Wyant Claims an Affordable Stake

Rivers of sentiment flowed freely yesterday morning at Habitat for Humanity’s long-awaited groundbreaking for affordable housing units on Globe Avenue, and chief among the celebrants was City Council candidate Scott Wyant.

Among the many bows taken by dignitaries and semi-dignitaries, Mr. Wyant held one of the stronger claims.

From beneath a bright white hardhat, standard gear for groundbreakers, Mr. Wyant declared that “I am particularly invested in this project” that has been hanging around the periphery for 10 years.

“My very first act when I became a Planning Commissioner was to approve the Tilden Terrace affordable housing,” Mr. Wyant said.

“Should I get elected to the Council on April 12, one of my very last acts as a Planning Commissioner will have been to approve the Globe Avenue affordable project. In between, there was the Grand View Terrace, which, like Globe Avenue, includes three affordable units. Those affordable units are identical to the rest of the Grand View units. So it is not as if someone could say, ‘Oh, look at the poor people’s housing over there.’

“Making them identical to the rest of the units was part of the approval process. They got credit for doing that.”

Mr. Wyant invoked a favorite line he has used throughout his campaign:

“Many of the problems we face in Culver City, if not all of the problems, are because this is one of the best places in the world to live.

“Ninety-nine percent of people on the planet would move here in a heartbeat — if they could.”

“It’s kind of cool,” Mr. Wyant said, “to see that we are not racing, but we are providing affordable housing, as much as it is possible on the Westside of Los Angeles.

“Some very new ideas are being applied, such as waiving developer fees to make affordable projects work.”

In assessing the state of affordable housing in Culver City, Mr. Wyant said the affordable housing act the Council passed last Monday is a real workable plan for addressing what is essentially an insoluble problem – we don’t have the housing to accommodate all of the people who work in Culver City, the 80,000 people who are here on a workday.”