Hollywood Residents Form Opposition Group to Community Plan Update

Some Hollywood residents in opposition of the proposed update to the Hollywood Community Plan have organized into group and created SaveHollywood.org, a website with a petition to air their concerns.

They have spoken up throughout the review process and planned to speak up at the Planning Land Use and Management Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon.

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Fran Reichenbach, one of the group's organizers says its members live in Hollywood and span from the mid-Wilshire area to the Valley. They call themselves "People for Livable Communities" because of the far-reaching impact they believe Hollywood's proposed plan will have on future updates throughout Los Angeles.

"What were seeing is decaying infrastructure, a budget that's so very strapped we can't even afford the type of emergency response we need and yet [city planners] are adding density, adding people where they are not, to areas that cannot sustain that density. The Hollywood Community Plan does not mitigate or plan for improving the infrastructure or expanding emergency response for an overpopulated area... This is a community plan built for developers...that plan is a public safety hazard it should be blown up."

The group's online petition has gained more than 915 signatures since it was created on April 9. They hope to collect 1,000. It states:

Stop the Hollywood Community Plan in its current form. Help us maintain our community, and improve infrastructure and services rather than increasing density, traffic, noise and congestion.

The Hollywood Community Plan will diminish the quality of life for all residents — current and future. Variances and established height limits to protect environmental impact will be waived. Coordination with emergency services, public transportation and community facilities is a MUST. This is a developer's dream. Developers will be able to Manhattanize Hollywood with residents having little recourse to object.  The Plan is based on flawed data as the City of Los Angeles contends that the population of Hollywood will increase to 250,000 by 2030. When in fact it has steadily decreased — more than 7% over the last 20 years — with no indication of growth. 

Discuss: Planning to attend today's meeting? Are you in favor or in opposition of the proposed update? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below. You may also submit "letters to the editor" to lindsey.baguio[at]patch.com.

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