‘Beverly Hills of the Eastside’ Fights Plan for Apartments

Margaret Medina remembers her Hillside Village neighborhood before it became what locals say is the priciest community on L.A.’s Eastside.

She and her husband were dating before World War II and they would go to the old Ascot Raceway to watch the bike races, recalled Medina, 69, who grew up in nearby Lincoln Heights.

“There used to be dunes here,” she said. “Who would have thought that this village--Hillside Village--would be here now? I’m glad I live here, because I knew this place before the homes were built. I will never move away. Never.”

Most of the about 8,000 residents of Hillside Village, a middle-class, largely Latino enclave nestled against the hills between El Sereno and unincorporated East Los Angeles, share Medina’s sentiment.

They see Hillside Village as a distinctly unique community where property values are up, family values are strong, and the value of a freeway-free commute to downtown is priceless.

In 1979, when President Jimmy Carter spent a night at the home of Hillside Village resident and attorney Steve Rodriguez, few had ever heard of the neighborhood locals call “the village.” At the time, reporters overlooked the enclave and referred to it as East L.A.

But few in the village are bothered by their virtual anonymity beyond the Eastside. Better-known communities such as El Sereno, City Terrace, Boyle Heights and Lincoln Heights are commonly used to pinpoint the village.

“Some of my friends think this is El Sereno,” said resident Manuel Rosales. “ ‘No,’ I tell them. ‘This is Hillside Village. This is a different world from El Sereno.’ ”

Most residents refer to it as the Beverly Hills of the Eastside--a distinction that evokes pride in the village of $200,000 and up homes and derision in El Sereno.

“Those people think they’re God’s chosen,” growled El Sereno renter Carlos Juarez. “They are not.”

Village resident Jorge Cabrera Jr. retorted, “They’re just jealous of us.”

Los Angeles city officials last year made amends for past oversights by officially recognizing the village as a distinct community and erecting Hillside Village signs on Valley Boulevard, Soto Street and Eastern Avenue to herald its presence.

But there’s trouble in this tightknit paradise as residents band together to fight a familiar L.A. homeowners’ battle: an unwanted development project. The issue is providing an early test for the political skills of newly elected Councilman Nick Pacheco.

Residents are up in arms over a proposal to build an affordable housing complex on 5.8 acres of land in the 2500 block of North Soto on the western edge of Hillside Village. They recently presented to the city 70 pages of signatures from opponents who say the project would increase traffic, overcrowd already packed local schools, and strain municipal services in the area.

“It has no place for pedestrians,” said Renee Chavez, 37, president of the Hillside Village Property Owners Assn. “It’s proposed in an area with narrow streets, making it difficult to get in and out.”

The proposal by developer Salim Karim has been working through the City Hall bureaucracy for the last three years. Richard Alatorre, the recently retired councilman who represented the Eastside, favored the project, saying it would provide crucially needed affordable housing.

The project also would eliminate an eyesore, he said, since the site has abandoned and deteriorating warehouse-type buildings.

Pacheco, however, had struck a responsive cord with opponents by initially opposing the proposal. He concluded that the original plan to build 136 units and 184 parking spaces was too big.

“It seemed like an incredible amount of [apartments],” the new 14th District representative said.

A zoning variance was sought to accommodate the proposed number of units, but the change was rejected earlier this year.

Now, however, the developer--heeding the advice of consultants who told him to scale down the project to defuse opposition--has reduced the complex to 93 units. The smaller size does not require a zoning change, allowing the proposal to proceed without special approvals, officials said.

That doesn’t sit well in Hillside Village, where residents thought Pacheco’s early opposition was enough to kill the project.

“This can’t be,” an exasperated Cabrera said.

Pacheco said that because the new version meets existing zoning requirements, neighborhood opposition is not enough to stop it.

Although he stopped short of saying he supports the latest plan, Pacheco said the need for affordable housing must be balanced with neighborhood concerns.

Hoping to avoid the antagonism Alatorre’s support of the development engendered in Hillside Village, Pacheco wants both sides to continue talking in the hopes of settling the long-standing dispute.

“At this point,” Pacheco said, “it is a matter of finding that middle ground, if one exists.”

Residents do not have an alternate plan for the site, although they talk about the need for more parks and open space.

“We don’t want anything built there. Period,” Cabrera said.

In spite of the controversy, no one is planning on moving from their beloved village and its rich history.

Before there were homes in Hillside Village, the area was the site of the old Ascot Raceway, which attracted crowds to races and other events from the 1920s to before World War II. It eventually moved to Gardena.

In 1967, most of the hills facing the village became the home of the new Wilson High School.

The first tract of homes, dubbed Hillside Village, was built in the early 1940s, and the area has flourished ever since because, among other things, it is within 15 minutes driving time of downtown.

Margaret Medina, who with her husband moved into Hillside Village in 1955, called it the perfect place to raise their son, Frank. “This is a strong, family-oriented community,” she said.

Son Frank, now 51, remembers the area’s early years as peaceful and wholesome, noting that the surrounding hills provided an ideal playground.

So when it came time for him to buy a home, he didn’t hesitate to purchase one in Hillside Village. “It made sense to me,” he said.

Chavez, head of the Hillside Village Property Owners Assn., echoed Margaret Medina’s vow never to leave the village.

“I want my son to be proud of his ethnicity . . . and the Eastside,” said Chavez, 33, a single mother. “I’m a product of the Eastside and I will continue to live here.”