Lawsuit Puts Downtown L.A. Flower Market Development on Hold

A 12-story development planned for the site of the Southern California Flower Market in downtown Los Angeles has been put on hold due to a lawsuit by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation that alleges that "the project's environmental study failed to adequately account for potential impacts to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as noise impacts to residents of surrounding buildings during the construction process," reports Steven Sharp for Urbanize LA. "The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which sued the City of Los Angeles in 2019 in a bid to halt the project, has been granted a preemptory writ of mandate which order the City to aside entitlements for the project - including a general plan amendment and a zone change - and decertifies its environmental impact report."

The Southern California Flower Market, founded by a group of Japanese-American flower growers, has been located on a four-acre site at 7th and Wall Streets since the early 20th century.  Since 2016, the families which own and operate the facility have sought to redevelop the property as part of a mixed-use, high-rise development which would preserve the existing wholesale market, allowing the facility remain within Downtown rather than relocating outside of the City of Los Angeles.

The Foundation has been involved in Los Angeles development battles for years. "AHF, which backed an unsuccessful ballot measure to curtail large projects requiring discretionary entitlements in 2017, has since ventured into statewide campaigns to expand rent control and tenant protections, and has purchased properties with the intent of preserving and developing supportive housing.  However, the non-profit's expansion into the housing sector has not come without stumbles. Last year, the Los Angeles Times reported that AHF had been labeled a "slumlord" by some of its tenants, who sued the organization over poor living conditions within its buildings."