 Ed Garren is a writer and Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) and former West Hollywood activist. Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
Once upon a time, cities created zoning ordinances. The rationale for doing so related to the desire to make municipal life more consistent and protect property values. They run the gamut from simple to draconian, depending upon the chosen level of oversight.
One of the reasons West Hollywood came into being was to create more specific land-use objectives than the minimal ones that the county imposed. Rent control was the primary reason. The county rent control ordinance was set to expire in 1984, and the thousands of seniors living in the city were terrified of evictions.
One of my elderly neighbors on Curson Street in 1984, came to me in tears after the election then, telling me about his abusive landlord, who was giving he and his wife rent increases they could not afford. With his thick Yiddish accent, and tears washing his withered face, he thanked me for my efforts at creating the new city, a city which was committed to protecting him and his wife from greed.
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“Ve only had von chilt, a dauter. Ve put her through law school, she vas a successful attorney, then von day, her car got hit by a truck vhile coming home from vork, and she vas killed instantly. Ve haf no other family, all killed in the kamps, unt ve ver going to be put out on the street like trash, vith no place to go.
 Council member Abbe Land launching her Assembly race in 2006. Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
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Their story has not changed much. Today West Hollywood is filled with many more people like them, who have no family and no place to go.
Ironically, the “specific land use objectives” that the city intended decades ago was to prevent expansive growth and preserve the “Urban Village” that is our city. So, how has this all changed? The city has quietly made itself much more “developer friendly” over the past several years.
As soon Abbe Land defeated Steve Martin eight years ago the city removed “height averaging” from the height restrictions on new buildings. In the old code, if a new building was planned, the developer had to factor the height of all of the surrounding buildings, and use the average height of the area.
Not anymore. If your neighborhood is R-3 or R-4 (as most are in West Hollywood) then a developer can build up to 45 feet.
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In the name of “More Housing”, the city has quietly “up zoned” much of the city, including blocks that have some single family homes. If there is an apartment building on a block, or if the neighbors are not a large voting block, then your property is vulnerable.
 Detail from the El Palacio, protected, but still endangered by high maintenance costs the landlord cannot recover in rent increases. Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
A prime example of this is the 600 Block of north Croft Ave. (90048). Both sides of the street are one and two family homes, except for an apartment building, built before cityhood, on the NE corner of Clinton and Croft. Over the protests of the neighbors, who all live in single family homes, the zoning was “upgraded” to R-3 a few years ago.
A developer had bought the two homes on the east side of the street just below Rangely and presented plans for a 48-foot tall condo development. The developer mentioned during the hearing that he had offered to buy the one remaining single family home from it’s elderly owners, who have lived in it for at least three decades. The wife shouted back during his testimony, “Yes, for half vhat it’s vorth!”
The Planning Commission voted “No” to the building, basically saying it was too big. But City Council reversed the Planning Commissions decision and voted to allow the project. They specifically cited the “up” zoning to R-3 and the City’s need for “more housing.” The developer, the architect, the political consultant, the projects attorney, etc. out numbered the protesting neighbors.
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So, imagine being those two neighbors who live just to the south of the approved development, and having a 48-foot tall building built four feet from your bedroom windows. What a lovely way to spend the last few years of your life on earth.
 Former Mayor Abbe Land being presented with flowers on the incoming Mayor, John Heilman’s, installation event. Photo by Ryan Gierach. |
The names of certain developers always seem to pop up when one reviews the lists of contributors to Council re-election campaigns. The developer of the Movie Town Plaza demolition is one of John Heilman’s/Abbe Land’s biggest supporters. They work around the $1,000 spending limit by having their family or friends also make contributions. How do you think Mr. Heilman and his friends raise over $100,000 to get re-elected?
They don’t raise it from the neighbors, or the small business owners, or the dwindling middle class in the city, all of whom are becoming an endangered species in the city.
They raise it from their developer friends, and their friends. And none of them care about anyone else, including you.
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