Archinect - News

LA City Council approves changes to boost housing stock despite detractors

2024-12-12T15:57:00-05:00

The Los Angeles City Council has decided on regulatory updates to the 2021-2029 housing element that will center new development mainly in commercial districts and existing high-density residential neighborhoods while avoiding single-family zones in spite of the benefits proven to be offered by the latter.

The 15-0 vote allows for additional building in those areas provided a certain percentage of affordable housing units are included. Some have labeled the single-family zoning exception as 'exclusionary' as those plots cover 72% of the city. The update also allows for development on lots owned by public agencies or religious organizations. Los Angeles is currently facing an immense housing crisis and will have to present a plan to create an additional 255,000 homes to the state by mid-February.

(h/t Urbanize LA and the LA Times for the update)

LA’s cramped rezoning plan still short of housing goals says UCLA study

2024-11-19T11:09:00-05:00

Under state laws designed to remedy a housing shortage, the city has to set aside land for the construction of 250,000 more homes than allowed through existing zoning rules. Measures under consideration by a City Council committee are likely to satisfy the state requirements, the UCLA analysis found. But when analyzing the likelihood of what developers would actually build, researchers found the number of new homes would be far lower.

The L.A. City Council is expected to vote later this afternoon to approve the rezoning measure. The report's co-author Shane Phillips of the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies says the city would be better served if its generous slate of incentives was expanded to cover the remaining 72% of neighborhoods currently zoned for single-family houses. Others have labeled this plan as exclusionary for that reason. Planners face a state mandate to find space for at least 250,000 new housing units by mid-February.

New LA housing permits fall while planners look north

2024-11-13T09:22:00-05:00

A new report from Hilgard Analytics and Zenith Economics has the numbers behind the turndown complicating LA’s multi-pronged housing crunch. According to the available Los Angeles City Council data, the number of new permits this year has fallen 30.7% on pace toward a new five-year low.

Permits are on the rise this year only in the eastern precincts of the San Fernando Valley after a 2022 high in all other City Council districts recorded. This follows news of a flatly less resourceful Planning Department decision on single-family zoning’s future. The city has to build at least 2.5 million homes to meet demands by the end of the decade. (h/t Urbanize LA.)

LA moves up Convention Center expansion plan to clear 2028 Olympics hurdle

2024-07-08T11:14:00-04:00

The Los Angeles City Council moved to finalize plans for the long-awaited expansion of the Los Angeles County Convention Center in downtown. Populous will be leading the design work for the project, which includes a landscaped component from OLIN as was previously reported in March of 2022.

The pre-design work could cost up to $100 million before the estimated $1.4 billion project kicks off in 2025. According to the city’s press release: “190,000 square feet of space to create one contiguous hall, and will add 55,000 square feet of new meeting room space and 95,000 square feet of multipurpose space. The plan also includes a redesign of Gilbert Lindsay Plaza, which will add public open space and become an exciting outdoor venue for event programming.”

Plans for a new 37-story Marriott Hotel tower from Gensler at the site are being delayed for right now, says Urbanize LA. The fate of the nearby unfinished Oceanwide Plaza development also remains unclear.

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LA City Council places Dodger Stadium Gondola project on hold pending further reviews

2024-03-25T11:48:00-04:00

The contested plan to build an aerial gondola tram line from downtown LA to Dodger Stadium has been placed on hold after city council members voted last week to halt the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LA ART) for the time being.

Local outlet ABC 7 was first to report on the council’s decision to pause the approvals process “until further studies can be conducted on its potential impacts.”

Opponents of the project had lobbied against its invasiveness and potential for displacement in communities that have been historically marginalized through gentrification. Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who introduced the measure, said: “We owe the public a real analysis of the issues and evidence-based solutions around Dodger Stadium.” The Los Angeles Department of Transportation will now hire a special consultant to conduct the assessments.

(An unrelated assembly bill, meanwhile, is being advanced that would compensate displaced families who fell victim to the construction of Dodger Stadiu...

Dodger Stadium gondola plan gains LA Metro Board approval

2024-02-24T08:00:00-05:00

The LA Metro Board of Directors has given their final go-ahead for a controversial gondola project in Los Angeles that would offer an alternative transportation route from downtown Union Station to Dodger Stadium to baseball fans by the start of the 2028 Summer Olympics. The board voted unanimously in favor of the final version of the plan’s Environmental Impact Report on Thursday.

As was pointed out by LAist, the proposal still needs approvals from Los Angeles City Council, Caltrans, and California State Parks to begin construction. The Metro’s decision came with a steep set of 31 conditions, which include a fund for affordable housing plus marketing opportunities and other concessions directed to small business owners in Elysian Park and Chinatown.

The proposal is marketed as being able to transport a total of 5,000 people per hour on a 7-minute ride with three stations along a 1.2-mile path. The Dodgers say this will reduce traffic by 3,000 cars for each of their 81 home games pe...

LA City Council orders graffiti removal on infamous unfinished Oceanwide Plaza towers

2024-02-12T13:33:00-05:00

City Council Members in Los Angeles have issued a mandate to owners of the graffiti-tagged Oceanview Plaza development in Downtown to remove the artwork weeks after its unfinished exterior became a national news item and the latest flash point in a debate over the citywide housing crisis that has lingered for a number of years.

By a vote of 14-0, Council Members approved Kevin de León’s motion calling for the city to foot the bill for cleaning up the stalled $1 billion towers if China-based developer Oceanwide fails to meet their February 17th deadline for removal. (CoStar first reported on the motion this weekend h/t Bizow.com.)

