Dear Editor,
Just a few blocks from downtown Culver City, in the South Robertson neighborhood, a modest proposal for 12 new homes, including one deeply affordable, three-bedroom unit, is being delayed by Los Angeles City Council politics. As a nearby Mid City resident, I see this project for what it is: a responsible, environmentally reviewed, code-compliant opportunity for stability and growth in a high-resource area.
The homes at 1904–1906 Preuss Road meet all zoning, safety, and environmental standards, including CEQA compliance. Yet the project is being delayed under the guise of “neighborhood character” and false claims about environmental impact. In fact, the developer is now being
forced to return to the City Planning Commission to reapprove a vesting tract map, a legal tool required to subdivide a property for townhomes, which locks in the planning rules at the time of approval. This map was already approved last year, and now they must repeat the process just to move forward with the exact same proposal.
Culver City residents should care. These are the kinds of projects that relieve pressure on your own housing supply, give workers and families a chance to live closer to where they work, and offer a model of the “gentle density” that California desperately needs. When we let a handful of homeowners stall projects like this, the housing crisis deepens, and working families are pushed farther out.
This Thursday, April 24, the project goes back before the City Planning Commission, which will take place at the Van Nuys City Hall. YIMBY Los Angeles, a pro-housing group will meet there at 10am. If we want to see a future where our communities are inclusive and affordable, we
need to show up and speak up, even when the project is just across the border.
Cynthia Clemons