Readers React: Stop trying to preserve the old Hollywood and let new housing go up

To the editor: Hollywood suffers from too many people trying to keep it “as is,” or as they wish it were. (“L.A., planning for future growth, seeks a major update of its neighborhood plans,” April 13)

I’ve been around long enough to remember the Garden of Allah Hotel and Wallichs Music City and to hear Jo Stafford at the Palladium. Those days are not coming back; new people, new artists and new buildings are meant to take their place, and I welcome them.

The city has not stepped up with new planning regulations as it should have years ago, but that doesn’t mean we should stop building the new Hollywood. But in the absence updated zoning, people now have a better chance of being heard when they complain. Those who object to zoning variances given to developers should also remember what this town was like 25 years ago and be grateful that investors have been willing to gamble on Hollywood.

Every one of us will find something we don’t like about any project, but we should not lose sight of the things we can like about them. For instance, I did not like the looks of the 8150 Sunset project at first, but the developers got wind of the locals’ feelings and brought in the architect Frank Gehry. Now, we are on the road to having a landmark we can all be proud of in the end.

There’s still work to do and complaints to be made, but in the end art and commerce can coexist.

William Bergmann, Hollywood

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To the editor: It’s odd that “affordable” housing — the supply of which city officials want to increase by revising neighborhood zoning — now means “low-income” housing. Shouldn’t “affordable” describe housing that average income people can afford?

We’re creating a city where the price of housing is either “affordable” (for those who qualify) or a painful stretch for all but the very comfortable.

Susan de la Vergne, Los Angeles

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