I’m not a big fan of TV news, but I was impressed by this report from CBS. The title, Priced Out, says it all. Tenants are being displaced because real estate investors are buying multifamily buildings and jacking up the prices so they can cash in. This means working people are being forced out of their homes. The idea that we can build our way out of this crisis is ludicrous. Yes, we need to build housing, but the people who argue that high housing prices are simply the result of short supply don’t know what they’re talking about. According to the CBS report, median rent in LA increased 84% from 2010 to 2018. This is a direct result of a massive expansion in real estate speculation, and the impacts on LA households have been devastating. Click on the link to view the video.
The Horizon and the Skyline 
What special interests developers don’t want you to know about City Terrace
Real Estate Media will tell you there is the lack of affordable homes but won’t give details as to why. Also, they avoid telling you where you can find them.
Los Angeles City
FACT: The minimum buildable requirement for a single family home zoned R-1 in the City of
Los Angeles is 5000 square feet per unit.
Do the math: At the average cost of construction approximately $250.00 per square foot =
$1,250,000.00 + the cost of land acquisition.
Versus City Terrace
FACT: The minimum buildable requirements for a single family home zoned R-1 in City
Terrace, located in the County of Los Angeles, is only 800 square feet per unit.
Do the math: At the average cost of construction, approximately $250.00 per square foot =
$200,000.00 + the cost of land acquisition, approximately $150,000.00 to
$300,000.00 average = $500,00.00 approximately.
NOTE: The zoning regulations for a single family home zoned R-1 in City Terrace is less than
1/5th the minimum buildable requirement of Los Angeles City! This does not mean
you can’t build a larger house, it only means that you are not forced to build a larger
home if you can’t afford to do so!
NOTE: THIS IS TRULY THE LAST NEIGHBORHOOD ADJACENT TO THE
METROPOLITAN DOWNTOWN CIVIC ENTER TYPE HOUSING AREA WHICH
PEOPLE CAN STILL AFFORD TO PURCHASE.
FACT: Within zip code area 90063 alone, City Terrace and East Los Angeles, there are over
200 vacant parcels which have an address and still many more which do not have
addresses! The obvious question is, why don’t more people know about this?
Since 1969, Special Interest Developers have had ongoing relations with the City Planning Department of Los Angeles. Together, they worked diligently to redirect real estate potential away from the working class. Instead of evenly spreading density and new construction (wealth) over the entire city and county areas, there are high concentrations of multi-level housing units, which in turn cause unbearable traffic conditions while creating neglectful conditions in what are now considered marginal areas.
Meanwhile, there is an over abundance of vacant parcels owned by small mom and pop property owners who have paid taxes, upkeep and maintenance for many years without being able to realize the fruits their labor!
Historically, minority property owners have had to endure these carefully planned recessionary conditions, up to and including the carefully crafted strategy of turning minority tenants against minority property owners. In the midst of controversy, homebuyers have been made to feel uncomfortable and thus flee where special interests developers want them to purchase = dirty politics, dirty business.
On a positive note, Special Interest Developers can’t compete with the responsible and common sense County Planning Department has for the hidden community of City Terrace.
Not known by many, the community can boast of spectacular city and mountain views! This hillside community was zoned responsibly for single family homes and down below, a mildly higher concentration of zoning for duplexes, truly the last neighborhood type housing setting.
To those who say that it will take years for City Terrace to have a more pleasant neighborhood appeal … I say that it is many times easier to address the issue of neighborhood aesthetics, than it is to reverse the negative consequences associated with high density construction. Furthermore, City Terrace can also boast about the outstanding services of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, which unlike the City of Los Angeles, have not reduced their police officers to mere pencil pushers.
City Terrace is not for the individual who succumbs to a divisive methodology. This is a community which has been progressing steadily and by those who truly embrace the concept of diversity, equality, unity and who do not see improving our nation’s underserved communities as an inconvenience!
I welcome you to the hills of City Terrace. Mi casa es su casa!
Jesus Gonzalez Franco