After more than five hours of deliberation, the East LA Area Planning Commission voted against a proposed housing development on César Chávez Avenue that has ignited fierce opposition from community organizers. The public meeting on Wednesday wrapped up at 10 p.m.
Commissioners Gloria Gutierrez, Lydia Avila-Hernandez, and David Marquez went against planning staff recommendations to move the project forward, citing concerns that the development would displace current tenants and contribute to gentrification in the neighborhood.
“There is a history of our community being steamrolled by the planning department,” Avila-Hernandez said.
Tiao Properties, a Los Angeles-based real estate company, has sought to demolish its current property which contains rent-controlled units and lies within the Brooklyn Avenue Historic Corridor. In its place, Tiao wants to build a six-story apartment building that includes five stories of apartment units, a ground floor for commercial use, and an underground parking garage. Only five of the 50 apartment units were to be set aside for affordable housing. The rest would have been designated as market-rate housing.
The decision comes after months of protests by local community organizers. El Apetito-Finessa Colectivo, a group of housing tenants and small business owners renting at the current property, spearheaded the effort. Collective member Viva Padilla filed an appeal last September against the project.
“You would be displacing these [Latino] people that are the backbone of the workforce of L.A.,” Padilla said during the meeting.
Commissioners previously delayed deliberation at their last meeting in January, and unanimously determined they needed more information to make a final decision.
“I believe that we swayed some commissioners at the last meeting,” Padilla told Boyle Heights Beat. “At the end of the day, I couldn’t believe that they went through with it and sided with the community.”
Dozens of residents and organizers attended the meeting and urged the commission to stop this housing development.
“I’d like you to stop the gentrification,” Boyle Heights resident Fausta Ortiz told the commission. “Please listen.”
Planning staff acknowledged resident concerns, but still urged the commission to move the project forward. Jane Choi, the principal city planner for the LA Department of City Planning, said their review showed Tiao Properties’ development project complied with the LA Municipal Code, the Adelante Eastside Redevelopment Plan, the Housing Accountability Act (HAA), as well as the current Boyle Heights Community Plan that has been in place since 1998.
During the meeting, planning staff said commissioners needed to make their decision based on these legal guidelines. If commissioners failed to do so, the commission would risk violating the law, according to staff. This decision, staff said, could result in the developer pursuing legal action against the city.
Aaron Belliston, a real estate broker and representative for Tiao Properties, said the commission needed to comply with the staff findings to provide more housing.
“We are in a housing crisis, housing needs to be developed for all income brackets,” Belliston said, adding that “housing for all” was more important than city leaders getting re-elected.
Councilmember Kevin de León has actively opposed the project. Late last December, de León passed an Interim Control Ordinance (ICO) to prevent the demolition and replacement of older and historic buildings that contain rent-controlled units. The ICO is a contingency measure to prevent displacement until the Updated Boyle Heights Community Plan is adopted. The updated plan includes new zoning rules that would provide protections for properties with rent-controlled units, such as the ones in the Tiao-owned building.
Marquez expressed frustration about deliberating using the current community plan that staff said doesn’t include displacement as grounds for denying a project.
Toward the end of the meeting, ELA Planning Commission President Michael Yap motioned to deny Padilla’s appeal and approve the development project. Yap said that although he was moved by public comments, he based his decision on the legal findings staff presented. “I’m trying to keep our commission in line with what we are tasked to do,” Yap said.
Commissioner Eunice Song voted in favor of the motion but Gutierrez, Avila-Hernandez, and Marquez voted against it. Gutierrez then introduced a motion to grant Padilla’s appeal and deny the project application, which passed with a majority vote.
It’s unknown what will happen next, but for now, Padilla and others are relishing this moment.
“Us as a colectivo, we are celebrating. This is a win for our community,” Padilla said.
This street is riddled with gangs and tagging. You hear shootings every other week. Street lights are damaged, business facade looks rundown, businesses are closed, grimy, and cluttered sidewalks, and no ADA access for people on wheelchairs. It’s time to make some improvements on this street. Nobody talks about the amount of gangs, tagging and crime. Don’t say you don’t see them if you live here, you’re just turning a blind eye. Although this project doesn’t have a a lot low income housing, we need housing. In the meantime, we have another eyesore just like every building on Chavez. At least take pride of your street and business and focus on kicking out the gangs.