EASTSIDE : Report to Document Neighborhood Blight

Barrio Planners Inc. has been awarded a $100,000 contract to complete a feasibility study as part of the Adelante Eastside plan to revitalize Boyle Heights and El Sereno neighborhoods.

The study to determine whether the area meets the state’s criteria for public and private redevelopment funding was one of 11 recommendations made by several groups involved in Adelante Eastside.

That 16-month study of commercial, industrial and residential buildings in a 10-square-mile section of Boyle Heights and the Valley Boulevard industrial corridor of El Sereno was completed last summer. The housing component was dropped from that report, at the request of Councilman Richard Alatorre, to focus on economic development.

“I think the councilman’s office wanted to approach this in stages and see if we can do the business and commercial (buildings) and establish a track record,” said Raul Escobedo of Barrio Planners, an East Los Angeles architectural firm.

The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency last week awarded Barrio Planners the new contract.

The six- to eight-month technical study will document the conditions of blight as defined by state law, whether in buildings, streets or other physical characteristics, said Escobedo. It will also study the area’s economy and determine what tax revenues would be generated.

After the study is completed and the redevelopment agency’s community advisory committee gives its approval, the City Council would be asked to consider the area for redevelopment.

“That would be the goal,” Escobedo said. “In the meantime, the community has lobbied to get it into the federal empowerment zone, to get as many (funding) tools in the area as possible to get what we need.”

The redevelopment agency continues to keep residents informed with community meetings. The next one is scheduled Wednesdayat 6 p.m. at the El Sereno Senior Citizens Center, 4818 Klamath Place, said project director Al Santillanes.

Adelante Eastside, also known as the Eastside Neighborhoods Revitalization Study, found that the area has some of the oldest housing tracts in the city, suffers from overcrowding and lacks sufficient open land for new housing or business development. Other recommendations include a senior citizen housing project and a community shopping center.

Robert Argomaniz, a Legal Aid Foundation paralegal and Boyle Heights resident, has distributed 10,000 flyers in the last two weeks to get more residents interested in the continuing study of their neighborhoods.

He contends that the Community Advisory Committee, with 45 appointed members, does not encourage enough citizen participation. One of the biggest complaints residents have, he said, is that the Adelante Eastside study was never translated into Spanish.

“No one is really familiar with the study,” Argomaniz said. “We’re not saying it’s a bad project, but we should be aware of things going on in the community. They should allow them the opportunity to know what’s happening so they can make decisions about their community.”

Legal Aid was to have had a workshop Saturday at the Community Service Organization regarding the ongoing revitalization efforts through Adelante Eastside.

“We want them to recognize that this could have a significant impact,” Argomaniz said.