South Central development project concerns neighbors



 

A new South Los Angeles development project drew sharp criticism from neighbors and health advocacy groups at a press conference Monday. A report released by Human Impact Partners found that “The Reef” development, slated to build two multi-use high-rise buildings, will place over half of renters in the site’s surrounding area at high risk for financial strain or displacement.

In September, the City Council released a 3,000 page environmental report on the development. The document has been has been a source of strain on attempting to be involved in the development process.

“In the immediate, we are concerned about the draft [environmental impact review] project that has only given us 47 days to respond to a 3,000 page document,” said Benjamin Torres of CDTech.

Beyond the environmental impact report, the community is concerned that the development will bring new residents into the proposed luxury apartments while pushing out lower-income locals because of rising rent and property value.

Read More: Neighborhood council to take action on Reef Project report

Los Angeles is the least affordable city for renters, and HIP found that the city lost 65 percent of state and federal funding for affordable housing between 2009 and 2014.

The South Los Angeles neighborhood surrounding the development is one of the most crowded areas in the city. In the community where 45 percent of residents fall below the poverty line, a rise in prices leaves many residents forced to compromise.

The Reef development

Residents hold a press conference in front of The Reef, which plans to develop two new skyscrapers in South LA over the next 15 years. | Caitlyn Hynes, Intersections South L.A.

Community members are worried that The Reef development will not include affordable housing, an issue that already exists. At the press conference, residents and community leaders urged developers and the City Council to consider their voices throughout the 15-year building process.  

Benjamin Torres of CDTech said he was concerned that the decisions made about the development would not include the input of the neighbors who currently live there.

“One [concern] is the long-term process and what the role of the community is, and making sure we have equitable community development that benefits the area,” he said.

Neighbors want South L.A. to attract developers. They also want development to reflect the neighborhood’s residents as they are now, not those who will move in to be a part of The Reef’s demographic.

“Let’s imagine for one minute what this project could be. Imagine if this was affordable housing for the residents of affordable housing for South Los Angeles,” said Jim Mangia, President and CEO of St. John’s Well Child and Family Center. “Imagine if that development was serving the people of this community, who have built this community with their blood and their sweat and their tears. Imagine if some of that retail space were community health centers that served this community.”

Read More: Some South LA residents express uncertainty with billion dollar development 

Dr. Holly Avey of HIP said that her organization was concerned about the negative impact that this development could have on the historic South Central L.A. neighborhood. The report found that community residents who are impacted by displacement and financial issues are at a high risk of a variety of health problems, including anxiety, depression, obesity and diabetes.

Beatriz Solis of the California Endowment said that some families are forced to make delicate tradeoffs, like choosing between healthy food or preschool.

Cynthia Bryant, the owner of a local ice cream shop, voiced her concern that when the development does go forward, the businesses in The Reef will push her out of the neighborhood. Bryant worries that the business space in The Reef will drive up rent prices across the neighborhood.

“I don’t want to be the first one to get on the boat if we get pushed out of this community, because they’re pushing us further and further. But where is the boat loading? Should I be the first or should I be the last, should I keep hanging on?” said Bryant.

The rising rents and subsequent displacement of residents worries Solis as well.

“At the community level, when people are forced out, the whole community fabric begins to unravel, and what cohesion and collaborative efficacy, or social and political power did exist begins to evaporate, making it more and more difficult to have a voice in community development,” Solis said.

Neighbors like Erendira Morales, a working mother of four children, say they want to be a part of this process to make sure that their concerns are being heard and addressed.

“We feel that they are playing with the life and the future of the people who live in this community. Our local representatives are not listening to us,” said Morales. “We have our interests, we have our opinions and we feel that they are not paying attention to us. We want to participate, we want to be part of this process.”

Neighborhood council to take action on Reef Project report



The South Central Neighborhood Council and community members discussed possible courses of action on the Reef Project Environmental Impact Report on Tuesday, October 20, 2015.

The South Central Neighborhood Council and community members discussed possible courses of action on the Reef Project Environmental Impact Report on Tuesday, October 20, 2015. | Rachel Cohrs, Intersections South L.A.

