The updated Boyle Heights Community Plan brings more affordable housing and new zoning along the Los Angeles River

This history was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on September 26, 2024.

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve a proposal to update the Boyle Heights Community Plan, the neighborhood’s development plan.

The update is designed to address the housing needs of current and future residents and is intended to update zoning regulations in the LA River and Pico-Aliso neighborhood neighborhoods. He is also moving to implement a series of amendments introduced by 14th Ward Councilmember Kevin de León that would establish incentives for mixed-income projects that would require affordable housing.

De León called the adoption an aggressive move by the city, arguing that “mandatory inclusive housing policies” are a barrier against community gentrification.

“The concerns about displacement of residents and businesses in a gentrified market are very, very real,” De León said. “The updated Boyle Heights Community Plan provides an opportunity to shape future development.”

The plan is one of 35 neighborhood-specific plans that aim to improve quality of life by addressing issues such as housing, safety, infrastructure, land use and mobility, all while preserving the cultural identity of the surrounding neighborhoods. The last update to the Boyle Heights Community Plan was in 1998.

Last week at the Planning and Zoning Commission (PLUM) meeting, city planner Andy Pasillas emphasized prioritizing development along historic business and transit corridors in Boyle Heights, such as 1st Street, Olympic Boulevard and Cesar Chavez Avenue, “as a strategy to discourage the displacement of existing communities. “

City Council initially approved the community plan modification last December, but the amendments requested by De León required further approval.

In January, the City Planning Commission recommended an updated modification to the hybrid industrial zoning plan on the west end of Boyle Heights to provide a mix of new residential and non-residential incentives, such as legacy small businesses.

The latest update encourages developers to build in proposed zones along the Los Angeles River. The plan will also enable the relocation of existing small businesses to the new development area to further protect the area’s culture and identity. The Boyle Heights Community Plan already includes policies to support street vending and legalizes corner stores, creating avenues for entrepreneurship in Boyle Heights.

The plan update is projected to add 38,000 new residents, 14,000 apartments and create 12,000 jobs by 2040, according to a presentation last week by the city’s planning department.

The plan implements new regulations for affordable housing developments in Boyle Heights and mandates affordable housing for extremely low-income residents. To better serve the local community, new developments will also place a greater emphasis on apartments with two or more bedrooms.

Soil sampling will also be conducted throughout Boyle Heights to address long-standing environmental stressors in the area.

In a December 2023 letter to the larger City Council and the PLUM committee, De León wrote that he supports developments related to the plan, which has revitalized small businesses, expanded affordable housing and resources to support youth development. The councilor also suggested an investigation into the lack of parking infrastructure in the area, which does not meet the “unrelenting demand for parking spaces.”

The plan, which has been a multi-year collaborative effort with input from community stakeholders, will now enter a “form and legality” process during which its zoning provisions will be reviewed and refined by the City Attorney’s Office to streamline implementation, as well as incorporate any action items from Council Urban.

A spokesman for the city planning department said the plan is expected to come into force in the second half of 2025.