Hollywood Housing

The March 27 article on a community meeting between Councilman Michael Woo and Hollywood residents did an injustice in explaining the rationale behind the overwhelming objections of the audience to a proposed 4-unit housing development.

Hollywood residents object to the proposed project and, in fact, any other development projects that would contribute to the current state of over-density, a street system that is unable to efficiently handle the current volume of traffic, inadequate parking facilities and a generally agreed upon crisis in the public school system.

The proposed project is in an area which has, over the past 3 years, seen probably the largest increase in housing unit density (many still vacant) of any area in Los Angeles.

The comment of Bob Crane, a former board member of the Franklin/Hollywood Boulevard West Homeowner Assn. (an organization in which I am a board member and vice president) that “Vest-pocket parks haven’t worked in our area. They get taken over by drug dealers and prostitutes. We’d be better off with the housing” exemplifies the misdirection of public energy in our community.

We should be reviewing proposals that allow us to have more usable green space instead of addressing this problem with the avant-garde solution of building multi-unit dwellings on vacant city-owned land.

The issue is not simply one low-income housing project vs. one moderate income housing project. It is the much more important general issue of our public officials devoting their efforts to improving the basic public services and support systems versus promoting high growth with little regard for the quality of life.

JAMES OSHER

Los Angeles