Hawthorne Planning Commission finds city purchase of 3152 West Rosecrans in conformity with housing element

The Hawthorne City Planning Commission voted unanimously to find the city’s planned purchase of the parcel at 3152 West Rosecrans Avenue in conformity with the city’s General Plan housing element. The action is a required legal formality that allows the city to proceed with plans that envision affordable or mixed-use housing on the site.

Planning Director Greg McLean told commissioners the site is currently zoned R3, a change from a prior M1 industrial designation, and was identified as a housing opportunity site in the city’s 2023 housing element. "This site was located as a housing opportunity site," McLean said, explaining the rezoning and the planning context for the purchase.

Commissioners pressed staff on several points before the vote, including whether recent state law SB79 — which affects development near major transit stops — would apply. Nathan, a staff member assisting the presentation, said SB79 likely does not apply to the Rosecrans property because the law primarily applies within roughly a half-mile of designated major transit stations; the Rosecrans site is not within that distance. "SB79 doesn't apply to this lot," Nathan said.

Staff advised that the city, as the property owner, is not strictly bound by ordinary zoning rules when acquiring land for public use, and that the city anticipates issuing a request for proposals or partnering with an affordable-housing developer to determine unit mix and target populations. McLean said the city will consider a mixed-use project — commercial at the front and housing in the rear and upper floors — and that specifics such as whether units would target families, veterans or seniors would depend on developer proposals and City Council decisions.

Commissioners also asked about lot size and precedent. Staff estimated the parcel at a little more than an acre and noted that the city has pursued similar projects elsewhere, including a previously planned veteran housing project at the Corder property that later changed developers. The commission approved the conformity finding by roll-call vote (Commissioner Houston, Commissioner Toleda, Commissioner Swami and Chairperson Cohen voting yes). The commission’s action clears an administrative step; the project’s design, financing and any set-asides for veterans or other groups will be decided later, likely by the City Council and developer partners.