Los Angeles Redevelopment

The Times missed the essence of my comments on economic development in the Jan. 6 article “CRA Chief to Seek Public Backing.”

I underlined the problems facing Los Angeles in the 1990s are different from those of the past so our solutions must be different. Our emphasis must be on job expansion, strengthening the city’s economic base and empowering communities to determine their own future.

Against that backdrop, I propose repositioning our agency to meet the challenge of economic survival facing our city. I’ve drafted a four-point plan designed to begin putting Los Angeles back on an economic growth track within 120 days:

* Put on the table a cohesive citywide economic development strategy with an action plan to help key Los Angeles businesses and industries expand and create new jobs.

* Community empowerment. Put the tools of redevelopment in the hands of community leaders and let them tell us how to use them.

* Use redevelopment to spur recovery in the riot-torn areas, just as the city has done successfully in downtown and 16 other communities.

* Lift the spending limit on the Central Business District Redevelopment Project to fund economic development not just downtown but in the city’s poorest neighborhoods where resources are lacking.

EDWARD J. AVILA, Administrator

Community Redevelopment Agency

Los Angeles