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LA FORWARD INSTITUTE V. CITY OF LOS ANGELES

Housing Justice

Public Counsel > Litigation > LA Forward Institute v. City of Los Angeles
OverviewCase Developments and Key DocumentsClientsLegal TeamPressFAQs


STOPPING THE CITY OF LA’S OBSTRUCTION AND DISCRIMINATION TO BUILD AFFORDABLE
HOUSING

The Venice Dell Community project is a 100% affordable and permanent supportive
housing development that will create more than 140 affordable units dedicated to
unhoused individuals, low-income artists, and other lower-income individuals and
families. The project will be built on a city-owned site currently used as a
surface parking lot in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles. It is part of the
City of LA’s plan to develop its land for affordable housing. 

The project is being developed by experienced nonprofit affordable housing
developers Venice Community Housing and Hollywood Community Housing Corporation
and has been in the works since 2016. The project was vetted and considered at
18 public meetings between 2017 and 2022, and the City and the developers
entered into a binding Disposition and Development Agreement in June 2022. 

However, since January 2023, at the insistence of Councilmember Traci Park and
LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, who both oppose the project, the City has
been intentionally obstructing the remaining approvals to get the project across
the finish line. These delays are undermining the City’s own housing policies
and contributing to the city’s homelessness and affordability crisis.

On July 10, 2024, LA Forward Institute, along with taxpayers Sylvia Aroth and
Professor Gary Williams, and unhoused individual Kathy Coates, filed a fair
housing lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for obstructing the Venice Dell
Community affordable and permanent supportive housing project. The lawsuit
demands that the city proceed with all remaining approvals for Venice Dell and
cease obstructing and delaying supportive and affordable housing projects. It
also alleges these actions discriminate against people of color and individuals
with disabilities. The plaintiffs are represented by Public Counsel, Western
Center on Law & Poverty, and Strumwasser & Woocher LLP.

COURT

Superior Court of The State Of California, County Of Los Angeles – Central
District

STATUS

Filed

CASE NO.

24STCV17156

FILED

07/11/2024

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CASE DEVELOPMENTS AND KEY DOCUMENTS

Filing


COMPLAINT FILED

07/10/2024

LA Forward Institute and three Los Angeles residents filed a fair housing
lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for obstructing the Venice Dell
Community affordable and permanent supportive housing project. The lawsuit
demands that the city proceed with all remaining approvals for Venice Dell and
cease obstructing and delaying supportive and affordable housing projects. It
also alleges that these actions discriminate against people of color and
individuals with disabilities.

DOCUMENTS

 * Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief

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CLIENTS

LA FORWARD INSTITUTE

LA Forward Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity whose mission is to make
local government accessible and to advance accountability through civic
education, leadership development, and coalition building. It is dedicated to a
vision of Los Angeles County as a fair, flourishing region where our public
institutions ensure that all people can live in dignity and reach their fullest
potential as human beings. It advances racial and economic justice across a wide
range of issues including housing, climate, transportation, unarmed crisis
response, and good government.

INDIVIDUAL PLAINTIFFS

 * Kathleen Coates and her partner became unhoused in 2023 when they became
   unable to afford the monthly rent of their previous apartment in Mar Vista.
   They currently live in a motor home, which they often park in and around
   Venice. Ms. Coates has a mental health condition that substantially impacts
   major life activities, including working. Her partner receives Social
   Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
   
   Ms. Coates and her partner desire to live in supportive housing in Venice, so
   that they can both be close to where they work and where they receive medical
   care. Since becoming unhoused in 2023, Ms. Coates has been unable to find
   stable affordable or supportive housing in Venice or its vicinity. Ms. Coates
   has been injured and will continue to be injured by the City’s efforts to
   obstruct and delay the construction of the Project’s supportive and
   affordable housing, as Ms. Coates and her partner are chronically homeless,
   and would gladly live in supportive housing at Venice Dell if offered a
   residence there.
   

 * Sylvia Aroth has lived in Venice for over 50 years. She is a current
   homeowner in Venice who recognizes the need for affordable housing in Venice
   and supports the construction of Venice Dell. Ms. Aroth brings suit as a Los
   Angeles taxpayer.
   

 * Gary Williams is Professor of Law and Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. Chair in Civil
   Rights at Loyola Law School. Professor Williams grew up in Venice and only
   left to attend Stanford Law School. Two of his sisters still live in the
   ever-shrinking African-American neighborhood within Venice. Professor
   Williams brings suit as a Los Angeles taxpayer.



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LEGAL TEAM


PUBLIC COUNSEL

Public Counsel is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to advancing
civil rights and racial and economic justice, as well as to amplifying the power
of our clients through comprehensive legal advocacy. Founded on and strengthened
by a pro bono legal service model, our staff and volunteers seek justice through
direct legal services, promote healthy and resilient communities through
education and outreach, and support community-led efforts to transform unjust
systems through litigation and policy advocacy in and beyond Los Angeles.

Case Attorneys:

 * Faizah Malik, Managing Attorney
 * Mark Rosenbaum, Senior Special Counsel for Strategic Litigation




WESTERN CENTER ON LAW & POVERTY

Formed in 1967, Western Center on Law & Poverty fights for justice and
system-wide change to secure housing, health care, racial justice, and a strong
safety net for Californians with low incomes. Western Center attains real-world,
policy solutions for clients through litigation, legislative and policy
advocacy, and technical assistance and legal support for the state’s legal aid
programs. Western Center is the oldest and largest legal services support center
in the state of California.


