Planning Department to Hold Transit Village Hearing April 24

After numerous presentations and public forums, Highland Park residents will have the opportunity on April 24 to officially weigh-in on developer McCormack, Baron, Salazar's plans to construct the Highland Park Transit Village--an 80-residential unit development with public parking located on three city-owned lots between Avenues 56 and 59 behind North Figueroa Street.

The Department of City Planning will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, April 24 at 9:30 a.m. in room 1020 of Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St., regarding the developer's request for a slew of conditional use permits to exceed density limitations set forth in the city planning code.

Because the project's lots are primarily located within the public facilities zone, the developer must adhere to the most restrictive nearby zone, which in this case in are RD2-1-HPOZ, [Q]C4-2D-HPOZ and [Q]C4-1VL-HPOZ.

According to the hearing notice, MBS is seeking permission to:

• Build 20 units on site 1 (119 N. Ave. 56), where only 17 units are permitted in the most restrictive adjoining zone.
• Build 50 units on site 2 (5712 Marmion Way), where only 27 units are permitted in the most restrictive adjoining zoze.
• Build 10 units on site 3 (125 N. Ave. 59), where 10 units are the maximum required in the most restrictive nearby zone.

Similarly, MBS is applying for conditional use permits to allow for smaller setbacks between the project's property lines and the residential buildings than is required in nearby zones and for permission to construct a 47-foot-tall building on site two in a zone where 45-feet in the maximum height allowed.

The hearing will also hear arguments regarding the project's compliance with a handful of area-specific zoning guidelines, including the Avenue 57 Transit Oriented Specific Plan and the Historic Highland Park Overlay Zone.

It's worth noting that, though residents have expessed concerns that the project would limit the availibility of public parking, that issue is not specifically addressed on the hearing agenda.

In previous public presentations, MBS representative Dan Falcon has stressed that the developer will be replacing each of the 200-plus public parking spaces they plan to demolish during the course of construction.

However, some neighbohrood residents have argued that current level of parking available in the area may not be sufficient for the influx of residents the development could bring to Highland Park.

Eastern Group Publications was on hand for a public forum on the Transit Village recently hosted by the Wall Las Memorias, a NELA based AIDS-advocacy group.

During the meeting, residents expressed their lingering traffic concerns.

From EGP:

It was pointed out that people living in a two-bedroom apartment might have more than one car, but the project only allocated one [private] parking space per unit, perhaps forcing one of the vehicles to be parked on nearby streets or in the public parking lots.

Zaldivar complained that there has been a lack of community engagement on the issue.

Not all Highland Park residents have been critical of the development. Patch readers have noted that the LADOT-owned parking lots along Marmion Way are rarely filled to capacity, and that the Gold Line adjacent and partially affordable-rate project would likely invite residents who do not own multiple vehicles.

Others have stressed that the project would fill a need for affordable housing, in a community that has seen an increase in property values due to gentrification and house-flipping.