Last March, the East Los Angeles Area Planning Commission took a momentous vote against a proposed housing development on César Chávez Avenue in Boyle Heights, arguing that the project could lead to gentrification that would be harmful to the public health of residents.
The project’s veto came after fierce opposition from residential tenants and small business owners occupying the property, which L.A.-based real estate company Tiao Properties has sought to turn into a six-story, mixed-use development.
A 2023 appeal filed to the city against Tiao’s proposal illustrates tenants’ concerns over a “domino effect” of redevelopment that could alter “the cultural integrity” of Cesar Chavez Avenue, where legacy businesses and “musicos norteños” make a living.
The commission voted 3-2 in favor of the appeal and against the project. To former tenant Viva Padilla, who filed the appeal, blocking this project was a “win for our community.”
But now, an L.A. County Superior Court judge has ruled that the city “acted in bad faith … in connection with its disapproval of the project,” and is ordering the commission to reverse its decision and approve the proposed housing development.
This ruling comes nearly a year after Tiao Properties sued the city of L.A. in June, arguing that blocking the project based on a perceived threat of gentrification doesn’t meet the legal standards under the Housing Accountability Act, a California law that addresses the state’s housing shortfall.
Judge Curtis A. Kin issued his ruling in January, which was filed for official record on March 11.
On Wednesday, the Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council is scheduled to discuss the proposed project. The commission is slated to hold a public hearing on April 9.
Eviction notices have been sent to the three residential tenants of the property, which is also occupied by a hair salon and the Mexican restaurant El Apetito.
Padilla, who previously operated the independent bookstore Re/Arte Centro Literario at the property, called the judge’s decision “ridiculous” and “corrupt.”
“For them to say ‘bad faith,’ to me, [it] sounds like the judge is giving the developer a pass,” said Padilla, who is part of El Apetito-Finessa Colectivo, a group of housing tenants and small business owners renting at the current property, that has protested the project.
Padilla hopes the commission continues to block the project and is urging residents to attend the neighborhood council meeting. She shared a flier on Instagram stating: “Save The Block, Stop Tiao Corporation (Part Two).”
“Speak Out Against Our Hood Getting Gentrified By This Development,” reads the post.
“We’re not done. We’re not stopping,” Padilla told Boyle Heights Beat.
Tiao Properties seeks to turn the property into a six-story complex that includes five stories of apartment units, a ground floor for retail use and an underground parking garage. Five of the 50 apartment units are to be set aside for affordable housing, while the rest would be market-rate.
Attorney Sheri L. Bonstelle, who represented Tiao in court proceedings, said agencies can only deny a housing proposal under the Housing Accountability Act if it causes “specific adverse impacts to public health and safety.”
These impacts are typically associated with hazardous material or bad air quality, not gentrification concerns, Bonstelle said.
“They knew the project complied with the objective standards, and they denied it anyway, and so [the judge] determined that because they acted in bad faith, he is now ordering the [commission] to approve the project as designed,” she added.
Bonstelle said the property’s residential tenants are protected under state law, adding that they have a right to return to the property and occupy an affordable unit if they qualify as “very low or extremely low-income households.”
Padilla is not buying it.
She said a grandmother in her 80s is among the residents who received an eviction notice.
Will Tiao, owner of Tiao Properties, Padilla said, is “doing this in bad faith.”
“He doesn’t care. He’s trying to get what he wants and he’s trying to get rid of the tenants who have been fighting back.”
Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council meeting:
Date: Wednesday, March 26
Time: 6:15 p.m.
Location: 2130 East First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Zoom Meeting Online or By Telephone:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85021980295
Dial (833) 548-0282 to Join the Meeting
Then Enter This Webinar ID: 850 2198 095 and Press #
Looking forward to the beautification of our neighborhood. It’s about time things start looking up for us and we don’t stay behind the rest of the city.