MID-CITY : Public Input Sought on CRA Options

The public may comment Tuesday on the options under consideration by the Community Redevelopment Agency to revitalize a large area of Mid-City.

The meeting, sponsored by the joint Citizen Advisory Committee for the Mid-City CRA Recovery Program, begins at 6 p.m. at Pio Pico Elementary School, 1512 S. Arlington Ave.

Options will be discussed for revitalizing the area bounded roughly by Pico and Jefferson boulevards and Western and Fairfax avenues.

“This is a critical meeting,” said Marc Littman, a Community Redevelopment Agency spokesman. “The public is going to tell us what they want us to look at.”

Once the desired options are known, planners can put together a description of the project, a vital step in the preparation of the environmental impact report, which takes six to nine months to complete.

Revitalization alternatives include consolidating certain land uses for industries such as auto body repair shops and related businesses; creating an art or theater district along Washington Boulevard, and retail opportunities and development stemming from a future Metropolitan Transportation Authority rail system.

New ideas contributed by participants at the meeting will also be considered.

The project description will be finalized over the next several weeks, Littman said. A target completion date for the EIR has been set for late fall.

Information: (213) 766-9830 for questions on the Mid-City project, or the CRA’s environmental planners at (213) 977-1723 for questions on the environmental impact report.