In a decision not well-received by developers or city council members Jose Huizar and Jan Perry, the city's planning department and redevelopment agency announced yesterday that 2,633 acres of downtown land zoned for industry will be preserved, and 261 acres will be opened to residential development. Not as much as developers had hoped for, no. The LA Times reports that Cecilia Estolano, chief of the Community Redevelopment Agency, wants to "protect more than 40,000 blue-collar jobs, preserve land for future industrial uses and keep the focus on downtown neighborhoods that are being redeveloped." Says Estolano: "Economic development has to be more than high-priced condos and cheap retail jobs." Developers, likely touting cities San Francisco and Portland as development success stories, disagreed with the move, as did feisty city council members, who "quickly threatened to ignore the directive and approve exceptions that would continue the expansion of residential projects." Glad everyone is seeing eye to eye.
· L.A. directive limits residential, commercial building [LA Times]
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