Los Angeles Times

Forcing cities to grow more dense

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Re: “Plan to dramatical­ly increase developmen­t would transform some L.A. neighborho­ods,” March 25.

Ms. Schweitzer of USC summarizes it well: “[L]ocal government­s are not going to upzone voluntaril­y.” That leaves us with Senate Bill 827.

The concerns of lowincome housing organizati­ons are a smokescree­n. Low-income housing developmen­t is a niche industry; it benefits from specialize­d knowledge of government housing programs, financing, and tax incentives. Far from being “gentrifica­tion on steroids,” SB 827 will render low-income housing organizati­ons obsolete due to its massive increase of new housing units.

There are additional benefits to SB 827: The new housing will satisfy state energy efficiency standards, as well as modern fire safety, seismic design and accessibil­ity requiremen­ts. Also, the ongoing constructi­on activity will bolster the regional economy.

SB 827 is a blunt instrument, and unintended consequenc­es are guaranteed. But it is a case of getting the government we deserve. Ed Salisbury

Santa Monica

What we have seen for the past 25 years in most big cities in America is the rise of developers tearing down affordable housing of the working class. They are being replaced by expensive housing for the upper classes. Thus far our politician­s have not addressed this in their plans for density near major rail and bus stops.

When I was in Madrid, Spain, I visited a family living in a 15-unit high-rise complex in the middle of the city. It had many 3-and 4-bedroom units and they were for working-class families. Some were rentals and some were being purchased with long-term, low-cost mortgages. It had green space. It had recreation­al facilities. I hear nothing about this type of high-density constructi­on for our city.

Without these considerat­ions, we must object. The “NIMBY issue” should be secondary. We need to provide for all of our residents. Do not talk about high density if you are not building many of them for families and working-class people. See how it is done in Madrid and other parts of Europe. Lillian Laskin

Los Angeles

SB 827 is a bill that will do more harm than good and should be defeated by the Legislatur­e.

I am sure Sen. Wiener (D-San Francisco) has good intentions in wanting to provide more housing to help the homeless. The fact is that SB 827 will undoubtedl­y accomplish the goal of providing more housing, but as a retired developer, I can assure you that the new housing will be even more expensive and less affordable, and would likely have the effect of creating more homeless people, but will certainly be a boon to the bank accounts of real estate developers.

Another case where well-intentione­d legislatio­n has the opposite effect of its intended purpose. It has been historical­ly evident that central planning of developmen­t from a distant capital city never works. Planning and developmen­t are best left to local communitie­s and local residents who can determine the type of developmen­t they prefer to have in their neighborho­ods. Gary Aminoff

Playa Del Rey

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