Residents Shun Woo’s Idea for Housing Project

When a City Council member presents what he considers to be a bright idea to a community meeting in his district and is greeted by a chorus of boos, he can feel quite discouraged.

Hollywood Councilman Michael Woo was roundly jeered by many Hollywood residents who opposed low-cost housing in their neighborhood, at a March 8 meeting held at Wattles Mansion.

The idea he presented was a proposal to erect 40 affordable housing units, designed by architects chosen in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art, on a city-owned site on the northwest corner of Franklin and La Brea avenues.

“This is a way to get architecture of a high standard, instead of the ugly apartment buildings we see springing up all over Hollywood,” Woo said over the shouts of his audience.

“By holding this kind of competition among three innovative developer-architect teams with MOCA’s backing, we hope to elevate standards.”

But his 200-member audience remained unconvinced.

“Raw deal.” “Too much traffic already.” “We’ve done our bit, and more.” “Why don’t you listen to us, Woo?” were some of the milder comments the councilman received.

Woo argued that there is a severe shortage of affordable housing in his district, which includes many low-income families in its population. “All portions of the city must share the burden of low-income housing,” he said bravely.

“There is an estimated shortage of 300,000 subsidized housing units in Los Angeles,” said Community Redevelopment Agency spokeswoman Perla Eston. “Currently, the CRA can only fund 1,000 units a year of new housing, plus another 1,000 in rehabilitations.

Mix of Public, Private Money

“Other city agencies construct another 4,000 units annually. The shortfall between what is needed and what is built creates a truly urgent problem for many poor families.”

Eston explained that the $2.9-million Franklin-La Brea project would be funded by a mix of public and private money. The units, ranging in size from singles to four-bedroom apartments, would house renters across the social spectrum, from the very low- to the moderate-income categories.

Rents for a typical two-bedroom unit would run from $335 to $627 a month, depending on the family income.

MOCA curator Liz Smith gave a short history of the famous post-World War II Case Study House program, that developed many innovative ideas for affordable housing. The Franklin-La Brea design competition is linked to an upcoming MOCA retrospective exhibition on the Case Study houses.

The audience was impatient with Smith, and with the three architects involved in the competition. When Craig Hodgetts, Eric Moss and Adele Santos tried to show slides of their past projects, they were constantly interrupted by cries of “Forget the architecture, let’s have a park instead!”

‘Surplus Land’

A deputy from Woo’s office, and a city planner at the meeting attempted to explain that a park was not a realistic option.

They said the Franklin-La Brea site was designated “surplus land,” bought with federal funds that prohibited its use as a park. If the CRA does not develop the lot, it would legally have to be auctioned off to a private developer, who could build it out to twice the density planned under the present proposal.

“A park is not an option,” Woo said. “What is an option is the possibility of having a fine piece of residential architecture in your neighborhood by the spring of 1990.”

“Vest-pocket parks haven’t worked in our area,” agreed Bob Crane, a Hollywood realtor who is also a Franklin/Hollywood Boulevard West Homeowners Assn. board member. “The Department of Parks and Recreation doesn’t have the resources to properly maintain and supervise these small bits of greenery.

“They get taken over by drug dealers and prostitutes. We’d be better off with the housing.”

“Do we have a choice?” several voices asked loudly. “Or has the deal already been done over our heads?” “Do we even get to vote on the choice of architects?” one local homeowner shouted.

Tempers Run Hot

In reply, Woo said he was about to appoint one community representative to the seven-person design competition jury. After that, the community, as represented by the audience at the meeting, has very little leverage in attempting to prevent the project from going ahead.

That tempers run hot in Hollywood these days is no surprise to lawyer David Abel, the moderator aa the meeting and a public policy consultant.

“The uncertainty about the CRA’s 30-year redevelopment project in the heart of Hollywood, plus the current revision of the surrounding district’s community plan have everyone up in the air. In the midst of this, an enlightened councilman is trying to balance his options among conflicting forces.

“He recognizes that the homeowners have legitimate gripes, but at the same time, it often seems that an entrenched middle class is reluctant to make room for some less fortunate citizens.”

Architect Hodgetts’ final comment was more succinct. “The avant-garde meets the people, and sinks,” he said.