Apartments At Risk (Archived Blog)

In June 2007, Eric Garcetti, as the councilmember representing the 13th District, presented a motion stating, ". . . several parcels on North Silver Lake Boulevard are zoned for R3 density, which does not seem consistent with the balance of the community. In fact, it could be utilized to create a development that is out of scale and out of character with the neighborhood." The motion instructed "that the Planning Deportment analyze the 2400 block of North Silver Lake Boulevard and report back to City Council in 90 days with recommendations for zoning or building envelope restrictions that would ensure that potential future development is calibrated to complement the surrounding residential neighborhood." The Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee adopted the motion on November 27, 2007. The Department of Planning's resulting report, dated February 22, 2008, essentially recommended design guidelines that "will respond to the need for development t

Total lot size: 79,873 square feet Number of units: 72 Number of units allowed per R3 zoning: 79,873 divided by 800 square feet = 99 units

When the Housing Element of the City of Los Angeles' General Plan was being updated in 2008, the Department of City Planning advocated including a downzoning provision to "preserve stable multi-family residential neighborhoods". Recently, when I examined the Draft Matrix of Existing, Planned and Proposed Land Use of the Draft Hollywood Community Plan, looking for what is NOT included rather than what is included, I was unable to find any proposed downzoning following this program. Here is the text from the Housing Element: Program F under Policy 2.4.3, Neighborhood Preservation -Downzoning. F. Neighborhood Preservation – Downzoning Preserve stable multi-family residential neighborhoods that provide older, and therefore, relatively affordable, but high quality housing stock. Evaluate the feasibility of downzoning such neighborhoods to approximate the existing densities in order to eliminate the incentive to demolish and replace such neighborhoods with higher density, mo

My proposal: Establish HPOZ on Lyman Place. Downzone both Lyman Place and Rodney Place to an RD zone. DeMille and Harlow will be grandfathered.