Dear Neighbors,
Before any decision is made regarding a proposed development at 3123 Livonia Avenue, we would like to make a case for the legacy of SORO tenant residents’ style of collaborative living that has existed at the property since 1941, when bungalow garden developments were popular but since became the target of luxury urban density. We urge you to at least walk by and peek over the fence, and perhaps take a stroll through the gate with proper social distance to get a feel for how this space has served our neighborhood.
Residents have not only made homes here, but put work into its shared, open spaces to enhance the lives of the broader community despite the many challenges they face as tenants. They have been residents in good standing here for between 7 and 20 years. These are contributing members of the community, including school teachers, those who work at cultural institutions in the area, and board members of SORO Neighborhood Council.
Community projects initiated by tenants at the property and shared with residents in the surrounding neighborhood include:
Free plants hub
Language justice/language learners
Noise-pollution-free outdoor cinema
Folk music and dance workshops
Herbs grown for women’s health and postpartum doula clients
LA Seed library membership, Venice hub attendee
Tenants rights meetings and workshop
Actors group
Mushroom cooperative
Pottery workshop
Acroyoga jam
Painting residency
Natural dye workshop
Covid mutual aid/victory gardening
Composting on site for 15 years
These projects have nurtured an intimate connection to both the homes and natural habitats of this corner of South Robertson. Any “replacement gardening space” does not account for the care and sweat equity involved in the water-wise lawn-conversion started here in 2013, which slowly grew into a drought tolerant ecosystem that now hosts a diversity of plants, animals including birds and butterflies (swallowtails, mourning cloaks, painted ladies, monarchs, etc), fungal and microbial communities, and neighborhood connections. These have collectively built soil and habitat that must be felt to be comprehended. When these spaces are excavated for the footprint of a much larger building, the relationships will be broken and the living members erased.
Left Livonia Garden 2013; Right Livonia Garden 2020
Additionally, we should maintain and invest in humane environments that foster connection and access for working class tenants to remain in their communities without exposing them to increased risk vectors - outdoor spaces are more critical than ever as we have seen since the pandemic. One of the biggest physical assets of the property for the neighborhood besides the garden, is the shelter and shade of a tree with a canopy reaching to 4 stories, shared by neighbors at 3131. Trees of this size are irreplaceable for their ecological value. From an aerial view, one can see that this tree is one of very few of this size in Zone 7 of South Robertson, a relatively densely populated zone close to the 10 freeway, with many apartment buildings along narrow side streets intersecting with National Blvd.
Trees of this size mitigate air pollution and the “urban heat island” effect as well as provide habitat to animals while sinking precious rain water. A large tree such as those at the property can release over 40,000 gallons of water per year into the atmosphere, a boon vs urban heat and chronic California drought, via a process called evapotranspiration. Any proposed underground construction for parking will most certainly destroy this tree by the roots, even if done carefully. We believe it is a mistake to assume that planting many young trees compares to the benefit of preserving those giants that shelter us, and we propose that both are necessary to meet LA’s Urban Ecosystems and Resilience targets established in 2019. The first of these is to “increase tree canopy in areas of greatest need by at least 50% by 2028.” Zone 7 is absolutely an area of greatest need in SORO.
Although adjacent, SORO is distinct in character from Culver City, and residents chose to take up residence here for that reason. We believe tenants should not be displaced from their homes due to gentrification pressures from the surrounding neighborhoods. If this property is destroyed to build density on this small block of South Livonia, the single family home on one side will be sandwiched between 3-story and 5-story apartment buildings, and the rest of the block of diverse renters will likely soon be displaced as well. Working class renters will face the pressures of construction, lack of parking, and the threat of displacement as real estate investors see an opportunity to replace affordable homes with market-rate apartments and condominiums.
Tenant community members are not replaceable or exchangeable, and they deserve the same quality of life as any property owners. This is not being offered by the proposed developments we see in today’s market and the relocation fees do not account for increased rent that will bar displaced Livonia tenants from property of the quality they have contributed to in their years of residence. In fact, we don’t believe the current owner has any demonstrated care for the current residents on our block, made evident by their destruction of part of the property next to the sidewalk shortly after tenants organized a tenants association. On February 5, 2019, the landlord now presenting the project for Neighborhood Council’s recommendation to the city, hired a company to drill into the front of our driveway, leaving slabs of broken concrete at odd angles for 3 of the 4 units to drive over in order to access our parking, and left this unsightly mess for the whole neighborhood to see until it was reported to HCID and thus fixed over a month later.
We do not recommend any project that will displace tenants and their way of living at 3123 Livonia. We have responsibility towards those most vulnerable to stop the domino effect on our neighborhood by asserting rights of those who live and struggle here now.
Please join us and other community members who have signed our petition at www.change.org/savelivonians to protect current long term SORO community members.