WESTLAKE : Planners Seek Input on Zoning Changes

The Los Angeles Department of City Planning will hold a public hearing Wednesday at 4 p.m. regarding proposed changes in the Westlake Community Plan, which has not been updated since 1974.

Residents and property owners from the area are encouraged to come to the multipurpose room of Esperanza Elementary School, 680 Little St., to ask questions and give their input.

The most significant changes proposed are in planned residential zoning. Eight tracts of land once approved for development into high- and medium-density housing may be downzoned to medium and low density in an effort to counter Westlake’s burgeoning overpopulation.

“The density in some areas is overly taxing on schools, parks and public transportation,” said Roque Nino, a planning assistant for the department. “Downzoning is not a remedy, but it’s a way to assist this.”

The downzoning would make all buildings in the marked areas of low- to medium-density. The updated plan is expected to go before the City Planning Commission in the summer, Nino said.

Information: (213) 485-3180.