CommentsPERSPECTIVE-In keeping with the city’s long-term commitment to overdevelopment, the Planning Department is hatching another scheme to build, baby, build.
Last week they held a “public scoping” meeting on what they call “Draft EIR for the Purple Line Transit Neighborhood Plan project and associated updates to the LA Municipal Code.”
They said a mouthful.
The gist of the plan is to raise limits on height, floor area ratio, and density (in planning parlance to upzone). The project area is bounded by Beverly Boulevard to the north, Pico to the south, Beverly Hills to the west, and Rimpau to the east -- rich pickings for developers who call the shots at City Hall.
Need we say that the stated goal is to increase affordable housing and promote use of public transit? Ain’t it always. But here’s the rub:
The rationale is specious!
Just throwing up more housing units won’t turn the tide. The last decade has seen nothing but high-end developments in the project area. Meanwhile, an influx of money being parked or laundered continues to flow into local real estate, leaving many condos and houses largely vacant. Investment in Airbnb properties continues to take properties off the market that would otherwise be available as homes. Both these trends choke off supply and drive up prices.
Without radically different incentives and solid, verifiable enforcement, middle-income people and the folks most likely to use public transit will continue to be priced out.
The rate of development in the project area is unsustainable!
Traffic is already godawful. Even if the project succeeds in stimulating more use of public transit -- a BIG if -- it will worsen traffic for years before the area offers adequate access.
Infrastructure is already stretched beyond capacity. My little corner of the city, Beverly Grove, sits near the western flank of the project area. We continue to see out-of-scale residential and commercial development, courtesy of spot zoning (waivers and exemptions the city passes out like party favors). How’s that workin’ for us? Three power outages in July, and the hottest weather of the year still to come.
The environment is already stressed. The effects of climate change can be erratic, but this much is clear: It’s getting hotter here. Upzoning will only worsen the problem by increasing our carbon footprint, paving over permeable ground, and eliminating the lawns and trees that provide much-needed relief. At least until the new subway stops are up and running (and probably long after), added traffic will throw even more crud into the air.
The project flies in the face of city policy and defies reality!
The city’s General Plan, Specific Plans, and stated planning principles celebrate the scale and character of diverse neighborhoods. Distinctive residential neighborhoods are woven into the fabric of Los Angeles, and they are central to the city’s personality and quality of life. Degrading established neighborhoods contradicts established policy.
So now the city proposes to revise the General Plan. And the Specific Plans. And update the zoning code in ways that add immense complexity. And build out public transit in a city built for cars. All at once. This from the gang that dithers over electric scooters and can’t figure out how many billboards it has.
Why not try something different?
Before piling on more construction, fix the city’s foundation. Beef up the power grid. Repair the water lines. Fix the potholes and repair the sidewalks. Plant the trees. Get crucial public transit lines up and running.
Then we’ll talk.
(Shelley Wagers took a lead role in the campaign to amend and strengthen LA’s citywide mansionization ordinances. She is a contributor to CityWatch.) Photo credit: Larchmont Buzz.
-cw
