José Huizar plans for a new 'cohesive' downtown LA district
Eric Richardson / blogdowntown
Councilman Jose Huizar riding down the Spring Street bike lane.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — New district lines for the Los Angeles City Council went into effect last week, putting the majority of Downtown into the 14th District -- and the hands of Councilman José Huizar.
Huizar said that while having one council office represent Downtown as a whole may keep the area "cohesive," the different neighborhoods in DTLA have very unique characteristics and needs.
"Our challenge will be to link these distinct communities together," he said.
Huizar said his focus for the area will be "revitalization" and applying the successful tactics and structure of his Bringing Back Broadway initiative to neighborhoods through Downtown. Renovations at Clifton's Cafeteria, the announcement of an incoming Ace Hotel and a Ross Dress for Less slated to open in 2013 are all DTLA developments the councilman has publicly embraced as part of his Bringing Back program.
"It's not that we're going to lose focus on Broadway but we have opportunity to use the same type of approach we used on Broadway for all of Downtown," Huizar said.
As more residents pour into Downtown, infrastructure for everyday life such as more schools, parks and access to transportation will be key parts of development, the councilman said.
He said he plans to continue the push for L.A.'s streetcar and Regional Connector, while also looking to manage the influx of traffic through better technology -- such as the recently announced parking application that tells drivers where spots are available in Downtown and adjusts rates according to demand.
"Im excited about the possibilities, and at the same time I realize the challenges that lay before my office and the city," Huizar said.
While much of Downtown's demographics are changing, the issues surrounding homelessness, mental illness and crime on Skid Row persist. Huizar said he will strive for consistency and additional resources for the in-need area and will try to deal with "immediate needs" while "slowly chipping away at a huge problem."
Much of Huizar's new area was previously in Councilwoman Jan Perry's 9th District. Perry has been extremely vocal in her opposition to her newly defined district since the beginning of the redistricting process.
"It's not a new district, it's a district that's been hacked in half," Perry told OnCentral earlier this month.
She's said that by removing Downtown from the 9th, South L.A. will have lost its "economic engine" and the loss of these assets would create an "economic apartheid."
Perry will reach her term limit as a councilmember next July and is in the running to be L.A.'s next mayor.
Brady Westwater (@bradywestwater) on July 11, 2012, at 09:58AM – #1
The controversial redistricting of Downtown Los Angeles has had both good and bad impacts. While some have long felt DTLA would - in the long run - have more power and more control of its future if it was in one council district, other were just as vehement that our having two or three representatives n the council was the better option.
One thing almost everyone agreed upon, though, was having that long term decision being turned into a contest between Jan Perry who was about to be termed out and Jose Huizar who was to remain in office, let many of us knowing what it's like to be kids in a messy divorce when you are asked - which parent do you love the most as opposed to what is best for your long term needs.
Even more awkward was the fact - we had no real say in the matter. Now, however, the divorce is final and the custody agreements for the next ten years have been set - and we all need to move on. And so much of what DTLA is - and will continue to be - is a direct result of Jan's connection with and work with our community.
And I am confident that in the next year Jan will continue to find ways to make the Figueroa Corridor starting at LA Live, Staples, and the Convention Center and going down to USC a new part of a greater DTLA that will increasingly become just one of the economic engines of the great 9th District.
JH McMath on July 11, 2012, at 01:25PM – #2
I hope that as one of his "immediate needs" for the heart of Skid Row Mr. Huizar will focus on street conditions. After 11 years in office, Jan Perry failed to address this problem in any sort of sustained or meaningful way. Until very recently there were a couple dozen outed streetlights, crumbling curbs, gaping ungrated catch basins, trash lining the streets, and no garbage cans anywhere, and a thriving vermin population (not to mention other aspects of the dire sanitary conditions identified in the LA County health report). Many of these issues at long last are being addressed by the city.
Providing this small area of a few square blocks with basic and essential municipal services should not be a complicated or unduly expensive endeavor. Such services are what every other neighborhood in LA takes for granted. The long neglect of street conditions in the area speaks volumes about political priorities in the former 9th district. Let's hope Mr. Huizar focuses on these easily addressed quality of life issues that Ms. Perry chose to ignore for so long.