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2377 Midvale Project Lawsuit

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  • FTC Filings/Press Releases
  • Media Coverage: Emergency Declaration Suit
  • Media Coverage: 2377 Midvale
  • FTC Comment Letters
  • Public Records Requests
  • Other Documents
  • Related Laws

Project Description

Fix The City has sued the City of Los Angeles concerning the legality of the “2377 Midvale Shelter” which would place a “Low-Barrier Navigation Center” facility containing 33 beds in a single-family neighborhood at 2377 Midvale.

The project would eliminate public parking lot 707 which provides critical parking for local small business and also provides the only public ADA parking spaces in the area served.

Lot 707 provides code-required parking for dozens of businesses.

FTC Filings/Suits/Press Releases

FTC Reply

  • Reply Trial Brief
  • Suppl.-RJN-ISO-Reply-Trial-Brief-1
  • Reply-to-Citys-Objections-to-Petitioners-Opening-Trial-Brief-2
  • Reply-to-Citys-Objections-to-Petitioners-Opening-Trial-Brief-1
  • Petitioners-Objections-to-Citys-Cervantes-and-Wee-Declarations-1
  • Petitioners-Notice-of-Lodging-of-Trial-Notebook-Evid.-Binders-Flash-Drive-1
  • Reply to City objections to Petitioners Supp RJN

City Response

  • Opposition Brief
  • RJN Opening Trial Brief
  • Volume 1 Robert-Mahlowitz-Decl-ISO-City-Trial-Brief
  • Volume 2 Robert-Mahlowitz-Decl-ISO-City-Trial-Brief
  • Volume 3 Robert-Mahlowitz-Decl-ISO-City-Trial-Brief
  • Lin Declaration
  • Quinonez Declaration
  • Wee Declaration
  • Objection to Petitioner Supp RJN
  • Response to Petitioner Objections
  • Objection to Lake Declaration

Petitioner’s Opening Trial Brief

  •  Petitioner’s Opening Trial Brief

Verified Petition - 2377 Midvale, CEQA

  • Verified First Amended Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief

Press Release re 2377 Midvale Suit

2377 Midvale Suit Key Assertions

FTC Testimony/Comment Letters

FTC comments on CF 22-1545 - City Council Item 23 10/31/23

(Renewal of expired emergency declaration)

FTC comments on 2377 Midvale CF-1066/City Council 10/20/23

FTC comments on 2377 Midvale/Transportation Commission (10/18/23 Mtg)

FTC comments on 2377 Midvale/Transportation Commission (10/12/23 Mtg)

Supplemental FTC comments on 2377 Midvale (CF 23-1066)

FTC comments on 2377 Midvale (CF 23-1066)

Media Coverage – FTC Suit

Westside Current: Advocacy Group Files Lawsuit to Block West LA Midvale Housing Project

LA Times: Westside group sues L.A. over Midvale Avenue homeless housing project

Newsweek: L.A. Mayor Met With Hisses, Boos Over Homeless Housing Plan

KFI AM 640 John and Ken: 9/12, Hour 2

“A StopMidvalePico.org representative comes on the show to talk about getting an ethics complaint against LA City Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky.”

Media Coverage – 2377 Midvale/Lot 707

LA Times: Letters to the Editor: This housing project isn’t ‘down the street.’ It’s right next to single-family homes - 11/1/23

    • Original version (prior to editing for length)

Westside Today: Los Angeles City Council Advances Homeless Housing Project Amid Community Concerns

Spectrum: Council votes unanimously to build controversial housing facility in West LA

Fox News: City Council approves building of controversial West LA housing facility for homeless

Daily News: LA City Council approves 33-bed facility near residential neighborhood amidst community opposition

LA Times: Bass removes commission president after panel delays vote on Westside homeless project

NBCLA: West LA’s plans to turn parking lot into interim housing facility not sitting well with residents

Westside Current: Rancho Park Mothers Feel ‘Betrayed’ by Katy Yaroslavsky

Westside Current: Midvale Housing Project: Westside Neighborhood Councils Ignored By City Officials

Jewish Journal: Interim Homeless Housing Draws Pushback by Westside Residents

LA Magazine: Politician Under Fire Over Plan to Turn Parking Lot Into Shelter for the Unhoused

The City launches an ethics probe after Rancho Park homeowners accuse office of L.A. Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky of conflict of interest

