Judge rules against developer and in favor of L.A. on emergency eviction protections
The City Council on Monday night defeated a motion by Councilman Ron Dellums to include emergency eviction protections in a zoning update.
Dellums introduced the motion last week to include the protections in the City Council’s consideration of the upcoming zoning update, a process that would allow for a major review of the City’s land use regulations. Under the motion he proposed, developers who wanted to build additional housing units that are in the process of being built could apply for special exemptions. Developers in the process of building but not yet approved would get a similar exemption.
That would exempt projects that have already received the required approvals from the City Council’s Land Use Committee and the L.A. City Planning Commission. The exemptions would not include applications with the full City Council.
The motion did include a provision to permit certain developers to apply for a waiver of the emergency rule from the City Council, such as in the case where an applicant with an application in hand and plans to make good on the requirements by paying for the improvements within a shorter period of time.
Councilman Mitch Englander, who sponsored the motion, said the emergency rule would have allowed the City Council to take emergency action rather than waiting for the Planning Department to do so.
“We have been waiting for seven months and at long last, we have an update,” said Dellums. “We would like to expedite things in the same fashion. We don’t think that we should have to wait for an answer from the Planning Department. I mean, they can do it, but we can do it, too.”
Councilman Bernard Parks said it is still unclear how emergency protection for developers would work. “We don’t have the staff right now, nor do we have a zoning update,” said Parks.
But Parks said that the motion would have allowed for the possibility of emergency action, which Parks said could be implemented through “emergency rules” rather than zoning changes. “They would make certain that an emergency rule would be in force and would not require a lengthy public hearing, because that puts a burden on
