LOS ANGELES | Downtown Project Rundown 6.0

[homebucket]

Originally Posted by LAisthePlace

To completely remove the councilor from being the key cog in the approval process. They treat their district as their own little fiefdom when it comes to development and can either be tempted by bribes but let things move forward encouraging development (huizar) or sit in development for ridiculous reasons like insane amounts of inclusionary housing, nimbyism, labor agreements, public benefits etc (KDL). Neither of these is good, and the middle ground is good which is predicable, standardized, modern zoning that allows by-right development of the scale that DTLA deserves while balancing the “penciling out” of quality projects that aren’t completely value engineer and public benefits like parks and inclusionary zoning.

This is what DTLA 2040 *should* do, but from the public comments I listened into KDL was trying to neuter it from a base + bonus system (like the very successful Transit oriented development structure in LA) to an across the board inclusionary zoning requirement which a huge % affordable which sounds nice in theory… until you realize it will just make it that nothing gets built and DTLA’s progress flounders.

We really gotta get rid of this guy.

Yeah, there's a similar process in SF where projects get struck down because they don't have enough affordable housing component or they argue its going to displace lower income, disadvantaged folks. It's like they think if something isn't 100% affordable, it shouldn't be built. It would be nice if they could be bypassed completely for an expedited and standardized and completely objective review process.

[citywatch]

I don't think city hall is going to get any better anytime soon. If anything, in the next 5-10 yrs it may get even worse. A lot of this is occurring all over the country too, up & down the west coast, the midwest, the Atlantic seaboard, etc.

when the head of a homeowners group in west LA said that ppl in LA hate traveling in tunnels, & therefore the subway shouldn't go under the sepulveda pass & another transit influencer implied the system wasn't being hurt by too much grime & crime, that's when I knew: hope for the best, prepare for the worst.


• Video Link

[Zapatan]

The politics in LA are so beyond embarrassing and sad.

Unfortunate to hear that it may have an effect on Angel's Landing, though I hope no other projects get dragged into this BS.

Hopefully another developer will get their hands on that site and build something better.

[Yackemflaber69]

So does that mean Angels Flight is canceled?

[scania]

Originally Posted by Yackemflaber69

So does that mean Angels Flight is canceled?

If anything, this means it'll definitely get done now.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by scania

If anything, this means it'll definitely get done now.

True, having Peeble's out of the picture may be a blessing in disguise.

[LAsam]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

True, having Peeble's out of the picture may be a blessing in disguise.

Why would that be? I haven't been following the project all that closely since it was initially conceived.

[homebucket]

Seems like the project would be dependent on the resignation of De León (which he's stated he's not planning on doing), or at least the developers being able to work with a different councilmember.

[MAC123]

Hmm interesting. I really liked this project, though I wanted the heights raised. (Especially the taller one, wasn't that originally planned to be LA's third supertall?)

[scania]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

True, having Peeble's out of the picture may be a blessing in disguise.

There’s nothing wrong with Peebles.

[JDRCRASH]

I think what Scania means is that the fact the developers made an issue out of this shows their willingness to getting the project done.

[citywatch]

Pure power plays & racial politics are evident in this tape....with the health of the city (much less dtla) taking a back seat.

https://www.latimes.com/california/jabfj4ghp28-123

In a town of mainly one party politics, I bet lots of other ppl in LA city hall think, act & talk the same way. If white candidate A prefers the same thing that black candidate B does, who prefers the same thing Latino candidate C does, who asian candidate D favors too, it comes down to power plays based on race.

Then there are odd politics in the workplace or elsewhere too....look at what goes on in online forums, including this one. So it won't be any less ridiculous in city govt.

National politics or regional competition is at work too....look at how ppl representing dtla have had to travel to the east coast...NYC....to get funders & investors based there to support projs in dtla. I still wonder why Equity residential based out of chicago dropped plans for an apt tower at 4th & Hill St. They may have seen negative feedback about dtla...about crime, homelessness... along with the NIMBY politics that their proj faced from the beginning, & they got cold feet.

[caligrad]

Originally Posted by Zapatan

True, having Peeble's out of the picture may be a blessing in disguise.

Why would it be a blessing? ....... when form my understanding they haven't done anything wrong? ..............

As for De Leon, He won't step down for a reason ... Would love for someone to investigate that one. To stubbornly refuse to step down .... We might have another Huizar on our hands ..... pockets are lines and can't afford, literally, to step down.

For a Black developer to not want to work with you because of your racist remarks .... The last thing you should want to do is have your spokesperson respond rather aggressively towards them when for weeks you've had "no comment" responses to literally everything else proving the recordings right .... walks like a duck, talks like a duck.

[homebucket]

I’m guessing Zapatan misspoke and actually meant De León is gonna be out of the picture soon.

[craigs]

KDL should not have any power over what gets built downtown. At all.

[homebucket]

It'll be interesting to see how this all will shake out. On one hand, de León has stated he won't resign despite mounting public pressure so the only way would be to force him out through a recall. But then the question is, would a recall even be successful given the high % of Latino support he presumably has, aside from the Oaxacans who were also disparaged in the comments. My guess is eventually the public pressure will be too great and he'll step down on his own. Even Biden is calling for him to resign.

[Zapatan]

Originally Posted by homebucket

I’m guessing Zapatan misspoke and actually meant De León is gonna be out of the picture soon.

Correct, sorry about that. I meant if De Leon were out of the picture it'd be a blessing in disguise. I say that because I thought he was pretty pro development.

It was De Leon's racist comments which caused this mess, though I don't blame Peeble's for not wanting to work with them now.

[pwright1]

[bhunsberger]

Originally Posted by caligrad

As for De Leon, He won't step down for a reason ... Would love for someone to investigate that one. To stubbornly refuse to step down .... We might have another Huizar on our hands ..... pockets are lines and can't afford, literally, to step down.

The man has run for public office all over the state of CA, in addition to working at non-profits, being labor organizer, a campaign manager, etc according to wikipedia. I don't know if he has ever had a job in the private sector. I also was curious about the protests outside his home, so I looked it up. Turns out he just bought the house in March 2021 for $980k. I am sure that also plays a role. The man just has zero integrity. He is a selfish opportunistic grifter. I find his reasoning for not stepping down so ironic given how he does nothing for CD14. "But, my constituents deserve representation..." Yeah, they do- from someone other than you!

[LAnative61]

Originally Posted by pwright1

Nice update! Any idea about what the final height of the building will be? In pictures I've seen it looks substantially shorter than the E&Y building across the street even though plans called for to be just a few feet shorter.