Last Tuesday evening (6pm), Zuma Dogg was invited to attend the Lincoln Heights Planning Commission meeting regarding hillside development. The issue stretches all the way across Reyes' Lincoln Heights into CD 14 Councilmembers Jose Huizar's district.
After attending three meetings at City Hall (two committee meetings and a long-ass City Council meeting); followed-up with an appearance at the LAUSD school board meeting; and a lunch/DWP Rate Increase Seminar, in between, with Dr. Daniel Wiseman where I took the notes that went into my round of "citizens' alert public comments" regarding the likelihood that the DWP rate increase will be more like 30%-50% (minimum) over three years (instead of the 9% ratepayers were told)...
THE LAST THING I WANTED TO DO WAS ATTEND A NIGHT TIME PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING (booooring) THAT WAS EVEN FURTHER AWAY. (Especially since I was going to be back at City Hall at 9:00am for the Wednesday Clowncil meeting:
But ZD has learned it's when you are always the most burned out and ready to pass is when the best stuff happens. AND THE LINCOLN HEIGHTS MEETING DID NOT DISAPPOINT.
I WAS BLOWN AWAY TO SEE AT LEAST 300 PEOPLE, IF NOT 400 PEOPLE FILE INTO THE AUDITORIUM FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND TO HEAR WHAT REYES' DEPUTY HAD TO SAY!!!
THE ISSUE: Many members of the community purchased hillside land in the area for the purpose of building their "dream home." Now, after purchasing the land, the City plans on imposing zoning restrictions that would only allow property owners to build a little 1100 square foot (studio) on the land. (Hardly a home fit for a family of four or five.)
THE BAMBOOZLE: CM Reyes' people and CM Jose Huizar (the next day) told Zuma Dogg this restriction is good because it prevents developers from building big developments on the land.
THE PROBLEM: Everything the City does is wrapped up in some "warm and fuzzy" cause for the good...or at least it always appears to be at the surface level.
THE BENEFIT OF ZD'S ATTENDANCE AT THE MEETING: With 300-400 people in the room at an event like this, you are always going to have a collection of the most knowledgeable/well researched people in the community mixed in with the un-knowledgeable people who may have only examined this at the CM spin level. But the cream always rises to the top, and after wandering the room meeting a large cross-sample of the crowd and hearing what people had to say, someone finally made it over to ZD and provided me with what I believe to be is the "shady city angle."
THE SHADY CITY ANGLE: They may say it's about limiting developers from "going big" on the hillside, but that would benefit the community, not the city...so you know that isn't the reason. All of these new restrictions are an attempt for the city to re-aquire the land from the community. You see, if you buy expensive hillside land to build what you think is going to be a family home -- and all of the sudden you are stuck only being allowed to build 1100 square feet; not only don't you get to build the home you already bought the land for -- but the value of the land plummets, because not a lot of people are building studio units on expensive hillside land.
So now you have a bunch of small, everyday community members stuck with a bunch of land they can't do anything with that has just sunk in value. So what are you forced to do? SELL IT (back to the City of Los Angeles)!
Then the city will do with it what they will. (Develop big things like the ones they said they were preventing with these new laws.)
AND, of course the small community member may not be able to develop anything bigger than 1150 square feet -- but in the City of Los Angeles -- zoning laws are created to be varied if you have the money to pay the city. (Cause that's all it takes...$$$!!!) And of course the big developers have the money to pay these variance and application fees. (I wonder if that includes tipping the Councilmember the way you tip a bouncer to gain entry into the club.)
When I ran the scenario past CM Huizar, he busted out into laugher saying, "It's always a conspiracy, isn't it?" Zuma replied frustratingly, "Yes...yes..yes it IS!" (Stomping my foot and jumping up and down.)
Well someone who didn't laugh was my inside contact at a certain planning area in the City who was quite helpful during ZD's Las Lomas blogging. When I ran the scheme past him/her for feedback on the scenario (described to me by people at the meeting), ZD got the "BINGO" finger point and he/she said, "You got it!" And went on to continue my story to demonstrate that the premise is valid.
(This is a person who works for the city, but also likes ZD. If this theory were just a bunch of smoke, the person would have told me so (rather than give me the "bingo" sign.) There are people who work for the city that I can rely on as a credible sounding board.)
The other thing worth mentioning is that the people were promised this land would only be kept for open space, so ANY development is a violation to the environmentalists. Only problem, the city already sold the land to regular people to build. So looks like EVERYONE will be pissed at the mayor and councilmembers over this one.
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