Beverly Press: Interim housing on Midvale generates opposition

Westside Current: Yaroslavsky’s Scripted "Virtual Session" on Housing Project Criticized for "Cherry Picked" Questions

Westside Current: Yaroslavsky has made me a NIMBY

CityWatch: What Katy Yaroslavsky Doesn’t Get

Washington Examiner: This is how California’s homeless industrial complex works

LA Times: As she pushes for new homeless housing, Yaroslavsky shifts gears on no-camping zones

Los Angeles Daily News: New interim housing for homeless is coming to LA’s Westside

Youtube: 2377 Midvale Webinar

Westside Today: New Interim Housing Project Seeks to Combat Homelessness Crisis in Los Angeles’ Council District Five

LA Times (1990): Westwood : L.A. Condemns Site on Pico

Public Record Requests

Emergency Management Division

  • Fix The City CPRA-23-EMD
    • Response (4/1/24)

California Office of Emergency Services

  • Fix The City CPRA-21-CalOES
    • Response (11/8/23)

Department of Building and Safety

  • Fix The City CPRA-20-LADBS
    • Response (1/3/24)

Los Angeles Housing Department

  • Fix The City CPRA-19-LAHD
    • Response (12/6/23)

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority

  • Fix The City CPRA-18-LAHSA
    • Response (12/5/23)

Recreation and Parks

  • Fix The City CPRA-17-RAP
    • Response (11/13/23)

Department of City Planning

  • Fix The City CPRA-16-DCP
    • Response (10/31/23)
    • Response (11/17/23)
  • Fix The City CPRA-22-DCP
    • Response (03/20/24)

Bureau of Engineering

  • Fix The City CPRA-15-BOE
    • Response (11-08-23)
    • Response (2-06-24)

Board of Transportation Commissioners

  • Fix The City CPRA-09-TCOMM
    • Response (Transportation Comm. Audio 10/12/23)
  • Fix The City CPRA-10-TCOMM
    • Response (11/16/23)
  • Fix The City CPRA-13-TCOMM
    • Response (Transportation Comm. Audio 10/18/23)
  • Fix The City CPRA-14-TCOMM
    • Response (Transportation Comm. Audio 8/10/23)

Department of Water and Power

  • Fix The City CPRA-08-LADWP
    • Response (as of 3/26/24)

Department of Transportation

  • Fix The City CPRA-07-LADOT
    • Response

Chief Administrative Officer

  • Fix The City CPRA-06-CAO
    • Response 1

General Services

  • Fix The City CPRA-05-GenSvc
    • Response
    • Supplemental Response (11/27/23)

Chief Legislative Analyst

  • Fix The City CPRA-04-CLA
    • Response

Mayor

  • Fix The City CPRA-03-Mayor
    • Response from City Clerk
  • Fix The City CPRA-11-Mayor
    • Combined response for CPRA-03, CPRA-11 (3/7/24)

Council District 5

  • Fix The City CPRA-01-CD5
    • Response #1
    • Follow-Up #1
    • Response #2
    • Follow-Up #2
    • Response #3
  • Fix The City CPRA-02-CD5
    • Combined Response CPRA-12-CD5 and CPRA-02-CD5 (12/6/23)
  • Fix The City CPRA-12-CD5
    • Combined Response CPRA-12-CD5 and CPRA-02-CD5 (12/6/23)
  • Supplemental response (2/4/24)

Issues

Key Issues

  • Violation of the Exposition Specific Plan.
  • Violation of the Westwood/Pico Neighborhood Oriented District Overlay.
  • Failure to cite any legal authority to build the project.
  • Violation of mayoral executive directives.
  • Violation of competitive bidding laws.
  • Severe neighborhood impacts were ignored.
    • The elimination of a vital parking lot that represents the only parking for small, local businesses will have a severe impact on customer’s ability to visit the businesses after 4pm.
    • The elimination of Lot 707 also eliminates the only street-level ADA parking facility.
    • Local small businesses face damage due to parking loss.
    • Placing a “low-barrier” homeless shelter in a single-family neighborhood creates unnecessary risk of harm to families.
  • The “process” used to select the site, select the vendor and select the service provider was fatally flawed, violated the public’s trust and violated city and state law
    • The Project has no application and there was no motion to initiate the project.
    • The project violates the Expo Specific Plan which provides rules, procedures, processes and zoning for the site.
    • CD5 selected the site without any input from the public or even informing the public that the site was being considered.
    • CD5 selected the vendor without competitive bidding, in secret and without making sure the vendor was a registered lobbyist and bidder..
    • CD5 selected the service provider without competitive bidding, in secret, without making sure the vendor was a registered lobbyist and bidder and while including a former employee of the service provider in the deliberative process.
    • The project has not followed any known rule, process or procedure for securing entitlements to build the Project.
    • The local neighborhood council, after being informed only after the project was a “done deal”  has overwhelmingly voted against the project.
    • False information from the council office concerning 41.18 confuses the public. (41.18 enforcement is restricted by the Street Engagement rules)
    • Serious ethics issues have yet to be resolved including the involvement of a CD5 staffer, use of unregistered lobbyists and unregistered bidders.

