Petitioner’s Opening Trial Brief
Petitioner’s Opening Trial Brief
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” homeless shelter 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
Verified Petition - 2377 Midvale, CEQA
Verified First Amended Petition for Writ of Mandamus and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief
FTC Testimony/Comment Letters
FTC comments on CF 22-1545 - City Council Item 23 10/31/23
(Renewal of expired emergency declaration)
Media Coverage – FTC Suit
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 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
Public Record Requests
Emergency Management Division
- Fix The City CPRA-23-EMD
California Office of Emergency Services
- Fix The City CPRA-21-CalOES
Department of Building and Safety
- Fix The City CPRA-20-LADBS
Los Angeles Housing Department
- Fix The City CPRA-19-LAHD
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
- Fix The City CPRA-18-LAHSA
Recreation and Parks
- Fix The City CPRA-17-RAP
Department of City Planning
- Fix The City CPRA-16-DCP
- Fix The City CPRA-22-DCP
Bureau of Engineering
- Fix The City CPRA-15-BOE
Board of Transportation Commissioners
- Fix The City CPRA-09-TCOMM
- Fix The City CPRA-10-TCOMM
- Fix The City CPRA-13-TCOMM
- Fix The City CPRA-14-TCOMM
Department of Water and Power
- Fix The City CPRA-08-LADWP
Department of Transportation
- Fix The City CPRA-07-LADOT
Chief Administrative Officer
- Fix The City CPRA-06-CAO
General Services
- Fix The City CPRA-05-GenSvc
Chief Legislative Analyst
- Fix The City CPRA-04-CLA
Mayor
- Fix The City CPRA-03-Mayor
- Fix The City CPRA-11-Mayor
Council District 5
- Fix The City CPRA-01-CD5
- Fix The City CPRA-02-CD5
- Fix The City CPRA-12-CD5
- 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
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
LAMC 49.7.35
Lobbying
LAMC 91.8605
SEC. 91.8605. EMERGENCY HOMELESS SHELTERS
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.
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.”
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
Meetings & Transcripts
City Council (10/31/23)
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)
Former Transportation Commissioner President Eisenberg Comments - KFI Interview
Transportation Comm. Meeting (10/12/23)
Homelessness & Housing Comm.(10/04/23)
City Council re Ethics (09/26/23)
Transportation Comm. Meeting (8/10/23)
CM Katy Yaroslavsky Zoom Call (08/07/23)
Business Owner Lawsuit
FTC Statement on Temporary Restraining Order Granted Against Midvale/Pico Project
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
Documents
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Preliminary Injunction
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Temporary Restraining Order
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Complaint