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Council approves mobility hub at Venice’s Lot 731; developer’s Venice Del housing plan sidelined amid state funding and litigation
Summary
The council voted to convert LA DOT parking Lot 731 in Venice to a mobility hub and relocate the proposed affordable housing to a nearby lot, rejecting the long‑contested Venice Del plan despite state funding and outstanding legal questions.
The Los Angeles City Council voted to pursue a mobility hub at LA DOT public parking Lot 731 in Venice and to relocate the previously proposed affordable housing program (the Venice Del project) to an alternative site, Lot 701, following a months‑long dispute over feasibility and community impacts.
Councilmember Traci Park presented the motion and framed Lot 731 as “situated in a prime location with excellent connectivity to transportation corridors, bike paths, and pedestrian friendly streets,” describing the mobility hub as an integrated, multimodal facility that would improve coastal access, tourism infrastructure and local economic development. Park said the Board of Transportation commissioners had previously found Lot 731 unsuitable for housing and recommended Lot 701 for residential development.
Opponents of the motion, including Councilmember Hernandez, urged caution. Hernandez said the city had already received a $42 million award from the state to subsidize the approved Venice Del affordable housing project at Parking Lot 731 and warned that ongoing litigation and an inquiry from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) raised financial and legal risks. “Turning down state money to build permanent supportive housing in a year when we are short hundreds of thousands of affordable units is fiscal malpractice,” Hernandez said during remarks.
Councilmember Park and other supporters said an alternative approach—moving housing to Lot 701, building mobility infrastructure at Lot 731, and leveraging other parcels—would deliver a mix of mobility, coastal access and housing while avoiding demolition of existing rent‑stabilized units and addressing community concerns.
After debate and an amendment request to ask the city attorney, Planning Department and Housing Department to respond to HCD’s inquiry, the motion passed on the council floor, 11 ayes and 3 noes. The motion directs the relevant departments to pursue the mobility‑hub plan, evaluate Lot 701 feasibility for housing, and report back with implementation details and updates on the HCD inquiry and pending litigation.
Why it matters: The decision resolves a long contest over a prominent coastal parcel in Venice: a 100%-affordable, state-funded project had been approved for Lot 731 but was blocked by local controversy and legal actions. The council’s action preserves state funds for housing while redirecting the site’s immediate future toward multimodal transportation infrastructure.
Votes at a glance: Lot 731 mobility hub motion — approved, 11–3.
