Council amends Adams La Brea redevelopment status report to bar condemnation without council approval

The Los Angeles City Council on a May 1999 docket heard a status report from the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) on the Adams La Brea commercial redevelopment project and voted to amend the staff item to require that any condemnation under the project return to the council for specific approval.

Roy Willis, deputy administrator for the CRA, summarized the project’s scope and said staff had an exclusive right to negotiate with the Adams La Brea development partnership; he told the council the project could affect roughly 63 parcels, approximately 77 residential units and about 20 businesses and that relocation and replacement housing would be key issues to resolve.

Council members pressed staff for details on notification, whether leases were signed by prospective tenants and what protections displaced tenants would receive. The developer’s counsel, Cindy (Lucinda) Starrett of Latham & Watkins, said the developer (identified in the record as the Adams La Brea partnership, principal Ron(n) Sims) is engaging in voluntary acquisition and in discussions with prospective tenants but had no signed leases at that point.

Concerned members — including Council Members Ridley Thomas, Goldberg, Walters and Wax — questioned whether the project’s stated benefits justified potential displacement and asked for stronger assurances. Council Member Wax moved, and Council Member Holden seconded, an amendment instructing the CRA that on this and any other project "no condemnation take place until council specifically approves." The council adopted the amendment on a recorded vote (13 ayes), and the CRA said the agency will return to the council after negotiations with more specific relocation, configuration and compensation details.

Council members and staff discussed relocation assistance governed by state redevelopment law; staff cited an approximate relocation financial assistance range of $4,500 to $5,500 per household and said the agency and developer would explore options, including pathways to homeownership using available assistance. Several council members insisted the council receive specific, itemized relocation and tenant-protection provisions when the development agreement returns for approval.