Referenced Laws/Documents

Cal. Code Regs. 15269(c)

California Health and Safety Code 1502.3

Pub. Contract Code § 20162 (State)

Competitive Bidding

LA Charter Sec 10.15

Competitive Bidding

LA Charter Sec 10.17

Competitive Bidding

LA Charter Sec 371

Competitive Bidding

L.A. Admin Code 8.33

LAMC 12.80 (Homeless Shelters – Emergencies – City Owned and Leased Property)

LAMC 49.7.35

Lobbying

LAMC 91.8605

SEC. 91.8605. EMERGENCY HOMELESS SHELTERS

Mayor Bass Emergency Declaration

Executive Directive 1

“in no instance shall the [shelter] be located in a single family or more restrictive zone.”

Proposed Interim Housing Request for Proposal and Review Process (CF 22-1578)

Operations Guidelines – Bed Availability To ensure that efficiencies of scale are considered, the recommended minimum bed count of a property is 50 beds.

Council File 23-0360 Amendment 3D

“I FURTHER MOVE that the CAO, when conducting an initial feasibility study analyzing LADOT parking facilities for repurposing as supportive or affordable housing as outlined in the City’s Asset Evaluation Framework (C.F. 12-1549-S3) also include a report on the existence of any parking agreements between the city and surrounding businesses and the fiscal impacts of the potential repurposing, as well as contemplation of the mobility, livability, and commercial needs of the nearby community if stipulated in the Council motion initiating the feasibility analysis.” – Amendment 3D.

Council File 15-1138 (Shelter Crisis)

City Attorney Report: Shelter Crisis v Emergency

“The City’s emergency power has been historically utilized in cases of natural disasters and other discrete emergencies.  There is limited precedent of the City declaring a local emergency to address issues surrounding homelessness.”

Council File 15-1138-S24 (Shelter Crisis)

Exposition Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan

General Plan Framework

“Clear and consistent rules governing both public and private sector development are necessary to expand economic opportunity and protect the character of residential neighborhoods. These rules should provide predictability to anyone who develops property, including small businesses and individual homeowners.”

“GOAL 3B – Preservation of the City’s stable single-family residential neighborhoods.

Objective 3.5: Ensure that the character and scale of stable single-family residential neighborhoods is maintained, allowing for infill development provided that it is compatible with and maintains the scale and character of existing development.”

Shelter Crisis Documents

City Documents Showing Actions on Homelessness – Not an Sudden/Unexpected

Date Document
9/22/15 Homelessness Crisis
1/7/16 Comprehensive Homeless Strategy
1/7/16 COMPREHENSIVE HOMELESS STRATEGY-CAO-CLA
4/29/16 Garcetti ED 16: Implementation of the Comprehensive Homeless Strategy
5/30/18 Garcetti ED 24: Building “A Bridge Home”
6/19/18 Shelter System and Framework for an Emergency Response to Homelessness Plan
5/24/19 Shelter Crisis (Plan) pursuant to Government Code 8698.4
11/25/19 Shelter Crisis Annual Report: 2018-2019
9/30/20 Shelter Crisis Annual Report: 2019-2020
11/5/21 Shelter Crisis Annual Report: 2020-2021
1/5/23 Shelter Crisis Annual Report: 2021-2022
12/1/23 Shelter Crisis Annual Report: 2022-2023

NBC: LA mayor’s Inside Safe effort: $67 million spent, only 255 homeless people permanently housed

