Recent [letters to the editor] have suggested racist and exclusionary motives were behind the multiple rejections, by La Cañada’s City Council, of a senior housing project. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Council worked tirelessly over the past three years to come up with a reasonable and sustainable plan that meets the requirements of the state’s mandate that all cities zone sufficient lots to accommodate the required number of low-income units. The directive is not to build units — that’s not generally a city’s function — but instead to determine where they can reasonably be built, and then zone for them.
The Council has thanked a community organization, Together La Cañada, for its efforts assisting in a difficult and protracted process, noting TLC’s input facilitated the cooperation between elected officials and the town’s citizens.
The fact La Cañada has now produced a plan and a rezoning map reflecting these substantial efforts is proof that working together can produce diversity without the disastrous results the senior housing project would have inflicted had the original proposal been adopted. As a result, developers now have a viable framework for building, and the city’s residents can welcome such projects.
Lauren Oakes
La Cañada Flintridge
First published in the September 21 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
