Faced with the removal of the parking space to give it additional housing, a group of tenants in the 22-unit apartment building in Koreatown launched a protest by occupying their own parking lot.
The owner of the apartment building on the corner of Fifth Street and Kingsley Drive plans to remove several parking spaces used by long-term tenants and convert them into five affiliated residences. The conversion is based on the blessings of state and municipal officials.
But that doesn’t appease tenants who say keeping parking spaces in Korean towns is more than just a luxury – it’s necessary.
“People can’t find the attractions here after dark…I know there are people who can save them the attractions,” said Faith Jung, a Koreatown resident. “If you can’t, you have to have your tickets ready.”
Under Senate Bill 1211 passed last year, if the owner and property manager remove the spaces, there is no need for local agencies to replace tenants’ parking spaces. According to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, ADU is a secondary smaller home designed to create more affordable housing in high-density areas.
“Many of our multifamily homes have other spaces that are not covered in uncovered, not covered in uncovered housing,” former Senator Nancy Skinner, who wrote the bill, told the General Assembly’s Housing and Community Development Committee last year. “There is an opportunity to use that space with Adus.”
Tenants Tom Skiles, left him, Lauren Seely, Sarah Blethen, Vanessa Lua and Mel Raymond, to the right, sat protesting in the parking lot of their apartment building, a protest that the landlord wanted to convert to Adus.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Still, some residents of the South Korean Town Apartment Building are protesting the proposed ADU building, saying it will remove vital parking spaces rather than underutilizing them.
A group of tenants of the building sat down on a long white plastic table to protest, outdoor chairs occupying some parking spaces. Since North Oak Property Management, the building’s management company, told them that their long-term space will be converted into five new residential units.
“Technically, we found an online license online, and he has lived in the building for more than a decade,” said Megan Thomas Bradner. “In fact, they never formally informed us of our buildings…all they said is, ‘As of today you don’t have parking lots. ‘transparent
Construction is expected to begin on August 25 and end in June 2026, but the protests seem to have delayed that timeline.
According to NBC Report.
Both Hollywood and South Korea towns are notorious for lack of parking and nighttime crime issues, Jung said, which could cause other problems for older tenants who lost designated parking spaces.
Vanessa Lua, another resident of the Kingsley Drive building, said she specifically sought parking when she decided to rent it in the building.
“It’s a little more expensive than a place without parking, but I have to have a location,” Lua said. “It’s for lease, it’s for a contract…you’re always protected by words.”
For seniors or disabled residents in South Korea’s towns, a lack of parking spaces could force them to leave, Jung said.
“If their car isn’t at the door, some grandmothers won’t be able to move around,” Jung said. “We do need more homes, but why do people have to lose the need for new homes?”
A young man is playing football next to a parking lot that is being rode on Adus at 450 S. Normandie. The stop work command stopped the project and indicated that work without proper permission was being performed.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Bradner and other neighbors have seen other nearby parking spaces become construction sites, such as on Normandie Avenue, where parking orders stop the garage conversion to ADU, making parking spaces almost useless, she said.
Building owner Mark Nassab told The Times that the project has been fully compliant with city and state laws since its inception. He said that despite his acknowledging tenant frustration, the need for additional housing in the city justifies the conversion of parking spaces.
“We are in compliance with everything that the law allows us to do, and we can do it according to the law,” Nasab said. “I know tenants, they may think it may be inconvenient for them, but in coagulated areas, cities allow it, they need it, they encourage it,” he said.. ”
None of this helped Los Angeles City Councilman Heather Hutt contacted Los Angeles City Councilman Heather Hutt and sent letters to Los Angeles City Councilman Heather Hutt where he could guide him, and contacted Los Angeles City Councilman Heather Hutt, a group of tenants.
Hurt told the Times in a written statement that she does not support legislation that allows these changes without local input.
“Shacramento decisions were made without local input like the Kingsley 501 project, “The equipment of local governments is designed to work directly with the community.”
Tenants also contact the Los Angeles Tenant Alliance, which advocates for tenant rights and affordable housing.
A command to stop working was posted to stop the garage conversion to Adus in the apartment building of Koreatown S. Normandie 450 S. Normandie.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
“It depends on us [tenants] To enforce mandate, that’s why we have this tenant association to deal with harassment, fight against illegal construction, fight against irregularities, fight against our habitability, and fight against illegal change in terms of our lease agreements. ” Seeley said.
A spokesman for North Oak Property Management said the company has a construction permit approved by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety in April, a $200 monthly credit line for each parking space lost and a “tenant habitability plan” approved in June.
The habitability plans received by the tenant appear to be blank. Tenants also said that a $200 credit would not result in a reduction in long-term contract rents, so rents would increase in the future.
A Los Angeles Department of Housing spokesman said the agency has received three harassment complaints against landlords at the apartment building address and needed a tenant habitability program to reduce the impact of the building.
“Ownership may legally convert parking spaces to ADUs,” a LAHD spokesman said. “However, if the parking space is part of a rental agreement reached by the tenant, it is equivalent to reducing services and as a result, the tenant will reduce rent.”
Nasab said that while the situation may be “frustrated” for tenants, he believes the decision to convert space will lead to an improvement in housing shortages.
“We are working to help the housing shortages in Los Angeles Battle City, we comply with the law, and I hope tenants do the same,” Nasab said. “This will provide more housing. … That’s the country, that’s why they passed the law.”
A group of tenants demanded rent credit compensation in the event of construction ADU, legal compliance, water, electricity and internet services disruptions to reduce utilities and provide safe security assurance to end the protest. If the change is fully passed, some tenants have considered leaving.
“Ultimately, the way the law is now, we kind of just kick the can on the road,” said Mel Raymond, a tenant in the building. “My thought was that my lease was obviously just a piece of paper and didn’t do anything…I think my lease was something to protect me.”
Tenant Tom Skiles, 82, has been protesting a possible conversion to the parking lot.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Tom Skiles, a 30-year-old resident who regularly drives his wife to the hospital, said that despite understanding the plight of homeless people, it is an inappropriate time to lose the guaranteed convenience.
“Look, man, I want to provide people with more affordable housing, we all do … but it’s just landlords trying to make money,” Skiers said. “This is not the time for a big change in my life.”
