Will a Great Neighborhood Bite the Dust? : Development: The City Council still can chart a visionary course before Fairfax is devastated.

In what has been touted as the single most instructive test of whether Los Angeles city planning is entering a more enlightened era, this month the City Council determines whether to permit a major regional shopping center, larger than the Westside Pavilion, at Farmers Market. Most observers agree that the fate of one of the great neighborhoods in California-- the center of culture and tradition known as Beverly-Fairfax--hangs in the balance.

With so much at stake, one would expect city officials to formulate dynamic, novel approaches to balancing neighborhood preservation, traffic containment, and other social and environmental issues with the legitimate need for economic revitalization. Indeed, a blueprint for accomplishing just that was drafted months ago.

Instead, a development that gives short shrift to these fundamental principles is hurtling toward possible approval.

This scenario sharply contrasts with the promise of last summer. In response to a proposed 1.1 million-square-foot regional shopping center, hotel, high-rise office building and upscale housing development at Farmers Market, Mayor Bradley announced that a team of urban planners, architects, social scientists and others, none of whom possessed any stake in the outcome, would convene a four-day, intensive workshop to formulate a plan to guide the development of Beverly-Fairfax.

After consulting with the developer, area residents, social-service providers, religious leaders and many others, the team concluded that a regional shopping center at Farmers Market would be the death-knell of Fairfax. The neighborhood simply could not assimilate all that traffic, the infusion of mini-malls that are the natural concomitant of regional shopping centers, and a gargantuan change in scale without sacrificing its vibrant ethnic and cultural identity and the core of its traditional commerce and residents.

The team instead proposed a 200,000-square-foot retail development, which would include a large store like the May Company, along with neighborhood-oriented shops, accompanied by a major commitment to rental housing. The team was guided by forward-thinking goals that should be present in urban planning throughout Los Angeles: the neighborhood should continue to accommodate its traditional, largely senior citizen and low-moderate income family population base, pedestrians, and ethnic, mom ‘n’ pop commerce, while not becoming choked with traffic that even the developer concedes would be horrendous.

This prudent approach was not binding, however, and has effectively been scuttled by city officials. City Council President John Ferraro, in whose district the project would be located, advocates a shopping center comparable in size to the Century City Mall. He proposes that only 30 of the housing units to be constructed be required to be affordable to low-income seniors--this in a neighborhood that is home to 70,000, a third of whom are seniors.

We can, and must, do better. In the long run, state lawmakers should clarify the California Environmental Quality Act to underscore that the social, cultural and economic implications of proposed developments must be analyzed by public officials before such developments can move forward. Municipal planning should include a comprehensive approach to neighborhood development modeled on the Beverly-Fairfax workshop. A higher city priority should be placed on updating so-called specific plans governing the future of areas of Los Angeles.

As for the Farmers Market proposal in particular, a development short of a regional shopping center is appropriate. A major affordable housing component targeting seniors would be a good start, combined with infant day care, giving residents the opportunity to relate to a new generation. Added retail would be a good idea, as long as no more than one major store was constructed and surrounding shops were oriented to the neighborhood. Partnerships should be forged between the new development and existing commerce to ensure the continued viability of the shops that make Fairfax unique.

Our city can only afford planning that enhances, rather than eradicates precious, scarce neighborhood resources. If we adopt more short-sighted objectives, one day the best of Los Angeles will be only a memory.