affordable units.
In advance of the Hollywood Plan's approval, numerous area residents had made comments expressing their fears that the adoption of the plan would lead to the further loss of rent-stabilized housing and threaten historic resources. Also, Fix the City, which prevailed in a lawsuit against an earlier version of the plan, submitted extensive comments, warning the City that the proposed plan would violate a court order.
For more details on both plans, see the April 25 article below, published after their approval by the Planning & Land Use Management Committee.
City Council Passes Updated Community Plans for Hollywood, DTLA
And here's a link to the letter submitted by Strumwasser & Woocher on behalf of Fix the City.
Fix the City Letter Re Hollywood Community Plan Update
ANOTHER VERSION OF THE SKID ROW HOUSING TRUST COLLAPSE?
Most people who follow the news in LA have heard the official version of the collapse of the Skid Row House Trust: a series of mishaps beyond anyone's control snowballed into a crisis that led to the non-profit's demise. But it seems evidence is emerging to paint a different, far more disturbing, picture of what happened. It could be years before we know what really went down, but Kim Cooper and Richard Schave at Esotouric have done some requests for public records, and the story they see emerging goes in a very different direction than the official line.
Emails Reveal How Public Agencies Covered Up Skid Row Housing Trust's Collapse
INGLEWOOD APPROVES RELOCATION PLAN FOR BUSINESSES DISPLACED BY PEOPLE MOVER
In spite of concerns raised by local merchants, in April the Inglewood City Council approved a plan that involves the displacement of over 40 businesses to make way for a people mover that will serve the city's new sports and entertainment district. While the relocation plan's cost has been set at about $12 million, for some reason this figure does not include the actual cost of acquiring the properties. Some business owners are not happy, having found that commercial leases in other locations can run up to double what they're paying now.
Inglewood OKs Plan Displacing 41 Businesses to Make Way for People Mover
L.A. CITY COUNCIL HAS BEGUN HOLDING PUBLIC HEARINGS ON GOVERNANCE REFORM
An ad hoc committee of the LA City Council has begun holding public hearings on the formation of a commission to reform the City's government. Two of the hearings have already taken place, with three more to come. The topics of the hearings include reducing the size of council districts, the selection of the commission and instructions to the commission. This effort appears to have been prompted by the numerous scandals that have rocked LA City Hall in recent years. It's not a promising sign that the notice about the hearings was posted to the council file the day after the first hearing took place. Follow the link for details.
Road to Reform: Council Listening Sessions
