EDITORIAL WORTH THE WAIT NORTHEAST VALLEY REDEVELOPMENT: TAKE TWO.REDEVELOPMENT in the northeast San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. is long, long overdue -- but it might prove to have been worth the wait. On Wednesday, City Councilman Richard Alarcon won his colleagues' approval for the Community Redevelopment Agency to get to work on revitalizing re·vi·tal·ize tr.v. re·vi·tal·ized, re·vi·tal·iz·ing, re·vi·tal·iz·es To impart new life or vigor to: plans to revitalize inner-city neighborhoods; tried to revitalize a flagging economy. the Pacoima and Panorama City areas, with a budget of $64 million. This victory comes six years after a defeat. Although the community was originally marked as a redevelopment area after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a "strong" moment magnitude of 6. , politics ultimately doomed redevelopment the first time around. In 2001, then-City Councilman Alex Padilla Alex Padilla is a politician in California. He was elected as the State Senator for the 20th District of California in November 2006 and was inaugurated in early December. In order to enter the Senate he had to resign as Councilman for the 7th District on the Los Angeles City and area NIMBYs pulled the plug on the plan. Opponents lacked confidence in the CRA's abilities, and said redevelopment would happen without it. They were wrong about that. But hopefully past mistakes and a different political climate will change their attitude this time around. For starters, the new redevelopment plan is much smaller in scope -- 2,900 acres, down from record-setting 6,800 acres. Moreover, Alarcon is calling for the CRA See Community Reinvestment Act. to lead public meetings to form a master plan that will include housing and businesses -- although the No. 1 goal has to be well-paying manufacturing jobs if the project is to be meaningful. The key is a balanced approach and active community involvement to make sure that the Northeast Valley gets the help it needs -- at last. |
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