As Curbed reported Monday, supporters of the anti-development Neighborhood Integrity Initiative raised more than $750,000 between the beginning of April and the end of June. As reported by the Real Deal, that’s only a little more than the amount pulled in by a new coalition that’s emerged to oppose the ballot measure.
The group, called the Coalition to Protect LA Neighborhoods and Jobs, raised $722,335 during the same period, according to a campaign financial disclosure statement filed with the city's ethics commission. Since the beginning of the year, the coalition has brought in more than $807,000. That’s less than the $1.06 million raised in the same time period by the Coalition to Preserve LA, the group behind the ballot measure. But it’s still a fair-sized chunk of change. The CPLANJ has spent almost $428,000 since the beginning of the year and now has more than $405,000 on hand.
Like the CPLA, the CPLANJ seems to be relying quite heavily on a single donor. So far, more than half of the money the group has raised ($511,000, to be exact) comes from the CH Palladium company. That’s the developer behind the controversial Palladium residential towers going up next to the offices of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The latter organization has donated more than $1 million to the CPLA since January. It is the primary financial backer of the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative.
Lest you think the future growth of the city hinges on the outcome of a war between neighbors, a few other deep pocketed donors have also lent their support to the CPLANJ. International developer Westfield kicked in $100,000, while the always openhanded Eli Broad contributed $25,000. Several chambers of commerce joined in with sizable donations, along with Lowe Enterprises and the Planning Architecture Engineering Alliance.
And while supporters of the Neighborhood Integrity have added an impressive list of celebrities to their ranks, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Kirsten Dunst, the CPLANJ has assembled quite a team of opponents to the ballot measure. So far, the group’s stance against the initiative has been endorsed by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, Skid Row Housing Trust, the LA chapter of the American Institute of Architects, six members of the city council, and quite a few other organizations and individuals.
It’s a grouping you don’t see very often, but the stringently anti-development policies proposed by the ballot measure—including a two year moratorium on most major building projects—has united a diverse opposition. And now, it seems, they’re starting to get some money together.
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