Lawsuit: L.A. officials continue to stall homeless housing in Venice

Staff Writer

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July 12, 2024 3 AM PT

Advocates for low-income housing sued the city of Los Angeles this week, accusing City Councilmember Traci Park, City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and other officials of violating fair housing laws by blocking a proposed affordable housing development in Venice.

The project, known as the Venice Dell, includes 140 units of housing for low-income and formerly homeless residents on what’s now a city-owned parking lot along the neighborhood’s famed canals. Plans for the housing began in 2016 and the city approved an agreement with nonprofit developers Venice Community Housing and Hollywood Community Housing Corp. to move forward in the summer of 2022.

But the development has stalled amid legal action taken by nearby community groups and, according to the newly filed lawsuit, the efforts of Park, who represents the area, and Feldstein Soto. Both city officials opposed Venice Dell while running for office.

“Councilmember Traci Park and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, acting on animus against the Project and the chronically homeless, disabled, and Black and Brown Angelenos it would house, have pursued a number of backdoor strategies to thwart and obstruct Venice Dell,” the complaint said.

Among the alleged actions cited in the complaint were city officials cutting off regular meetings with the developers, requiring all communication to be routed through the city attorney’s office and failing to sign off on approvals needed before Venice Dell could break ground.

The lawsuit also faults Mayor Karen Bass for deferring to the council member and not directing city officials to advance the project.

The plaintiffs are nonprofit progressive organization LA Forward Institute, a 60-year-old homeless resident who lives in a motorhome in Venice, a Venice homeowner and a Loyola Law School professor who was born in Venice. They’re seeking a court order requiring the city to move Venice Dell forward.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges that by not allowing Venice Dell to proceed the city is preventing the construction of low-income homes in a neighborhood that’s wealthier and whiter than the rest of the city and therefore violating fair housing and equal protection laws.

“As a city, we could be creating far more affordable housing if only we weren’t being obstructed at every turn by people who don’t think their part of town needs to do their fair share,” said David Levitus, executive director of LA Forward Institute, at a news conference at the site Thursday.

People stand behind an architectural rendering.

Feldstein Soto and Park did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit or the project. Clara Karger, a Bass spokesperson, said that the mayor was reviewing the lawsuit, and pointed to her efforts to expedite permitting of affordable housing.

“Mayor Bass continues to support affordable housing across the city,” Karger said.

In a July 1 response to a letter sent by plaintiffs’ lawyers, Chief Assistant City Atty. John Heath said that there were a number of items both the developers and city needed to address before Venice Dell could go ahead, including parking agreements and an appraisal.

“The city has continuously worked with [the developers] to identify a viable path to help move his project forward,” Heath wrote. He added that the plaintiffs’ allegations were “unhelpful to this collaborative process.”

The 2.7-acre Venice Dell site is bisected by the canal and each side of the project is planned to have a three-story apartment building and multi-story parking garage. Of the 140 units, roughly half will be reserved as supportive housing for formerly homeless residents and the other half low-income housing, including some set aside for artists. The project also will have retail, restaurant and community space and additional parking.

Separately, L.A. County Superior Court judges have dismissed two lawsuits from Venice neighborhood groups that aimed to overturn the city’s approvals for the project, one alleging faulty environmental reviews and the other that the city’s agreement with the developer was improper. The environmental case is being appealed.

Venice Community Housing Co-Executive Director Becky Dennison said that she’d hoped the court rulings would spur the project forward. But instead, she said that at a meeting with city officials last week, Ken Husting, an executive with the city’s transportation department, told her that the city was recommending that Venice Dell be redesigned to change the layout for the parking. When she asked why, she said Husting told her that “administrations had changed since the project’s approvals.”

Neither Husting, who is on vacation, nor a transportation department spokesperson responded to a request for comment.

Dennison said that complying with the request would further stall the project by at least two years, reduce the number of units and require scrapping the city’s existing approvals.

“It’s like a recommendation to start all over,” Dennison said.

As is, Dennison said, the lack of action has delayed her pursuit of financing for the project, cost her $100,000 in interest payments on a predevelopment loan and prevented construction of permanent homeless housing in a community with little of it.

“The folks that are sitting on these streets, that’s the biggest frustration,” Dennison said. “Yes, it’s a huge financial commitment and a lot of risk. But there were promises made to folks in this community.”

A person sleeps on a beach with belongings nearby.

While the city still needs to sign off on the ground lease and the other applications, Dennison said the biggest remaining hurdle is approval from the California Coastal Commission, which is required because the site is in the coastal zone. Dennison said the city also has stalled in responding to the commission’s questions about Venice Dell.

Joshua Smith, a spokesperson for the commission, said that the agency was continuing to work with the city on a plan.

“The prospect of a 100% affordable housing project at this location is a rare opportunity, and we would like to bring this to a final vote as soon as possible,” Smith said.

The project has attracted the attention of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. In February, the Department of Housing and Community Development sent the city a letter requesting details on why the project wasn’t advancing. A spokesperson told The Times that the department was continuing to monitor the situation.

A person holds a sign reading "Houseless Are Not Criminals."

Charles Rosin, a retired television producer and Venice resident who led the neighborhood lawsuits against the project, said that the case filed by supporters this week was an attempt to cover up the developers’ own problems, including securing financing. Rosin said the district elected Park in part because of her opposition to Venice Dell in contrast with her predecessor, Mike Bonin, who backed the effort.

“The voters wanted a change in policy,” Rosin said.

Dennison said she is hoping for Venice Dell to break ground in 2026 and open in 2028.