The Miracle Mile neighborhood, which has been working for the last few years to implement an Historic Preservation Overlay Zone to protect its historic character, has recently completed a draft of the Preservation Plan that will govern the HPOZ…and the City of Los Angeles has scheduled two events for the public to review and comment on the Plan. It will cover the area roughly bounded by Wilshire Boulevard to the North; San Vicente Boulevard to the South; La Brea Avenue to the East; and Fairfax Avenue to the West.
The first event will be an “Initial Informational Open House,” at which the public can learn about the draft Preservation Plan, review its details and ask questions. The session will take place tomorrow evening, Thursday, August 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Temple Beth Am, 1039 S. La Cienega Blvd.
On Saturday, August 20, a second Informational Open House will be held, this time at the Candela taco bar, 831 S. La Brea Ave., from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. This session will be followed at the same location, at 11:00 a.m., by a public hearing, at which city officials will speak briefly about the Plan and hear public comments. Written comments may also be submitted until August 29.
Acceptance of the Preservation Plan, which – according to Mark Zecca, chairman of the Miracle Mile Residential Association’s HPOZ Committee – was completed by a committee of Miracle Mile residents and property owners under the supervision of the Office of Historic Resources, is one of the final steps before the HPOZ can be approved and implemented. The Plan provides guidelines for the renovation, remodeling, and upkeep of properties in the HPOZ area, and will be used by the HPOZ’s future review board and city officials in administering the HPOZ.
In a recent letter to neighbors, which can be found on the MMRA’s HPOZ page, Zecca thanked supporters who donated to the neighborhood’s historic resources survey, which documented each property in the neighborhood and determined its contribution to the area’s historic context. “Remarkably, 80 percent of the single and multi-family structures within the boundaries of our HPOZ were deemed as either “contributors” or “altered contributors,” Zecca wrote. “Our charming neighborhood is very much intact from its beginnings in the mid-1920s.”
To find out more about how the HPOZ will work, Zecca invites people to view a video he made with Robby O’Donnell, a founder of the Wilshire Park HPOZ, who served as a consultant in forming the Miracle Mile HPOZ. Zecca also says in his letter that the HPOZ “is on track for adoption before March 2017,” when a current Interim Control Ordinance will expire.
“Implementing our HPOZ will finally place control of our community back in the hands of the residents,” said Zecca. “It will not only thwart mansionization, it will also stop the demolition of our vintage duplexes and multi-family buildings to construct super-sized luxury rate developments. Most importantly, the Miracle Mile HPOZ will protect and preserve our lovely community for many generations to come.”
More information on Miracle Mile’s draft Preservation Plan, as well as the neighborhood’s overall HPOZ effort, can be found at https://miraclemilela.
