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CCA Efforts Help Convince Council to
REJECT
ACLU - LAPD Settlement Agreement
The Los Angeles City Council voted in closed session yesterday to reject the proposed legal settlement that would have allowed individuals to sleep and set up encampments on Skid Row's sidewalks at night. The Council voted 10 to 3 to continue the legal defense of the City's ban on sidewalk sleeping, with Councilmembers Huizar, Rosendahl and Weiss dissenting.
Councilmember Jan Perry and CCA led the charge against the agreement, which would have set a precedent that could result in conditions worsening in the Skid Row area and all of Downtown L.A. CCA was instrumental in organizing opposition to the settlement agreement from Downtown residents and business owners. President and CEO
Carol Schatz
joined CCA members
Tom Gilmore
from
Gilmore Associates
and
Alex Moradi
from
ICO Development
along with numerous Downtown residents at City Hall on Wednesday to voice their opposition.
Councilmember Hahn
, in a speech to CCA today, indicated that Schatz' testimony at City Council was compelling and persuasive to a majority of the Councilmembers.
The L.A.P.D. has been prohibited from removing encampments in the Skid Row area since the 9th Circuit Court struck down the Los Angeles ordinance barring sleeping, sitting or lying on public rights of way. CCA opposed the settlement agreement, noting that no other part of the City would tolerate encampments between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
CCA would like to thank
Councilmember Jan Perry
for her leadership in opposition to this settlement.
"State of the Port of Los Angeles"
Thanks to the support of
C2HM Hill
, CCA was proud to present "The State of the Port of Los Angeles," with special guests Dr.
Geraldine Knatz
, Executive Director of the Port of L.A.;
Councilmember Janice Hahn
; and
Jerilyn Lopez Mendoza
, Vice President of the Harbor Commission. Because the Port is so important to the business climate and economy of the region, CCA has been proactively involved in Port issues. Dr. Knatz, Councilmember Hahn, and Ms. Mendoza all spoke about the need to "grow, grow green, and achieve greatness," along with the need for increased federal funding for security efforts at the Port.
The Port is an important and vital area for development. Dr. Knatz, Councilmember Hahn and Ms. Mendoza are working hard to attract residential and commercial development along the Harbor. All three panelists spoke about the need to create a pedestrian friendly environment along the waterway. The message was clear that San Pedro is a new hot spot for development.
CCA would like to thank
Dr. Knatz
,
Councilmember Hahn
, and
Ms. Mendoza
for joining us. We would also like to thank
C2HM Hill
for graciously hosting this event.
CCA Land Use Committee Discusses Development Reform
This week, CCA's Housing, Land Use & Development Committee discussed development reform, reviewing past committee recommendations and highlighting the work that still needs to be done. CCA is the business community's leader on development reform, initiating numerous reforms through its work on housing. CCA has been asked by
Councilmember Parks
and the
Mayor's
office for a list of recommendations for the upcoming year. The Mayor and several Councilmembers have listed development reform among their top priorities for the upcoming months.
Led by chair
Cindy Starrett
of
Latham & Watkins
and vice chair
Paul Rohrer
of
Munger Tolles & Olson
, the Committee discussed the need for certainty in the process, flexibility and innovation in planning, better customer service, and the distinction between policy goals and process goals. Among the committee's major priorities was the need for a central development services department.
A working group has been established to draft concrete goals to present to the City. This is also in preparation for a symposium on development reform CCA is planning for early next year.
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• CCA staff participated in a press conference in opposition to Prop. 87, which will increase taxes on oil and divert money out of the State's General Fund. • CCA's President met with the L.A. Times' editorial board this week to argue against Proposition 90. CCA strongly opposes Prop. 90, which would open up the City and California businesses to a litany of lawsuits. • CCA member Kate Bartolo of the KOR Group and CCA staff met with Councilmember Alex Padilla and Council President Eric Garcetti's chief of staff David Gershwin to talk about the devastating effects an ICO on condo conversions could have on Los Angeles' business climate. • CCA staff expressed their support for the leadership of L.A.P.D. Chief William Bratton at a Police Commission hearing this week, thanking him for his work in support of the Downtown community. Chief Bratton is undergoing an annual review. CCA IN THE NEWS " 'Any settlement that leaves people living on the street in filthy conditions and permits chaos from 9 to 6 every night in one critical area of the city is unacceptable,' said Carol Schatz, president and chief executive of the Central City Assn." Sept. 19, L.A. Times, " Plan Would End Homeless 'Tent Cities, '" by Richard Winton. " 'You condemn one area of our community, you condemn the entire community,' Carol Schatz, president of the Central City Association said." Sept. 20, CBS News, " City Council Rejects Skid Row Settlement Agreement ."
"It was a precedent that just couldn't stick," said Carol Schatz, president of the Central City Assn., a group of downtown business interests, after the council's vote.
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