At Thursday night's (5/31) Planning and Land Use Committee meeting of the Westchester/Playa Neighborhood Council, Legado's proposal took center stage. Legado's CEO Edward Czuker, his attorney Ben Reznik, and a host of paid supporters were in attendance. Of the 12 people that spoke in favor of the project, 10 receive compensation in some fashion by Legado. The canvassers who have been going door-to-door in the neighborhood were all in attendance, and said that the community overwhelmingly supports the project!
The primary tack that most of these "supporters" took was that Los Angeles has a housing crisis and that Legado will provide much-needed affordable housing. In truth they are only setting aside 8 units (of 72) as affordable housing- the other 64 will be at market rate and we know that won't be affordable! Additionally, none of these 64 units will be subject to rent control.
In the end, the PLUC committee voted to issue a Community Impact Statement in support of the community's opposition to the project, as proposed. The CIS opposes the violation of the maximum height restriction of 37 feet specified in the Del Rey Lagoon Plan, opposes the vacation of the adjacent Vista del Mar alley and opposes the vacation of 10 feet of Culver Blvd. between Pacific and Vista del Mar. The motion now goes before the entire Council Board for a vote at this coming Tuesday's meeting.
Legado insists that we the Playa residents are elitist NIMBYs who refuse to allow any development in our community. During this process there have been multiple inferences that we are not a diverse and inclusive community. We at the Guardians know this couldn't be further from the truth. One only has to look at our beach on any given weekend to see that we are truly a beach town for all of Los Angeles and beyond.
We are NOT NIMBY'S! We are RIMBY'S (REASONABLE/RESPONSIBLE in my back yard)!
It has come to our attention that many of these paid canvassers are misrepresenting the opinions of the people they are polling. One neighbor reports that when he told the canvasser he would prefer a dog park on the site, the canvasser replied "I'll put you down as undecided" and walked away. Please remember these people work for a firm hired by Legado to show only support for the project. Do you have a story about your interaction with these canvassers? Please share it in the comments below!!!
It is very important that we attend the upcoming Neighborhood Council meeting to show the Council how we really feel and to thank them for their support of the community. It is this coming Tuesday at 6:30PM in Westchester. Please see the calendar section of this website for location information. If you are unable to attend, please email your thoughts and thanks to the Board at https://www.ncwpdr.org/send-us-email.
Thanks,
PdR Guardians