Redevelopment Hearing to Be Reconvened

More than 18 months after a lawsuit put the project on hold, the public will be given another chance to comment on a controversial proposed expansion of the North Hollywood redevelopment project.

The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to reconvene a joint public hearing with the Community Redevelopment Agency on Aug. 5 to discuss plans to more than quadruple the scope of the currently dormant project.

The council’s action immediately drew criticism from project opponents who argued that the August meeting date does not give them enough time to prepare their case.

“It’s absolutely not enough time. [The council] is just trying to railroad this thing through just like it did the last time,” said businesswoman Mildred Weller, one of three plaintiffs in a lawsuit that forced the city to reopen the hearing process.

In November 1995, the City Council unanimously approved an extension of the 750-acre project that would have raised the spending cap from $89 million to $535 million and extended the redevelopment agency’s power to condemn property in the area until 2007.

In December 1995, Weller, Glen Hoiby and Jerry Day sued the city, claiming the council violated state open meetings laws by cutting short the original hearing and failing to notify the public about a second hearing.

Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne upheld their claim, ruling on April 25 that the hearing was invalid.

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Since the project was adopted in 1979, the agency has funded more than $75 million in improvements in North Hollywood, mostly through bond measures financed with property taxes generated by new development, a method known as tax-increment financing.

Among its accomplishments, the agency has financed the construction or rehabilitation of almost 3,000 housing units in North Hollywood during that time, said assistant project manager Walter Beaumont.

“Back in 1995 when we had the first public hearing, we felt we made a pretty good case for continued redevelopment in North Hollywood. The council vote reflected that,” Beaumont said.

“We’ve lost two years without being able to move forward. We’re looking forward to bringing some resolution to this,” he said.

Tom Henry, planning deputy for Councilman Joel Wachs, whose district includes part of the redevelopment area, said Wachs was also eager to get the project back on track.

Wachs “is very supportive of development. He thinks this can be a very successful project,” Henry said. “He’s looking forward to the new public hearing to bring the public up to date on what has been going on.”

Weller, however, said that before additional hearings are held, the redevelopment agency should be required to revise the environmental impact report and blight and economic feasibility studies that were prepared in 1995 and that are now almost 2 years old.

She said she would file an additional lawsuit if the agency fails to amend its reports.

“It could very well end up in court again,” said Weller, who added that the agency was out of touch with residents and business owners in the area.

“Their goal is not the goal of the community. Their goal is massive development, and that is not what the community wants,” Weller said.

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“Those people that are strongly opposed will probably remain so, but there are also a lot of people in this community who think we do a good job,” Beaumont said, adding that the redevelopment agency is in the process of updating its reports for the August hearing.

“Redevelopment means change, and there are a lot of individuals and groups that are opposed to change,” Beaumont said.

The North Hollywood lawsuit is just one in a series of setbacks the agency has suffered in recent years. The agency’s woes have resulted from a combination of factors, including the recession, the 1992 riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake, all of which contributed to lower property values and reduced tax revenue.

In the last three years alone, the state’s oldest and largest redevelopment agency has laid off 23 workers, slashed its budget by more than 25% and put new projects on hold in some of the city’s most depressed neighborhoods.