UN4LA News - May 2024
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.
COURTS RULE ON RECENT STATE ZONING LAWS
The courts have handed down decisions in two lawsuits challenging recent zoning laws passed by the State Legislature.
SB 9 Ruling
Ostensibly, SB 9 would have required ministerial approval of housing projects with only two units in single-family zones, meaning the projects would be approved with no public hearings and no environmental review. But the law actually would have permitted ministerial approval of three units, and it also allowed lot splits, which would bring the number of units up to six. Five cities sued, arguing that zoning is a municipal affair and that the law violated the rights of charter cities. The court agreed. The State will probably appeal.
Court Grants Charter Cities Legal Win over Controversial Housing Law
SB 10 Ruling
SB 10 authorized a local government to adopt an ordinance to zone any parcel for up to 10 housing units per parcel, regardless of other zoning restrictions, if the parcel is located in a "transit-rich area" or an urban infill site. The law was challenged by AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The court denied AHF's petition, ruling that the law was constitutional.
Attorney General Bonta Issues Statement on Appellate Court Decision
SLAP ON THE WRIST FOR CUTTING DOWN PROTECTED TREES
The City of LA has an ordinance in place to protect certain trees. It's not always enforced, but there is an ordinance on the books. Last year, the owner of a property on Grand View Drive in the Hollywood Hills illegally removed eight protected trees. Tree advocates were outraged at the removals, and urged the City to impose sanctions, which are allowed under the LA Municipal Code. In October, a hearing was held by the Bureau of Street Services and the examiner decided that the property owner should be prohibited from applying for building permits for four years.
But the owner appealed the decision to the Board of Public Works, which has reduced the penalty to two years, with the clock starting on the date of the original decision, effectively reducing the penalty to about a year and a half. The motion to reduce the penalty was put forward by Board President Aura Garcia, and she was supported by Teresa Villegas and Michael R. Davis. To their credit, Boardmembers Vahid Khorsand and Susana Reyes voted against the motion.
With this action, BPW President Garcia has sent a message to developers that they don't need to worry about cutting down protected trees. The worst they'll get is a slap on the wrist. The link to the audio recording is below. Jump to 1:11:00 to hear Garcia explain (???) her rationale for reducing the penalty.
Board of Public Works Meeting, May 6, 2024
If you want to read the BSS decision, where the examiner lays out the reasons for the four-year sanction, click on the link below.
Bureau of Street Services Hearing, October 27, 2023
HOMELESSNESS: AUDITS, ACCOUNTABILITY & DOCTORED DOCUMENTS
Politicians at the State and local level have been talking about homelessness for years, and billions have been spent on various programs to fight homelessness, but we don't seem to making a lot of progress. Many people are pushing for more accountability, starting with the California State Auditor, who recently published a report on homeless funding. Among the findings are that the California Interagency Council on Homelessness (Cal ICH) has not reported on State funding for homelessness programs since its last assessment, which covered spending up to FY 2020–21. The Auditor also found that Cal ICH hasn't aligned its action plan with its statutory goals, or taken steps to ensure the collection of accurate data to assess outcomes. The Auditor warns that, until Cal ICH takes these steps, the State won't have the information it needs to make data-driven decisions.
The State Must Do More to Assess the Cost‑Effectiveness of Its Homelessness Programs
At the local level, Judge David Carter has chosen an auditor to conduct a comprehensive review of the City of LA's response to homelessness. The audit is the latest development in a lawsuit filed by the LA Alliance for Human Rights, which has alleged that both LA City and LA County have failed to take necessary action to reduce homelessness.
Judge Picks Auditor To Assess Homeless Services in LA
And a Federal judge seems to believe that LA City officials altered documents to avoid revealing that the City broke the law by seizing the property of homeless persons. While US District Judge Dale Fischer is awaiting the results of a forensic examination, she wrote in her order that "[T]he City’s credibility has been damaged significantly."
A Federal Judge Has Found that L.A. City Officials Doctored Records
L.A. CITY ETHICS COMMISSION HANDS DOWN FINES
Handing out significant fines to a number of lobbyists and their employers at their April 17 meeting, the LA City Ethics Commission seemed anxious to prove that they're serious about cracking down on violations.
Rick Jacobs and his firm RDJ Strategic Advisors were fined $12,500 for failing to register as a lobbyist and a lobbying firm and for failing to file disclosure reports for 2023. Many will remember that Jacobs was accused by multiple parties of sexual harassment during the time he worked with former mayor Eric Garcetti.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation and Housing Is a Human Right Policy Director Susie Shannon were fined $10,000 and $12,500 respectively for failing to comply with the City’s lobbying registration and reporting requirements.
The Western States Regional Council of Carpenters and its former Political Director Derek Mazzeo agreed to pay $7,500 and $12,500 respectively for their failure to comply with the City's lobbying laws.
But the person to get hit with the biggest penalty was former CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, who admitted to his part in the disclosure and misuse of confidential information held by the LAPD. Moonves also admitted that he persuaded former LAPD Captain Cory Palka to misuse his position to attempt to help the former CBS exec. Moonves was fined $15,000, which was the maximum penalty. An earlier proposal to fine Moonves only $11,250 was rejected by the Ethics Commission as being insufficient.
