New affordable housing project in Studio City sparks neighborhood debate

A new affordable housing project in Studio City has sparked debate amongst neighbors due to plans to construct a large apartment building next to single-family homes. 

The project comes as Los Angeles pushes to speed up affordable housing construction under the Citywide Housing Incentive Program. Some residents say that they had little to no time to address the proposal, which could see a five-story building comprised of 131 apartment units, all of which will be affordable housing. 

Darcy Wilding said she didn't know about the plans until she received notice in the mail a few weeks ago. 

"It was the address behind us here ... just the notice of demolition," Wilding said. "So, out of curiosity, I googled that address, and that was when I saw the proposal for the building."

She says that she thought it was only a proposal, and not something that was already in process, until she reached out to the area's city council member for more information. 

"We got a lot of emails back saying basically that his hands were tied, and there wasn't really going to be anything he could do," Wilding said. 

She's now one of many neighbors who are concerned for their privacy and the lack of parking for the massive building. Others are also concerned that such a big project can be approved without a public hearing or without traffic and environmental review. 

"Our streets are very narrow; if the streets are full of cars parked on both sides, they're going to be dangerous for pedestrians," Wilding said. 

Residents say that they're frustrated by the project, and not because it's affordable housing, but because they were almost entirely excluded from the process. 

"For years, it was too hard to put up affordable housing for developers, and we recognize that, but now, it's just gone to the complete opposite extreme," Wilding said. "It just needs to be more thoughtful planning."

An attorney for the building's development team says that the project follows LA's CHIP policy exactly as intended, and that they understand people are concerned, but the construction is part of a broader push by city leaders to address the affordable housing crisis. 

"If we start saying that we can't build multifamily buildings and density in multifamily neighborhoods, particularly when they're 100% affordable housing projects in high resource areas in the city, that is game over for the city of Los Angeles meeting its housing goals," said Dave Rand, the developer's land use attorney. 

He says that the city needs projects like this to meet housing goals, but that it won't move forward without passing several safety reviews first. 

"It is not as if a hand is being waved and this project will be constructed tomorrow," Rand said. "There's a lot of rigor that goes into reviewing the safety, the appropriateness, the adequacy of a project like this in the neighborhood."

Wilding says that the project in her own neighborhood isn't the only issue. 

"For most of us, the biggest issue is the lack of due process. It's just, it's undemocratic," she said. "It's happening here, but it's happening all over the city, and it's going to continue to get worse because of these laws."

Councilmember Adrin Nazarian addressed the development in a statement, saying that the new apartment complex "makes sense on this street, because it is already lined with buildings of two or three stories."

"However, I believe a successful development hinges on the support and engagement of the surrounding community," he added. "Increasing the housing stock is a necessary step to address the housing and affordability crisis our City currently faces. Truly strategic building will ensure the sustainability of a growing number of quality and affordable housing units. To that end, I will continue to advocate on behalf of the community and their concerns."