PROH-LA Opposes NELA Open Space ICO: Remove Private Properties

June 17, 2005


COUNCILMEMBER and MAYOR-ELECT ANTONIO VILLARIAGOSA
OFFICE FOURTENTH COUNCIL DISTRICT
CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS
City Hall 4th Floor Room 425
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012


RE: Council File No. 04-1880
Opposition Letter to Proposed NELA Open Space ICO


Dear CD14 Councilmember and Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa:


PROH-LA is a Coalition of Los Angeles City stakeholders and professionals advocating for responsible growth, education, and protection of hillside property owners' rights for development compatible with surrounding neighborhood standards. PROH-LA works to protect the future of our properties, local communities, businesses and workers. And, it works to ensure that we are included in LA City land use/planning public policy deliberations and debate.

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, are strongly opposed to ANY language contained within the proposed Northeast Hillside Open Space ICO (Moratorium) No. 04-1880 that includes PRIVATE PROPERTIES in the regulatory language.

We ask that you and the other LA City elected officials focus, instead, on more immediate needs in our Northeast LA communities (and across the City), for instance reducing crime, addressing affordable housing needs, growing businesses, increasing employment, street improvements, and balancing the City of Los Angeles budget. Often neglected, Northeast LA is in dire need of your attention to these urgent problems.

The proposed ICO is bad public policy. It responds to and benefits a privileged few in Northeast LA at the expense of the numerous ethnic/racial minority, middle-class residents, businesses, landowners and workers as well as those supporting the professional fields of construction, real estate, and labor.

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, urge you to reconsider your support for the proposed Northeast Hillside Open Space Interim Control Ordinance (No. 04-1880). DO NOT allow PRIVATE PROPERTIES to be included in the proposed ICO regulatory language. But DO make sure we are involved in all the ICO discussions.