Planning and Land Use Committee unanimously continues agenda items to later dates amid scheduling conflict

The Planning and Land Use Committee met in a special session and, by unanimous consent, continued the items on today’s special meeting to later dates after committee schedules were changed and conflicted with other meetings.

President Harris Dawson, chair of the Planning and Land Use Committee, said the committee’s regular meeting days were moved to the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month and that the special meeting conflicted with other committees. To avoid inconveniencing applicants and appellants, he recommended the continuances and asked that the committee not discuss the substance of the items at this session. "The Planning Department and Council Office for these items have done their best to notify all the applicants and appellants and interested parties," Harris Dawson said.

The chair offered short public comment so members of the public could address the fact of the continuances. A representative of Audit LA, who did not give a personal name, spoke about item 3 and raised accessibility concerns regarding street planters near the Church of Scientology site, saying, "I'm sick and tired of this ... you're not making sure that these planters ... are ADA compliant." The speaker asked how to get an ADA-compliance matter placed on a future agenda.

Harry Stelson, a member of the public, addressed the same item and said it involved the demolition of an existing grocery store. Stelson said the loss of the store would worsen food access for some Los Angeles residents and added, "I cannot continue to tolerate you, to continue to suppress, bully, discriminate our Israeli grocery store anymore." He linked the issue to recent events but did not identify a specific business by name.

Committee members Bloomfield, Hutt, Nasserian and Lee were present; member Grama was absent, which the clerk recorded as a quorum. Mister Mejia called the roll; Miss Rosales read the public-comment and appellant/applicant speaking rules used for the special session. The chair explained that appellants and applicants would normally have up to three minutes per site and that other members of the public would be limited to one minute for today’s special meeting.

After public comment, Harris Dawson asked whether there were any objections to the recommended continuances. With none raised, the committee approved the continuances by unanimous consent. The chair specified two target future dates during the meeting: one continuance to be heard Jan. 28 and another to be heard Feb. 25, and he said the items would be heard at the committee’s regularly scheduled meeting times to avoid conflicts. The meeting record shows the committee closed public comment and adjourned immediately after the continuance was approved.

Because this special session was convened only to move the items to regular meeting dates, the committee made no substantive policy decisions or votes on the underlying project proposals at this meeting.