Flat Top, a beloved lookout point in Lincoln Heights, will stay undeveloped for now. Starting in 2021, a proposed home caused an uproar when neighbors protested the loss of green space and displacement.
The hill has been a popular spot for generations to go up and watch the sunset, and it’s been the backdrop in films and album covers. With Los Angeles City Planning now officially denying the project, it’s seen as a victory by community residents.
Why People Defended Flat Top
Although it is used by the public as an informal park, the land is privately held. Trumika Corp. owner Duc Truong wanted to build a two-story, 4,000-square-foot home on part of the sloped hill, which led residents to organize to save it. They worried building on it would lead the neighborhood towards a building spree of exorbitant housing. Typical homes average about 1,500 square feet.
The hill is a simple grass and dirt area in L.A.’s oldest suburb. It’s a quick drive up Thomas Street where you can walk a short path to a 360-degree view across L.A. County. When I spoke with residents last year about the project, they told me the construction would disrupt the wildlife corridor to Ernest E. Debs Regional Park, a long stretch of nature, and privatize an outlook that residents enjoy.
“We need this open space. It’s sort of the communal back yard, historically, since the beginning of the city,” said Sara Clendening, president of the Neighborhood Council. “Everybody in Lincoln Heights has the open space equivalent to the size of printer paper.”
Everybody in Lincoln Heights has the open space equivalent to the size of printer paper.
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