Oscar's Hollywood

The results are in and more than conclusive. Measure S, which, by all accounts was a misguided moratorium on new and affordable housing that Los Angeles desperately needs, was defeated. I have always tried to see the positive aspects of things like this and in the case of Measure S a few good things did come out of it. For instance, the attempt to squelch development spurred the City Council to vote in February to update L.A.'s 35 community plans every six years, which is realistically about as fast as the City can move in updating all of its plans. Councilman Ryu proposed a motion that would prohibit developers from making political contributions during and shortly after city reviews of their projects, and Mayor Garcetti banned private meetings between planning commissioners and developers and their agents. It also pumped several millions of dollars into the economy. I'm not sure the outdoor billboard industry needed the hefty infusion of cash, but certainly the postal service was happy to handle the influx of mailers. Oh yes, a few high paying jobs were also created. The measure pulled together the biggest coalition in LA's history. An extraordinary group of individuals and organizations spoke as one on behalf of workers, businesses, the homeless, the environment, public transportation and tenants. Pretty remarkable. I would certainly hope that the development community now, more than ever, realizes that they have to keep their projects appropriate to their location, especially in Hollywood. DH

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Posted By Oscar Arslanian on April 01, 2017 04:00 pm | Permalink