Dear 2UrbanGirls,
I was one of the appellants on the project at 3700 Crenshaw, formerly known as the District Square and have been fighting this development for over 10 years. We had all the Neighborhood Councils aligned against this behemoth development, we had letters from Herb Wesson’s office and we fought this project according to City guidelines, and we had our entire Commission vote in support of the appeal.
The original project was bad, but the last iteration, the one we have to live with is an eyesore and doesn’t serve the community at all. My home will be eclipsed by this monstrosity looming 6-7 stories, looking directly into our back yards. The project’s allotted parking structure will not accommodate the number of residences, nor will there be any “down time” as this facility will be accessible 24/7. Finally it was like pulling teeth to get any kind of “affordable housing” concessions from this developer. 10 years ago the project development team promised stores like Target, we were promised a 24HOUR Super Ralphs and other so-called amenities for the surrounding community and the project’s scale was much smaller. Instead the developer had one of the few grocery stores in the area demolished and left a barren wasteland of the land which they do not maintain.
Now the development is an example of terrible architectural design concerned with only luxury style apartments which will impact renters and cause a new wave on gentrification. It didn’t matter the whole of the neighborhood was adamantly against this project. We took all the steps necessary to quash this project, only to have our appeal overturned by a judge, with the City Commissioners opting no further action on the project. My mother is 95 years old, infirm and frail. We are the original owners of this property with my grandfather purchasing the house in 1939.
I am heartsick that we have been unable to have our voices heard, and even when it seemed we were successful in our appeal, to have the court steamroll the majority and give the okay to this project is horrible.
Lori Higgins
1 Comment
Lori thank you for sharing your experience!
Genuine sympathy for you your family and the neighborhood!
My hear aches that your grandmother’s right to privacy means so little to developers. I wonder how he would feel if his grandmother had a neighborhood condo overlooking her !
Unfortunately until it happens to them far to many don’t get involved and are discouraged when they hear that the “Developers won again”.
While my sentiments about the ugliness of Pay to Play on Steroids could compete with Tolstoy I will try to be brief and Remind Everyone to get involved as Lisa has ! And never give up !!
Warning:
Corrupt elected will be angry with the following OH WELL . Good elected will agree !!
People are elected to Serve their Community ….. they are out to be worshipped
NEVER Rely on or “just expect” your elected to do right for the community – Stay aware and involved!!!
NEVER Trust the words of an elected reflect the whole truth! Read agenda documents yourself -if you don’t have the time ask your neighbors to split up the reading task . Get teens involved -they live here also! Often young people can see the follies even more clearly if we help them understand EVERYTHING on a city will impact someone them or the neighborhood granny ie not enough parking spaces at a large condo means if you live there you walk or get the bus! How far will the groceries need to be carried ? on a bike with a toddler in the basket? or will the tenants just park four blocks into the neighborhood ? Will the slope be hard to mange?
NEVER assume your neighbors know what is planned for your neighborhood/area unfortunately most practice flamingo politics (head-in-the-sand and rear-end-exposed)
NEVER believe everything you should be able to find on a city website is there One great trick is to hide it on the consultants website and not mention who the consultant is !!!!!!
ALWAYS know who your elected are / how to contact them
ALWAYS read and watch for wiggle words “may”, “shall” usually means they won’t.
ALWAYS mind the “0“s and ask either why so many or why not enough of them. -usually we pay more of them over a long time but developers pay fewer of them one time or get them “capped” or “reimbursed” !
ALWAYS respect and care for older neighbors being negatively impacted ….you will become one of them sooner than you expect ~ KARMA will be your blessing or your curse
ALWAYS keep in mind the person you have not yet met may become among your best friends no matter how much their life story differs from yours.