Look Out, Cemetery
According to Zanniser, the backyard, single family home and the automobile will be as dead in Southern California as most of the leading men in old MGM musicals if the gurus of Smart Growth have their way.
What is Smart Growth?
Massive developments with tall multi-use buildings, thousands of apartments, lofts, four- and five-story condos and townhomes are springing up like weeds in an abandoned parking lot.
Piling up
“Higher density housing is being recommended for any corner where a bus arrives every 15 minutes or less,” Zanniser writes.
L.A.s neighborhoods are being warned that if they don’t find places to allow the new density, the city’s planning department will do it for them.
For Easy Understanding
On page 44 of the L.A. Weekly is a density map accompanying the Zanniser article. Readers can see at a glance if they are in harm’s way of “Growthenomics.”
Zanniser also points out that most of the boosters of “Growthenomics” live in lovely single family dwellings in tony Brentwood and Bel Air, neighborhoods that will be unaffected by “Smart Growth.”
Time to Round Em up
There’s even a color picture of Smart Growth advocate Henry Cisneros’ lovely five-bedroom house in Bel Air.
The battle lines are being drawn. Homeowners who don’t want to be taxed or moved out of their homes by their community redevelopment agencies need to organize on a regional basis to prevent being mowed down by “Growthenomics.”
Another Critique
In a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, the engineer Rick Damiani is quoted as saying, “As I see it, the biggest problem with the housing and transportation in L.A. County is the dozens of square miles of low density housing that has Iinfested every city and burg in the region.”
In a nutshell, if you own a single family home in Southern California, you are infesting your neighborhood.
Infestation, Really?
You should move out and let engineers like Mr. Damiani build 20-story buildings filled with little cubicles for you to live in alongside 20-lane freeways with diamond lanes for politicians and smart growth advocates.
There is evidence that some community leaders are beginning to fight back. The Los Angeles Times admitted that its advocacy of “Smart Growth” went over with their readers like “a bad piece of fish.”
Do You Recall?
There is an effort underway to recall Westside City Council member Jack Weiss.
County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky abruptly canceled his appearance before the West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce because he didn’t want to be reminded that he was one of the principal causes of gridlock on the Wilshire Corridor and the destruction of Westwood Village by allowing all those high-rise buildings to be erected without adequate parking when he was the City Councilman for the area.
Speaking of Short-Term Ducks
There are now three lame ducks on Culver City’s City Council. Their terms run out in just10 months.
A classic example of the kind of short term thinking that has dominated Culver City and the entire region’s thinking was exhibited in an interview with Councilman Steve Rose who admitted to the editor of this newspaper that his experience as a retailer shaped his actions as a City Councilman.
Some Differences
Retail operations are dependent on short-term planning. The food industry has to worry about spoilage. The auto industry is dependent on banks to finance their “acres and acres of cars.” They must move inventory to pay the interest the banks charge them.
A car that sits on the lot longer than 30 days has, in the parlance of the car salesman, “lot rot.” Three bad weekends in a row of slow sales can destroy an auto sales store.
Boldness and Courage
If the region is to survive and thrive, it needs long term thinkers and planners who will dare to ask their constituents, “What kind of community do you want to leave your children and grandchildren?”
