I always look back to my Southern Jewish roots when I have to make important decisions in my life, whether they are personal or political, professional or social.
Since I moved to Los Angeles, I have relied on those values established as the daughter of a Rabbi in Augusta, Georgia. (Yes, there are plenty of Jews in Augusta.) During these particularly conflicting times in our nation and our community, I apply them now more than ever.
Measure S is on the March 7 Los Angeles ballot. As the President of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association, I have become deeply involved in our community and realize the importance of helping pass Yes on Measure S.
Measure S is really about social justice as it gets to the core of how we want to live in our city. It challenges how we want our elected officials to perform and behave. It questions how we want our city to look and function in the future. My values not only encourage community engagement, but community discussion and decisions with conscience. That’s what Measure S promotes.
Measure S will demand that our officials take important planning decisions back to the community–engaging residents during the evenings and weekends when people can attend. Holding meetings downtown in the morning during the work week is a clever way to keep the people’s voices to a minimum. It accommodates the developers and their lobbyists, not the public.
The current system of land use decisions in our city is broken. While many developers follow appropriate planning rules, some mega-developers get their way by showering campaign contributions on politicians who then find it hard to say “no”. Developers are allowed to choose their own paid consultants to do the environmental studies for their mega-developments, and lobbyists have all the advantages over the community in pushing these development projects through City Hall.
Measure S will ban our elected officials from helping developers who have given them money get around our zoning rules. While campaign contributions are legal, too often they pave the way for developers to receive special “spot zoning” privileges, allowing for height changes and zoning changes that often don’t fit the scale or safety codes of the neighborhood.
As a grassroots volunteer on the Measure S campaign, I have seen the untruths and fake news that the opposition has spread. Accusing Measure S of bringing doom and gloom to Los Angeles. Ending all affordable housing. Ending housing for seniors. Causing an economic recession. But these are scare tactics: unfounded claims spreading fear and anxiety with no real proof. Just as mega-developers hire consultants whose “studies” conveniently support their bids for mega-developments, so mega-developers themselves funded the so-called “study” that conveniently supports their claims regarding Measure S.
Contrary to what the opponents of Measure S say, Measure S will not end construction of affordable housing, which is critical for seniors and low-income individuals. Roughly 95% of development projects in Los Angeles conform to existing zoning and will not be impeded. Local construction jobs will not evaporate, and Los Angeles will not be plunged into recession.
Measure S will stop, for a brief period of two years, those projects that require a zone change or “spot zoning” – which adds up to only about 5% of all development. It is true that this will briefly stop the mega-developers from building more luxury apartments and hotels, but these don’t help us solve our affordable housing problem in any way.
In fact, “affordable housing” is often a cover for hugely profitable mega-developments that require a General Plan Amendment or zone change. Developers promise city officials that they will mix in affordable housing with their luxury units so all will be well. The reality is that once people are pushed out of their rent-stabilized units, they are lost. But the mega-developments remain. The current system has failed in dealing with our city’s affordable housing problem, and should not be relied upon to fix it.
Importantly, Measure S will also require the update of our General Plan and Community Plans that have not been updated for 20 years. The primary purpose of the General Plan, including Community Plans, is not to enrich real estate investors. It is to properly govern and plan Los Angeles. We need judicious assessment of infrastructure and public services, so the community can understand how developments will impact our health and safety.
We must update our plans so we can prepare properly for the future – planning for flooding, earthquakes and other unforeseen emergencies. We want to make sure that roads are planned properly around new developments, rather than creating more hazards to accommodate large, over-sized buildings.
Pursuing justice has become part of who I am. While Measure S may not be perfect, it is a big improvement over the current broken, unjust system of land use decisions. Measure S will stop the back room deals. It will bring us together in dynamic and constructive discussion about our neighborhoods. Finally, it will bring the kind of transparency we need and deserve from our City leaders.
Sarah Conner is a wife, mother, entrepreneur and philanthropist. She currently is President of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association, a 60 year old nonprofit dedicated to protecting the environment of Pacific Palisades and surrounding areas. She was an organizer for Save the Bluffs, a movement that successfully opposed non-conforming development on the coastal bluffs of Los Angeles. In her Jewish community affiliation, she is Chair of the Board of the American Technion Society, Southern California Chapter, a National Board Member of the American Technion Society, and an Advisor for TAMID at USC.
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