With the deadline for public comment on more than 800 pages of documentation on the proposed Reef Project development approaching, the South Central Neighborhood Council said it needs more time to sort through the information.

“The language is hard to understand, and it’s just too much,” said council member Martha Sanchez. “I want to be able to understand what I’m reading. . .I want to have time for an expert who knows more to explain what this means to community members.”

The Reef Project is a $1.2 billion development of high-rise condos, commercial space, and a hotel to be erected in South LA. The project has received some pushback from community residents.

A rendering of the proposed $1.2 billion Reef Project development. | Courtesy of Gensler and PATTERNS

A rendering of the proposed $1.2 billion Reef Project development. | Courtesy of Gensler and PATTERNS

The paperwork under review is the Environmental Impact Report that describes the different community impacts the project could have on nearby residents. The Los Angeles Department of City Planning’s summary of the report describes that the Reef Project’s largest disruptions will affect local aesthetics, air quality, noise, traffic and transportation.

The report, released Sept. 17, is available solely in English, and is only available by either visiting the Department of City Planning office, visiting one of four library locations, or paying $7.50 for a copy on CD.

“Looking at this neighborhood, for [the document] only to be provided in English is absurd. We have lots of monolinguistic Spanish-speaking people around here. It’s hard enough for the average person to understand, not to mention if they don’t speak the language,” council member John Parker said.

The South Central Neighborhood Council has authorized a committee to submit a public comment before the Nov. 2 deadline. The statement will be based on community input the council has gathered since its town hall meeting last month. The exact content has yet to be determined.

A visual map of the location of the Reef Project south of downtown Los Angeles. | Courtesy of Gensler and PATTERNS

A visual map of the location of the Reef Project south of downtown Los Angeles. | Courtesy of Gensler and PATTERNS

The council also plans to submit a request to the city to extend the deadline, but the prospects of success look grim after another organization’s request was denied.

Reef Project representative Will Cipes said that although the official deadline for comment may pass on the report, the developers will still be open to community insight regarding a community benefits package attached to the project.

According to Cipes, however, the community benefits package with the city isn’t quite concrete.

“We have talked about the broad concept of an agreement [on a benefits package] but we have not talked specifics,” Cipes said.

Cipes estimated that the official city council vote on the development will likely be at least six months away.

The Environmental Impact Report didn’t measure how much potential displacement the existence of market-rate apartments could cause in the surrounding area. Preliminary analysis conducted by SAJE, a local nonprofit advocating for tenant rights and affordable housing, identified 4,445 individuals within a two-mile radius of the Reef Project who could be at “very high” or “high” risk for financial strain and/or displacement if the development is built.

To educate community members and provide a place for residents to voice concerns about the project, the South Central Neighborhood Council is organizing a community forum on gentrification Wednesday, Oct. 28 at Santee Education Complex at 6 p.m.

“We want to do something that is really going to benefit people,” South Central Neighborhood Council President Jose Reyes said. “We don’t want to do something just to say we did something.”

LA’s Synchronized Traffic Gets a Green Light



By Cliff Liu
Annenberg Radio News

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa flipped the switch today on the final traffic light control box in the citywide signal synchronization program.

“Every single traffic light in the City of Los Angeles is fully synchronized. The only big city over a million in the entire world that has every traffic light synchronized,” said Villaraigosa.

Synching all of LA’s traffic lights on the Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control system has been an ongoing effort since before the 1984 Olympics. The computer-based traffic signal control system monitors traffic in real time and syncs traffic lights accordingly.

Those behind the program say it will result in a 16 percent increase in travel speed and a 12 percent decrease in travel time.

“That translates into an average 22 hours and 23 minutes of time savings a year- nearly a day in the lives spent in travels,” the Mayor said.

That should help people get to where they’re going on time, but it didn’t work out for the Mayor who came half an hour late to today’s unveiling.

Along with the faster travel times comes environmental benefits in a city with 2.5 million registered cars.

“We have so many benefits that come from this. Less time idling at intersections that will help clean the air and reduce our air pollution and with twelve million plus people on our city streets, that translates into an incredible improvement on air quality,” said Councilwoman Jan Perry at the event.

The LA Department of Transportation says today’s synchronization will have the same effect as taking 190,000 cars off the road.

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