Why are Los Angeles taxpayers forking over up to $620,000 to halt progress on a project the City Council has already approved?
That’s the question asked by L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who took to social media on Tuesday to detail the council’s vote to authorize that amount in legal fees connected to the Venice Dell supportive housing apartment building.
The city is facing a lawsuit over alleged obstruction by city officials, specifically Councilmember Traci Park and City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto, both of whom were elected in 2022 and oppose the project.
“The City of LA is SPENDING money (during a budget crisis) to STOP Venice Dell – an affordable housing project that the public wants, the City desperately needs, & that 👏 WAS 👏 ALREADY 👏 APPROVED 👏 by the City & the State,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Despite receiving approvals from the City Council in 2021 and again in 2022, the project site remains a parking lot.
“This parking lot could have been 120 affordable homes, plus shops, plus even more public parking spots than before,” he said. “Instead, the City is paying to keep it a parking lot.”