Westside Mayors to California: Leave Redevelopment Alone!

The Mayors of West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Culver City, and the Vice Mayor of Beverly Hills discuss local redevelopment and planning in the face of state intervention. The conversation centers on politics, projects, transportation, and parking.

1 minute read

September 23, 2011, 10:00 AM PDT

By Kevin Madden


While some cities deal with stalled projects due to a listless economy, the Westside cities of Los Angeles County are knee-deep in public and private developments. Mayors John Duran of West Hollywood, Richard Bloom of Santa Monica, Mayor Micheál O'Leary of Culver City and Vice Mayor William Warren Brien of Beverly Hills participated at a panel recently to talk about the possibility of redevelopment going by the wayside.

The Planning Report provides some excerpts from the conversation:

MAYOR BLOOM: "To take money away from these poor cities in order to make the state work is simply an unsustainable and unworkable solution..."

MAYOR DURAN: "I think what they fail to realize is that redevelopment is a tool. Of course there's some calculated risk: financial risk and political risk. You're never popular... There is political risk that we take to do redevelopment."

Thursday, September 22, 2011 in The Planning Report

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 11, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Yellow single-seat Japanese electric vehicle drivign down road.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs

The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

June 6, 2025 - PC Magazine

White Waymo autonomous car driving fast down city street with blurred background at night.

Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars

Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.

4 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Two small wooden one-story homes in Florida with floodwaters at their doors.

As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?

With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.

6 hours ago - Governing

People riding bicycles on separated bike trail.

With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike

For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.

June 16 - UNM News