Councilmember Huizar Works to Ensure City Budget Funds Downtown

Community Plans, Homeless Services, Fire Station

Councilmember Jos Huizar successfully included Downtown priorities in the final City budget, including funding for an updated Downtown Community Plan, cleaner streets and park operations in Skid Row and critical personnel for Fire Station # 9. The Budget was signed last week by Mayor Villaraigosa. The budget contained funding to update Downtown Community Plans, which have not been updated for the last decade despite tremendous growth and change in the area. Councilmember Huizar has called for the planning effort to synchronize the Central City and Central City North plans, which have been separate since they were established in the 1960s. By combining these two plans, the Councilmember seeks to ensure a more integrated vision and better connectivity among Downtowns unique neighborhoods. The Citys initial budget proposal failed to provide money for San Julian Park, which serves hundreds of homeless residents daily in Skid Row. After a month of budget hearings and heavy lobbying by Councilmember Huizar, $150,000 in funding for the park was added in an 11th-hour amendment. In addition, a line-item allocation of $1.2 million will maintain Operation Healthy Streets, a successful street cleaning program in Skid Row. Councilmember Huizar also worked with the Los Angeles Fire Department to provide additional personnel and resources to support Fire Station #9, which is the busiest fire station in the City and, by some accounts, the nation.

In times when budget cuts are still the norm, I wanted to ensure that Downtown Los Angeles received its fair share, said Councilmember Huizar. With its importance to our local economy, the tens of thousands of residents who call it home and those who depend on its social services, it is critical that funding for Downtown services, planning and initiatives reflect the areas need and its critical importance to the entire City. Thank you to all of our partners for helping make sure our Citys budget recognizes, funds and supports Downtown priorities. Outreach for the two Downtown Community Plans expected to begin this summer will be done in conjunction with one another, while also informing the overhaul of the Downtown Zoning Code. Updated plans and a new zoning code will better reflect the dynamic changes seen in Downtown in recent years. They will also set the stage for years of continued economic growth, as envisioned, for example, in Councilmember Huizars efforts to facilitate the reuse of existing and historic commercial and industrial buildings. San Julian Park, which had been under the jurisdiction of the state-funded Community Redevelopment Agency [CRA] until the agencys dissolution, is operated by the non-profit SRO Housing Corporation.

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