A Los Angeles Times columnist hears about the Los Angeles density controversy and sees its implications during a recent drive around town with County Commissioner Zev Yaroslavsky.
"'The planners in this city are bamboozling people, including some of the members of City Council,' he said, tossing one cluster bomb after another on an otherwise quiet Sunday morning."
"He drew diagrams on my note pad, explained how protections against overdevelopment are being plundered, charged that claims of new affordable housing are bogus and predicted that quiet neighborhoods of single-family homes will be thrown into permanent shadows by towering behemoths."
"It's an apocalyptic view, but is he right that city officials have handed over control to developers?"
"With all their talk of 'infill' and creating a denser core, city officials have done little to allay the fears of those who believe, as Yaroslavsky does, that developers are enjoying one heck of an orgy these days and that it's now easier than ever to get approval for larger buildings and fewer parking spaces."
"Hundreds of residents showed up three weeks ago at a meeting to register complaints about seven proposed mega-projects in the North Hollywood/Universal City area. And even city Planning Commission President Jane Ellison Usher has warned that the density-promoting housing rules approved by the city in February are 'ripe for litigation.'"
"Yaroslavsky said planners are using a 'one size fits all' philosophy that ignores the uniqueness of each neighborhood."
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