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Chop ‘em Down Films (@chopemdownfilms)

The internet sensation was covered in tags last month by artists apparently inspired by an early December operation in downtown Miami and able to bypass the security detail on site, which has been embroiled in a payment dispute with developers since last ye...

Developer behind BIG-designed 670 Mesquit LA project is seeking financial assistance for scheme's hotel

2023-08-22T12:31:00-04:00

The project, slated for a property at 670 Mesquit Street, would include four buildings on a site stretching between 6th and 7th Streets creating more than 800,000 square feet of offices, 420 homes, ground-floor commercial uses, and a 236-room hotel. That last component of the project is the subject of a new motion introduced on August 16 by 14th District City Councilmember Kevin de Leon.

The motion, which was referred to the Los Angeles City Council’s Trade Travel and Tourism Committee for consideration, states that Vella Group, the developer behind the Bjarke Ingels Group-designed 670 Mesquit Street project, is seeking financial assistance from the city for the completion of the development’s proposed hotel. Vella Group would pay $150,000 to cover the cost of an economic feasibility study for the hotel.

Previously on Archinect: Major changes coming to LA's Arts District as BIG and EYRC projects both move forward

BIG’s scheme, which was first unveiled in 2016, aims to be another major addition to LA’s Arts District. The complex will sit just south of the recently-completed Sixth Street Viaduct and its upcoming park space. Councilmember de Leon’s motion also makes note that the hotel would include an outdoor deck that extends over the adjacent rail lines, which could be spurred by a range of public events.

As noted by Urbanize Los Angeles, these types of incentive p...

Political disorder is impeding much-needed housing progress in Los Angeles

2023-01-10T12:54:00-05:00

To ease Los Angeles’ crushing housing shortage, the city needs a lot more new homes, especially affordable ones. Yet the City Council has been sitting on two community plans that would make it easier for developers to construct housing and boost the number of low-income units in downtown and Hollywood. What’s the holdup? Politics and scandal.

One of the plans, the Downtown Community Plan, which aims to add 100,000 new homes to Los Angeles’ downtown core through 2040, was put on hold after an audio recording surfaced revealing three council members making racist and offensive comments about their colleagues and constituents. Two of the council members involved, former LA mayoral candidate Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, helped shape the plan but are now unavailable to push it forward.

The Los Angeles Times highlights the problematic nature of the political structure around development, in which council members have total control over land-use decisions, which, in the case of the Downtown Community Plan has backfired. This, along with the Hollywood Community Plan, which is also experiencing a prolonged delay, is designed to make the approval process quicker for mixed-income developments.

If the City Council doesn’t act on the plans by May, the documents will expire and the approval process will restart.

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LA City Council approves 2035 100% clean energy target — a decade sooner than planned

2021-09-03T17:07:00-04:00

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to have the Department of Water and Power transition to 100% renewable energy by 2035, as well as develop a long-term hiring plan for nearly 10,000 “green” jobs. The 2035 deadline is a decade earlier than the city’s previous goal.

The plan was passed in a 12-0 vote. It also tasks the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to report every six months on the transition to renewable energy to the City Council’s Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice and River Committee.

In March, the city of Los Angeles released the LA100 Study, one of the largest studies of its kind conducted by the federal government, that explored potential pathways Los Angeles can pursue to achieve a 100% clean energy future. First introduced in 2016, the study was conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in partnership with the LADWP and USC.

Video via National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on YouTube

The study states that Los Angeles could achieve 98% clean energy within a decade and 100% clean energy by 2035. Meeting its goal would require a massive expansion of wind and solar resources, which also calls for shutting down local gas power plants. While this transition i...

Can LA's new pilot program for micro-unit apartments promote a walkable city?

2019-09-05T19:45:00-04:00

Last week Los Angeles City Councilmember Gil Cedillo initiated a new pilot program which explores the development of micro-unit apartments in LA neighborhoods situated near transit areas. Intending to promote a more "walkable city," Cedillo's proposal addresses the city's housing crisis and the burden it places on residents and those experiencing homelessness. The proposal also pitches micro-units as a potential housing solution for young professionals, persons who frequently travel for work, and seniors.

"Micro-units are emerging across the county as one way to help address this crisis by increasing housing stock and diversity while providing homes that are naturally affordable to moderate-income residents without public subsidies" reads Cedillo's motion.

While some may be skeptical towards this proposed solution, Steven Sharp of Urbanize LA provides an example of a city that found success with this housing option. In a more recent post, Sharp uses the city of Seattle as a prime ex...

L.A. City Council Officially Votes Norms Restaurant as "Historic and Cultural Landmark"

2015-05-21T13:43:00-04:00

The effort to save Norms comes at a time when historic preservationists say postwar buildings — especially on a smaller scale — face an increased threat from development pressure.

Anyone who has ever grabbed a post-Largo meal or 2 a.m. existential coffee at Los Angeles restaurant Norms will be delighted to hear that The Los Angeles City Council has deemed the Googie-style building a cultural and historic landmark. Although this demarcation doesn't guarantee that it will never be knocked down, the move does require the Council to review proposed demolition to the site.

As the Times notes, "Googie is an exuberant, postwar Southern California style of sharp angles and sweeping curves meant to grab the attention of passing drivers." Located on a vibrant stretch of La Cienega Boulevard that is home to the benign monolith of the Beverly Center, the recently revamped Largo at the Coronet, and a handful of Vegan restaurants, antiques dealers and vintage dive bars, Norms architecture is arguably reflective of a wilder time in Los Angeles's urban development. Demarcating the building tangibly preserves elements of an era that will likely become only rarer as Los Angeles...