Support Affordable Housing on the Westside!
LA City Council voted twice to approve the urgently needed Venice Dell affordable housing project on city-owned land after years of public meetings and hearings, But now City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto and City Councilmember Traci Park are going rogue by blocking the project with unlawful backdoor tactics and unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. Because they do not want affordable housing on this site, they’re caving to NIMBY opposition from wealthy residents. And Mayor Bass is letting them do it. We can't let them get away with it.
We have two big hearings next week at the CA Coastal Commission and the LA City Board of Transportation Commissioners; these appointed officials need to hear from as many LA City residents as possible. Thank you for taking two minutes to be part of the solution.
Here are three steps you can take:
Email your City Councilmember
Use the form below send an email to your councilmember.
2. Email BOTC and Coastal Commission
Once you complete the form above, please click the links you received in the confirmation email. If that doesn’t work, try using the below links to open pre-written, pre-addressed messages to the Coastal Commission and Board of Transportation Commissioners.
Click here to open a pre-written, pre-addressed message to the Coastal Commission
If these links don’t work on your desktop web-browser, trying clicking on the links you receive after fill out the above form or clicking on them from your smart phone.
3. Give Public Comment
We also need supporters to show up in-person and give public comment.
Wednesday, Dec 11 @ 9am-4pm: Give public comment virtually or in-person at Coastal Commission (Newport Beach). We can help you get there. You have to sign up by Tuesday at 5pm to give comment on Wednesday. To sign up, click here > find the green bubble button at the top that says “Submit Speaking Request” > select “Wednesday” > Fill out the form and hit “Submit.”
You can find more information on how to give public comment at CA Coastal Commission here.
If you plan to show up in-person to either hearing, please email our Deputy Director, Godfrey Plata, at godfrey@laforward.org. There are MANY things happening at City Hall on Tuesday, so you don’t want to get in the wrong line! If you plan on showing up, let Godfrey know. We can help coordinate rides if needed, support with the process of giving public comment, and make sure you find other LA Forward folks upon arriving.
Need more info before taking action?
Venice Dell is a 100% affordable and supportive housing project set to be built on a City-owned parking lot. When built, it’ll provide 68 supportive apartments for individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness and 49 affordable apartments for low-income households and artists, along with supportive services, and a parking structure to replace the spaces in the existing lot. Unfortunately, progress on the remaining bureaucratic approvals has halted due to the efforts of City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto and District 11 Councilmember Traci Park. That's why in July of this year, LA Forward Institute and three community residents filed a lawsuit against the City of LA for illegally obstructing the project in violation of fair housing laws and the City Charter. Read more about Venice Dell and the lawsuit at buildvenicedell.org, LA Times, LAist, LA Public Press, and KTLA (IG reel).
