A controversial project that would move passengers in sky-high gondolas to Dodger Stadium is getting some substantial pushback from the city of Los Angeles and a prominent, anti-gang nonprofit, even as a new survey finds a majority of respondents support the project.
In a recent letter, Los Angeles City Administrative Officer Matthew Szabo said the city would not allow city-owned parcels slated for affordable housing to be used for building a 195-foot tower to hold up the cables and gondolas above Chinatown, as proposed by the gondola project developer.
It’s unclear if this means the project could not be built, or whether the tower could be put elsewhere. In the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit (LAART) project, a Plan B is discussed that involves extending the next-closest tower near Alameda Street 50 more feet in the air to handle more weight. But that may not be feasible, the document states.
In a Jan. 17, 2023 letter to the lead agency on the project, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), Szabo wrote that the city will not give up the land because it has given an exclusive negotiating agreement to Friends of Homeboy, LLC, part of nearby Homeboy Industries, to build transitional housing and affordable housing with supportive services and a community center on the property.
The letter states the project, called Hope Village, was approved by the mayor and City Council in August 2019. The city expects to execute a development and disposition agreement no later than June 2023.
“Because of these facts, the City does not intend to divest itself of these parcels for any use besides providing affordable housing,” the letter concludes.
“Yes, this property is committed to affordable housing,” confirmed Yolanda Chavez, L.A.’s assistant city administrative officer, in an interview on Thursday, Feb. 16. Chavez added that the city was not consulted about the aerial gondola tram…
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