STRUMWASSER & WOOCHER LLP

Since 1991, Strumwasser & Woocher LLP has represented and advised public sector
clients, nonprofit organizations, and individuals across California on complex
and high-profile legal issues involving local and state government, elections,
education, land use, economic regulation, environmental protection, consumer
protection, and workers’ rights. We are known for our successful trial and
appellate litigation of landmark public policy and public-interest matters. Over
the last thirty years, we have earned a wide array of victories in path-making
litigation—including more than 50 published appellate decisions—and have advised
clients on many of the most compelling issues facing Californians.



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PRESS

 * Press Release—LA Forward Institute and Community Members Sue Los Angeles Over
   Venice Dell Delays, 7/11/2024



Media Coverage:

 * LA Times, L.A. officials continue to stall homeless housing project in
   Venice, new lawsuit claims, 7/12/24
 * KTLA, L.A. officials accused of delaying affordable housing project in
   Venice, 7/12/24
 * AirTalk, Lawsuit alleges intentional stalling of Venice housing development
   by elected officials, 7/12/24
 * MyNewsLA, Venice Residents Sue City Over Alleged Attempts to Stop Housing
   Project, 7/11/24
 * KNX News, L.A. sued over ‘illegal efforts’ to impede housing project in
   Venice, 7/11/24
 * Daily News, LA is sued for slowing a project for homeless and poor on Venice
   Canal, 7/11/24
 * LA Public Press, LA sued for stalling construction of supportive housing in
   Venice, 7/11/24
 * LAist, New lawsuit aims to stop LA leaders from further ‘thwarting’ Venice
   homeless housing project, 7/11/24

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FAQS

 * What is the Venice Dell Community project?
   * Venice Dell is a 100% affordable and permanent supportive housing project
     that will create more than 140 affordable units dedicated to unhoused
     individuals, low-income artists, and other lower-income individuals and
     families. It has been in the works since 2016.
 * What is the purpose of the Venice Dell project?
   * The Venice Dell community is being built in response to the Los Angeles
     housing crisis. More than 50% of Angelenos who rent are rent-burdened, and
     the median home price has reached nearly $1 million.
 * Where will the Venice Dell project be built?
   * The project will replace a city-owned parking lot at 200 North Venice
     Boulevard. A new public parking garage will be constructed to make up for
     the lost parking spaces.
 * Has the project been fully approved?
   * Yes, the project is fully entitled and the City and the Developers executed
     a binding Disposition and Development Agreement on June 30, 2022. There are
     a few approvals remaining that the City has been intentionally obstructing
     since January 2023. 
 * Why is there a lawsuit?
   * While Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council have publicly supported and
     adopted policies to expedite housing solutions citywide to address the
     City’s devastating housing and homelessness crisis, as demanded by LA
     voters, some of the same elected officials are now covertly thwarting those
     efforts. Since taking office in 2023, Councilmember Traci Park and City
     Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, acting on animus against the project and the
     chronically homeless, disabled, and Black and Brown Angelenos it would
     house, have pursued a number of backdoor strategies to thwart and obstruct
     Venice Dell. These efforts not only undermine the City’s own stated
     policies, but they violate state law, including the state Fair Employment
     and Housing Act (FEHA), state statutes prohibiting discrimination against
     affordable housing, the Los Angeles City Charter, the Los Angeles City
     Administrative Code, and the Equal Protection Guarantee in the California
     Constitution.
 * What is the city doing to delay the project?
   * The City is unlawfully obstructing Venice Dell in violation of state law.
     This includes city officials intentionally withholding approvals and
     agreements that are necessary before the project can break ground, and
     interfering with Coastal Commission review. These actions are denying
     housing opportunities to low-income individuals and people experiencing
     homelessness, who are disproportionately Black, Brown, and have
     disabilities. 
 * What happened with the lawsuits against this project?
   * They were recently rejected. There have been two main legal challenges to
     the Project, both brought by the same NIMBY group in 2022: (1) a lawsuit
     challenging the Project’s CEQA exemptions, and (2) a lawsuit challenging
     the City’s approval of the development agreement.  
   * Both lawsuits failed. On May 21, 2024, Judge Fruin denied the CEQA writ
     petition, upholding the Project’s land use approvals. On June 4, 2024,
     Judge Chalfant denied the challenge to the development agreement.
 * Who is responsible for building the project?
   * Venice Community Housing and Hollywood Community Housing are the developers
     of the project. The City selected them through a competitive bidding
     process, pursuant to the City’s desires to redevelop the city-owned parking
     lot. 
 * When did the project start?
   * The City put out a request for proposal in 2016 and signed a development
     agreement with the developers in June 2022. The remaining project approvals
     have been delayed for two years now, delaying the construction of sorely
     needed affordable housing on the Westside. 
 * What is the goal of the lawsuit?
   * The goal of the suit is to get the City to take the last few remaining
     steps to allow the project to break ground and open its doors to unhoused
     and low-income households who have been waiting for this housing.
 * Who filed the lawsuit?
   * LA Forward Institute along with three individuals who represent different
     sectors of the Venice community.

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