Council Assailed For Rezoning Westside Industrial Area.The L.A. City Council's May 29 decision to allow rezoning of a Westside tract of industrial land for a 309-unit apartment project has ignited a squabble squab·ble intr.v. squab·bled, squab·bling, squab·bles To engage in a disagreeable argument, usually over a trivial matter; wrangle. See Synonyms at argue. n. A noisy quarrel, usually about a trivial matter. over whether jobs or housing should get preference as the supply of developable land dwindles. Critics say the project will cost hundreds of jobs and sets a dangerous precedent that will unleash a torrent of similar rezoning applications. Fueling the friction is that the council's approval came despite the city Planning city planning, process of planning for the improvement of urban centers in order to provide healthy and safe living conditions, efficient transport and communication, adequate public facilities, and aesthetic surroundings. Commission and the council's Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee both strongly recommending that the apartment project be rejected. "The planning department is certainly not unaware of the housing shortage problems in the city," said Larry Friedman, senior city planner. "We felt the need to protect industrial land outweighs the importance of changing that land to permit housing." In an unusual move, all seven of the city's planning commissioners wrote a letter to the City Council citing reasons why the Avalon del Rey Del Rey may refer to:
They argued that industrial uses -- often characterized by loud noises, heavy truck traffic, 24-hour operations and environmental risks -- are incompatible with residential uses. Meanwhile, the 4.5-acre Avalon del Rey project site sits amid an otherwise active 150-acre industrial zone north of Playa playa or pan or flat or dry lake Flat-bottomed depression that is periodically covered by water. Playas occur in interior desert basins and adjacent to coasts in arid and semiarid regions. Vista. Miscikowski, the sole council member to vote against the project, attributed the Avalon del Rey approval to support from the Sixth District's council member, council President Ruth Galanter Ruth Galanter was a city councilwoman from Los Angeles. She served as President Pro-Tempore and President of the city council. . Council members typically do not vote against the person representing the district in which a project site is located. Galanter could not be reached for comment last week. The Avalon del Rey project -- which Alexandria, Va.-based AvalonBay Communities AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE: AVB) is an Alexandria, Virginia-based public real estate investment trust. The company specializes in acquiring, developing, redeveloping and managing high-quality apartment communities in high barrier-to-entry markets, such as the Northeast, Inc. plans to build on the site at 5535 Westlawn Ave. -- has been in the works for two and a half years. It is scheduled to break ground in the first quarter of 2002, said Lawrence Scott Lawrence Scott (born 1943) is from Trinidad & Tobago. novelist currently living in Londonand Trinidad. He is presently a Senior Research Fellow at The Academy for the Arts, Letters, Culture and Public Affairs at the University of Trinidad & Tobago (UTT) , vice president of development at AvalonBay Communities' Newport Beach Newport Beach, residential and resort city (1990 pop. 66,643), Orange co., S Calif., on Newport Bay and the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1906. It is a popular seaside resort and yachting center. Manufactures include electrical and medical equipment, computers, boats, and adhesives. office. Supporters of the project said that Angelenos need to re-think the city's long-held limitations on residential development as the housing shortage grows. "We as a city need to think more of building housing where people work, so we can give more people an opportunity not to have to use cars," said council member Mike Hernandez. |
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