Marcos M. Villatoro responds to receiving a "clumsy, ham-fisted" form letter from the Los Angeles Unified School District informing him that his house is one of the many to be taken to build a new elementary school.
"My interpretation: Not only can the government take my land without my permission, it can also set the price. And...it can bulldoze a community that's taken decades to build...Over the years, I've learned to be mistrustful. I don't take much to the phrase "the greater good." ...The school district's ability to use eminent domain may blind it to what its power does to the folks on the ground...We meet on the sidewalk, something we've done for a dozen years. Because this is that type of neighborhood. We throw block parties a couple of times a year...We hand over our house keys to one another while on vacation. We're the Latino-Jewish-white-Armenian Wilmas and Bettys, gossiping at the fence...Something that was once so safe, the place you ran to when afraid or tired, can be taken away. Just like that - with a form letter, dressed up as junk mail."
Read the full story: Don't destroy my neighborhood, LAUSD
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago voters approve permanent festival grounds, penalty for vacant property owners
Currently, major summer and fall festivals take over public parks for weeks at a time, drawing criticism from nearby residents
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
California appears to reject Prop. 45
The proposition would have expanded the projects that qualify for a streamlined environmental review, effectively paring down the California Environmental Quality Act.
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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