LINKS AND RESOURCES
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On April 30 2025, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to designate the Apartments at 5920-30 Buffalo Avenue a 'Historic Cultural Monument'.
This marks a significant victory for conservation, successfully saving the last remaining Mid-Century Ranch Courtyard by famous architect WILLIAM MELLENTHIN, while preserving existing affordable housing and a historically priceless example of classic San Fernando Valley architecture.
The landmark designation brings some long overdue recognition to one of the area's most prolific builders, who's famous 'Birdhouse Design' has been cherished and admired by SFV homeowners for many decades.
The Birdhouse Apartments on Buffalo Avenue are an essential part and 'anchor' of our wonderful neighborhood, serving as a model for housing that embraces community and style, while making tenants truly feeling 'at home'.
However, due to an 'ambiguity' in the ED-1 Housing directive, the just recently designated Historical Monument still faces the threat of demolition, as the City's Planning Department continued to approve plans for a proposed 5 STORY, 104 UNITS 'AFFORDABLE HOUSING' PROJECT, while the site was under historic consideration by the Cultural Heritage Commission.
This administrative 'charade' created by City Planning presents a serious threat to the HCM, and could set a dangerous precedent that would undermine the historic designation process for all future sites to come.
The Los Angeles Conservancy is currently working closely with the involved City Agencies, to ensure that the site remains protected, and CEQA rules be enforced if and when a demo permit gets approved.
Furthermore, our Council Member Nazarian's office is looking into any possible challenges to the project, as Nazarian himself is NOT in support of the planned development.
WE WILL POST UPDATES HERE AS SOON AS ANY NEWS COME IN, AND WILL REACH OUT WITH DETAILED FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS ON WHAT ACTIONS NEED TO BE TAKEN NEXT.
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The Los Angeles Planning Department has effectively sabotaged a designated 'Historic Cultural Monument'
when they continued to approve an absolutely outrageous 'Affordable Housing Project', WHILE A HISTORIC NOMINATION PROCESS WAS PENDING. The Planning Dept. then claimed, that their 'interpretation' of Mayor Karen Bass's atrocious ED-1 directive effectively superseded a Historical Designation under consideration, consequently rendering it null and void.
This is an absolute OUTRAGE OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. Never before has a scenario like this occurred, with the Planning Department BLATANTLY disregarding the Cultural Heritage Commission's due process of historic designations.
Because of an 'ambiguity' in the 2019 'Housing Crisis Act' (HCA), City Planning claimed that a 'not yet' designated Landmark can be thrown out by simply approving a developer's plan BEFORE the Landmark becomes certified by the City Council.
This effectively would set a forever precedent to jeopardize ALL future historic site designations.
Furthermore, in a memo sent out on March 13 City Planning WRONGLY REFERENCES the Municipal Code - effectively DENYING the now designated Historic Monument an 'Environmental Review' (CEQA), which under Municipal Code 91.106.4.5 HAS TO BE ACTIVATED IF A HISTORIC MONUMENT IS BEING DEMOLISHED.
After that, YOUR BELOVED HILLVIEW PARK NEIGHBORHOOD WILL BE SUBJECT IRREVERSIBLE DESTRUCTION.
When plans for the nightmare of a 60 FT TALL, 5-STORY, 104 UNIT 'AFFORDABLE HOUSING' PROJECT WITH NO
PARKING SPACE WHATSOEVER move forward, the UNIMAGINABLE HORROR of a project of such magnitude can barely BE put into words - the guaranteed traffic NIGHTMARE, created by a yearlong construction congestion involving bulldozers, trucks, heavy machinery, cranes and building supply deliveries - annihilating your peaceful life as you know it.
ALL OF THIS ON A STREET THAT DOES NOT HAVE SIDEWALKS, AND ONLY 30 PARKING SPACES TO BEGIN WITH.
Once this 'Death Star' of so called 'affordable housing' is built, the irreversible damage to our community will create a multitude of unsolvable problems - consisting of 104 units measuring around 235 sq ft EACH, it will house low income tenants like rats in cages, more resembling cells in a detention center than an actual apartments ...
The expected wave of crime, loitering, drug dealing, graffiti, trespassing onto your homes' properties and influx of traffic will turn our beautiful community into a LIVING HELL FROM WHICH THERE WILL BE NO ESCAPE, affecting everything from property values, to safety issues for Your children and loved ones !
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MAKING THE CASE:
- The 'William Mellenthin Birdhouse Apartments' HCM Application was formally accepted on September 24, 2024.
- The Cultural Heritage Commission then formally adopted the nomination on October 17, 2024.
- Despite a hold on all permits, City Planning continued to process the developer's plans, and vested the project on November 01, 2024.
- This represents a direct violation of CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), which requires that any site potentially eligible for historic designation
be treated as a historic resource once nominated (CEQA Guidelines ยง15064.5), triggering an EIR (Environmental Impact Study) and enforce mitigation measures.
- This did NOT happen. Instead, City Planning approved the developer's plans on March 16, after the CHC had declared the site a 'Historical Cultural Monument' on February 06 2025,
and before the City Council's unanimous confirmation of the historic designation on April 30, 2025.
- City Planning may not rely on the 'Housing Crisis Act' nor SB 330, to bypass a CEQA review for a historic resource.
- Any attempt to obtain a demolition permit for the NOW OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED HCM INVOKES CEQA
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THEREFORE, WE DEMAND THAT THE CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT FOLLOWS APPLICABLE CEQA LAWS
AND IF A DEMOLITION PERMIT FOR THE DESIGNATED MONUMENT IS ISSUED, CITY PLANNING NEEDS TO COMPLY WITH ALL CEQA GUIDELINES
