SB50 and Ending Residential Neighborhoods

Under the guise of helping house the homeless and ending LA’s housing shortage, State Senator Scott Wiener of San Francisco has sponsored SB50, which would end single family residential zoning as we know it.  This proposal has already stopped designation of any further HPOZs, and has stalled any attempts to update our Preservation Plan.  SB50 would override local zoning ordinances and allow for mid rise apartment buildings to be built within a half mile of a subway stop or within a quarter mile of high frequency bus lines or in a ‘jobs-rich’ community.  All of Hancock Park fits this definition.  The bill would allow property owners to convert single-family houses anywhere in the state into four-unit apartment houses.  Senator Wiener has made a few cosmetic modifications to the latest version of his bill that give city officials a chance to shift some of the density. 

This is part of the continuing effort by developers to replace affordable housing with unaffordable housing and to turn all neighborhoods into multi story apartment and condominium projects.  There is no shortage of commercial and other properties that could be developed to provide more housing without destroying the neighborhoods that make our city a wonderful place to live.  Let your State Senator (Ben Allen - https://sd26.senate.ca.gov/district) and Assemblyman (Richard Bloom - https://a50.asmdc.org/) know how you feel and fight to keep our city a city of neighborhoods.

If you’re planning to make any changes to the street visible portion of your house, including hardscaping, and windows, check with our HPOZ Planner Suki Gershenhorn (suki.gershenhorn@lacity.org), before starting The HPOZ Preservation Plan, which regulates our HPOZ can be found at http://www.preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/la/hancock-park   There is also an online form you can fill out to help speed up the process (http://preservation.lacity.org/hpoz/initial.screening.checklist).  Report graffiti sightings by calling 311 or at the City’s Anti-Graffiti Request System - http://anti-graffiti.lacity.org/welcome.cfm?CFID=1007&CFTOKEN=411CDB4F-0FC3-4EE1-89DE58DCCB435538 and by calling Hollywood Beautification, 323-463-5180.