Letters to the Editor: Ending single-family zoning will wipe out what makes L.A. unique

To the editor: Your editorial board shows its unwavering commitment to a strain of progressive politics best described as, “If I can’t have it, nobody can.” It’s a punitive form of social justice dressed up as enlightened policy. (“L.A. can’t become an affordable, livable city by protecting single-family zoning,” editorial, June 17)

Abolishing single-family zoning would wipe out the neighborhoods that give Los Angeles its unique character and would turn L.A. into a third-rate (and ultimately unsuccessful) version of the cities that feature defined centers, high-rise development and a concentrated populace served by long-established, comprehensive public transit.

For better or worse, Los Angeles is a sprawling, oddly beguiling metropolis characterized by establishments shaped like donuts, a Hollywood sign designed to promote real estate, and an array of residential neighborhoods where “Spanish” houses stand shoulder to shoulder with Tudor-, Norman- and Disney-like cottages. Plus McMansions.

We need housing, for sure. Start by redeveloping the underutilized strip malls, shopping centers, commercial properties and light-industrial sites. If that still doesn’t do the job, come back and we’ll talk again.

Shelley Wagers, Los Angeles

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To the editor: A few years ago, a family bought a house three doors down from ours. But they didn’t like the interior, so for half a year before they moved in, there was always dirt in the street. The best part was when a five-inch construction nail destroyed one of our tires.

Imagine how much more fun it will be when we get rid of single-family zoning and there is a new multi-unit construction project next door.

It will take a year. It won’t do us any good, but we’ll be happy that other people are using up the street parking. And when the work is finished, the people on the fourth floor will have a pleasant view into our windows.

I’ve lived in Burbank, Northridge, Pacoima, Sepulveda, West L.A., Redondo Beach, Lakewood and Orange. I look back fondly on the days when people reached through our apartment screens to steal things, when car alarms went off at 2 a.m., and when all the street parking was used up and I had to circle the neighborhood in the dark looking for a place to park after work.

Why did we ever move?

Lew Livingston, Orange