CRENSHAW : 5 Residents Groups Draft Land-Use Plan

More affordable housing, youth centers and retail and office buildings are all part of the wish list in a plan drafted by the Crenshaw Cluster to promote economic development in the Crenshaw district.

In a meeting last week, the Cluster, a consortium of five resident-based planning groups, reviewed a land-use plan designed to improve the quality of life there.

“The plan is unique in that it’s been entirely citizen-directed,” said Valerie Shaw, the plan’s administrator. “It’s also very specific. It maps out where people want things like grocery stores, light-rail stations, and what types of housing should go where.”

About 85 residents and business people met at the Department of Water and Power on Crenshaw Boulevard to draft the plan, the first of its kind in 20 years, said Shaw. The plan was formed during seven months of workshops, Shaw said, and incorporates commercial, resident and service-provider concerns.

The groups represented in the cluster are: Rebuild Crenshaw, Crenshaw Neighbors Inc., the Crenshaw Neighborhood Housing Service, the Crenshaw Economic Development Corp. and the Corridor Economic Development Corp.

The plan has been sponsored through about $10,000 in donations by GTE, Pacific Bell and American Savings, with services provided by community businesses. Although the next step, implementation, will require serious financial strategies, Shaw said attracting businesses and services to the area can be done without money.

“The bottom line is attracting businesses to build here,” she said. “The group can coordinate those kinds of efforts, which is what’s been absent. Citizens can provide the missing link.”