Homeless and people with low incomes will soon be housed next to the iconic and expensive Venice Beach neighborhood after the Los Angeles City Council approved last week a 136-unit apartment building.
The project, which will be built on city property that is now a parking lot, will cover 2.7 acres and the Venice Dell Community project will cost $75 million.
This is a development that is also taking place in other U.S. cities led by leftists who believe forcing diversity of income and race into prosperous and safe neighborhoods is required to achieve “equity.”
Half of the units will house homeless people, the other half will be reserved for low-income people, including half of those to house artists.
Courthouse News reported on the development:
Those opposed to the project have criticized the city for sending the project through an expedited environmental review process, though it’s been more than four years since it was first proposed. They’ve said it’s too expensive and they’ve questioned the project’s location — the canal zone, a unique tourist attraction where nearby houses sell for between $2 and $5 million.
Neighborhood group Venice Vision lodged an appeal of the project’s approval. Jamie Hall, a land-use attorney speaking on behalf of Venice Vision, told the City Council that they had “violated constitutionally mandated due process” by using expedited environmental review.
The City Council voted to deny the appeal and approve the project by a vote of 12-0, with Councilman Joe Buscaino abstaining. Buscaino is running for mayor next year, and has staked his campaign on an aggressive strategy of building homeless shelters quickly and forcing people living in encampments to move into them. He has previously boasted of his willingness to build homeless and affordable housing, to “say ‘yes’ to solutions.” But many of the Venice residents who oppose the new housing project also support Buscaino’s mayoral campaign, putting him in a tricky position.
“This project is proposed and will be built in a community that has been an epicenter of homelessness for decades,” said City Councilman Mike Bonin, who represents Venice and most of West Los Angeles. “It’s being proposed in a community that has been losing housing and losing population for decades.”
“Construction of the Venice Dell Community won’t begin just yet,” Courthouse News reported. “It still needs to be approved by the California Coastal Commission, which is set to take up the matter sometime next year.”
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