Other Documents

2377 Midvale Parcel Profile

Unofficial Notice of Exemption

Letter from Mayor Bass firing Transportation Comm. President

Westside Neighborhood Council Request to Delay Hearing on 2377 Midvale

Press Release from CD5 CM Katy Yaroslavsky

Meetings & Transcripts

City Council (10/31/23)

  • Unofficial Transcript

Former Transportation Commissioner President Comments re 2377 Midvale CF-1066/City Council 10/20/23

“After reviewing the Midvale-Pico situation in greater detail, I became convinced that a 33-unit homeless project bordering single family residents on two sides should not qualify for a CEQA exemption. This project could be a serious burden on a residential neighborhood. It could be a lifetime burden for a child or senior citizen who are attacked by homeless residents of the project, and it could certainly be the death of many local, small businesses in the area who depend on the city-owned parking lot to accommodate their customers. “

Transportation Comm. Meeting (10/18/23)

  • Minutes
  • Audio
  • Unofficial Transcript

Former Transportation Commissioner President Eisenberg Comments - KFI Interview

  • Unofficial Transcript

Transportation Comm. Meeting (10/12/23)

  • Minutes
  • Audio
  • Unofficial Transcript

Homelessness & Housing Comm.(10/04/23)

  • Unofficial Transcript

City Council re Ethics (09/26/23)

  • Unofficial Transcript

Transportation Comm. Meeting (8/10/23)

  • Minutes
  • Audio
  • Unofficial Transcript

CM Katy Yaroslavsky Zoom Call (08/07/23)

  • Unofficial Transcript

Business Owner Lawsuit

FTC Statement on Temporary Restraining Order Granted Against Midvale/Pico Project

  • FTC Press Statement
  • Issued Temporary Restraining Order

Key Issues

A local, small business has filed a new lawsuit in August 30, 2024 challenging the Midvale Project, gathering the support of over a dozen other impacted businesses.  

  • The issue presented is straightforward.
  • City of Los Angeles acquired Lot 707 via eminent domain specifically citing the need for off-street parking as the reason for the taking.  The taking was authorized by Ordinance 166,003 on April 18, 1990, based on a motion made on December 12, 1989​. The ordinance was initiated by then-Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky.
  • When a government takes property under eminent domain, it has to approve a ‘Resolution of Necessity’ that states, with evidence, that the taking and proposed use will provide for the greatest public good and the least private injury.
  • The city did that in 1990, stating that the needed use was public off-street parking facilities for the businesses.
  • When the government wants to change the use, they must file a new Resolution of Necessity for the new use.
  • Katy Yaroslavsky and the city did not prepare an updated Resolution of Necessity as required by state law.
  • The lawsuit also highlighted Katy Yaroslavsky’s promise, made several times including at council immediately preceding the vote on the removal of Lot 707, that:

“You have my word that we’re going to secure additional parking before we break ground on this project.”

  • The Lot was closed on Monday, August 19.  No additional parking was secured, resulting in irreparable harm to local business.

Documents & Media

Fox News Story

  • Video
  • Transcript

KNX 1070

  • Story

KFI AM 640

  • Story

Documents

  • Preliminary Injunction

    • Notice of Motion TOC TOA Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Declarations (9/6/24)
      • RFJN with Attached Attorney Declaration (9/6/24)
    • City Response
      • Morales Declaration
      • RJN
    • Plated Reply
      • Supporting Declaration
  • Temporary Restraining Order

    • OSC re Preliminary Injunction and TRO (9/6/24)
    • Proposed Order (9/6/24)
    • Issued Temporary Restraining Order
    • Civil Case Cover Sheet
  • Complaint

    • Summons
    • Complaint
    • Request for Judicial Notice
    • Temporary Restraining Order/Order to Show Cause

Council Meeting (10/20/23) Promise made by Katy Yaroslavsky

  • Video
  • Transcript

Facebook promise made by Katy Yaroslavsky

  • Video

Mayor Bass Executive Directive 4: Identifying Barriers to Small Business Creation, Development and Growth

Other Documents

LA Times 1990: Westwood : L.A. Condemns Site on Pico

CCP § 1245.245 (eminent domain)

Lot 707 Acquisition via SPRF/Eminent Domain

2377 Midvale Parcel Profile

Midvale Change of Use Permit - 1992

2377 Midvale - 1965 (LAPL photo library)

  • Image #1
  • Image #2
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