I am a Gardena resident deeply rooted and invested in our community and community building in general.  I worked for an affordable housing company for two years and with two for profit affordable housing companies in providing program services to children and families in multiple complexes throughout Los Angeles and South Bay for three years, in conjunction with my 20+ year career in non-profit education and community services support.  I have witnessed firsthand how sustainable affordable housing development can look, and sadly, I am seeing a different picture developing right now, with the Vargas Properties projects underway in unincorporated El Camino Village, immediately adjacent to the Southwest Gardena border.

Both addresses of the approved developments (15101 Crenshaw Blvd. and 15335 Crenshaw Blvd.) have addresses in Gardena, but are technically in El Camino Village, an unincorporated city in LA County, therefore the county is in charge of approving any permits.  Due to this technicality, the developer - Vargas Properties has targeted these lots in order to build with no oversight by a local governing agency (like the City of Gardena or Lawndale, for example).  The County has to sign off once the developer has met the state of CA stipulations as a minimum to qualify for high density bonuses for affordable housing.  What this means is that there is literally no local oversight to approve the plans or be a watchdog for predatory developers creating whatever they want beyond 250 sqft units, 1000+% over what the area is zoned for.   15101 Crenshaw (@Marine) is zoned for THIRTY-SIX (36) residential units.  Vargas Properties is approved for a 7-story, 222 single unit (all units are 250sqft) building, with no parking.  The 2nd project is set for 505 of the same size units in a 9-story building.  In an area that has all 1- and at most 2- story homes immediately adjacent. 

The City of Gardena has already approved (and some have already been built or are in progress) multiple new complexes throughout Gardena under this state ordinance, and you can see a stark difference in the plans of these other developers- because they had to work with our city officials to be approved.  The units are larger, fewer in number, and take the immediate residents and neighborhood into account.  They are 60-120 units, 2-3 or 3-5 stories at most and are even designed with differing heights based on blending in with the adjacent buildings/residences.  They are also located in less congested areas. They all provide parking and community space, including pools, patios, fitness centers, for example.  Many go above the 250 square foot CA state ordinance requirement.   

Keep in mind that only 6% of the units for all these developments, including Vargas Properties, are actually "affordable housing" for very low income tenants.  The rest are basically dorm room style units at $1200-1300.  The set up of these buildings is NOT viable or appropriate for long-term housing.  Their design seems more appropriate for emergency/transitional/temporary housing.  This is a major error by the state of CA in design and an oversight of implementation in unincorporated areas.

The two housing developments on the same busy block of Crenshaw- one at Marine, the other at 154th, have already been approved as mandated by meeting the minimum requirements from the state ordinance.  Without any community stakeholder feedback, with major monetary incentives to the developer, and all with great ease and no intervention by the county who have already stated that they HAVE to approve once all state boxes are checked or they will be in violation of state ordinance. 

This is the loophole that the developer is exploiting-- finding unincorporated cities where there is no local oversight, and only a handful of checkboxes and immediate county approval.  This is an oversight by the state of CA, and is a wrong that needs to be corrected.  We need the voices of the County and City officials to amplify their constituents' concerns to bring attention of this issue to our state reps and the governor of CA so that they can correct it with expediency before more communities suffer at the hands of predatory investors hiding behind the veil of "affordable housing" do-gooders at stake holder meetings, while gas-lighting stakeholders as anti-affordable housing NIMBY locals.

There is a serious and catastrophic problem with affordable housing in the state of CA, and unfortunately this developer is taking advantage of the situation.  He has stated clearly that he is only targeting unincorporated areas so he doesn't have to deal with more requirements.  Make no mistake- this person is not about housing unhoused people or providing affordable housing to anyone.  His website touts creating wealth for homeowners, investors and communities.  There are no homeowners or communities benefitting from his tenement-style housing projects.  It is possible to create humane, safe, healthy, dignified and community oriented affordable housing, and this is not it.

I first learned about these projects just an hour before a meeting to finalize the second project - a meeting where state and county officials summarily dismissed community concerns by pointing the finger at each other.  Based on my understanding of the laws that were created at the state level and are enforced by the County in these unincorporated cities - they have hamstringed themselves.   And the residents in these unincorporated areas, or immediately bordering them, are the unwitting victims of predatory developers who are the only ones who stand to benefit from the development. A development this significant, is taking place without the input and consultation of those who will be most impacted - the immediate community and neighbors, the housing insecure and the unhoused folks who need real housing solutions, not more wasted tax payer dollars lining the pockets of predators/opportunists.  Vargas Properties has projects underway in Lennox and Wiseburn- two more unincorporated cities in LA County.  He is ALSO the board president of the Lennox school district.  This is not coincidence, and it is certainly a major conflict of interest.  Hopefully he'll do better by the Lennox residents who have a fox in their hen house.

The bottom line is that it is critical to have a process that takes community feedback into account and examine the potential impacts on school capacities, infrastructure, traffic, and the overall character of our neighborhood.  We are not opposed to affordable housing - we desperately need it.  However, the proper steps are being bypassed, transforming these projects into predatory investment opportunities rather than what we need: well-planned, community-minded housing developments. 

The lack of community input is not just bad for the neighborhood, but it's against the principles of fair governance. It's time to press for accountability and ensure that any building permits are granted only after all necessary steps have been taken that involve community/stakeholder oversight and feedback, as well as impact reports, not just what is "required" by the state or even the county whose familiarity with local communities is limited due to proximity. 

Since these properties are in an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County in the El Camino Village community, it also appears that the surrounding cities have no say whatsoever- at least per the absence of our governing officials at the table.  We need to bring this to the attention of the City of Gardena immediately.  Whether by annexation of ECV into the local cities, or simply being a voice to advocate for their constituents, we need Gardena to speak up to the state and county on our behalf.

Please sign this petition to demand a halt by L.A. County and State of CA to any and all further approval of building permits on these two developments and to halt any building of the already approved project on Crenshaw & Marine without thorough community stakeholder feedback and comprehensive impact reports.  Allowing a loophole for developers is a bureaucratic problem that needs fixing.  Let's stand together for an informed and well-planned future for our community.  We expect and hope that our officials in the City of Gardena, as well as our neighboring officials in Lawndale, and Hawthorne whose community members are also impacted in this unincorporated area of El Camino Village will do their due diligence to help voice and support our concerns.