Los Angeles may finally get the 6,000 new residential units it wanted around the Metro Expo Line light-rail route.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled in the city’s favor on Dec. 17, allowing plans that call for the development of up to 6,000 new apartments and condos around five of the Expo Line stations, according to City News Service.
“We urgently need more housing and we should put it close to public transit to reduce traffic congestion,” Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer said in a statement after his office won the court case.
The plan has been in the works since the city passed the proposal in 2018, but was stalled after a Westside group sued the city the same year.
The group, called Fix The City, argued that public officials and agencies should assess and repair “overburdened and inadequate infrastructure” across West Los Angeles before allowing increased development around the public transit lines. Fix The City has filed multiple lawsuits seeking to halt individual development projects and city plans since at least 2012.
With the court’s recent ruling, increased residential development will be allowed within half a mile of five Expo Line stations, including the Expo/Bundy Station and the Expo/Sepulveda Station, as well as stops in Westwood, Palms and Culver City. The development is expected in phases and set to be completed by 2035.
A portion of the new residential units will be set aside as affordable for low-income renters, according to Feuer.
[Los Angeles Daily News] — Isabella Farr