The Los Angeles Department of City Planning launched DTLA 2040 in 2016 – it’s a multi-year update of the Central City and Central City East Community Plans that will determine both land use and development rules for Downtown Los Angeles. The plan itself is still months away from publication, but a draft document that was released last month gave a glimpse of what DTLA 2040 will entail. With an expected increase of 125,000 new residents and 55,000 new jobs in the next 20 years, The Downtown Community Plan accounts for that expected growth by providing capacity for up to 176,000 new residents and 86,000 new jobs. The draft document provides a glimpse of what zoning will look like throughout Downtown LA as well. 

Last month, Councilmember Jose Huizar’s motion to hire homeless and formerly homeless individuals for city sanitation and cleanup crews was approved. This motion was in response to downtown’s ongoing issues with illegal dumping. The proposal called for $150K to be used in order to employ homeless and formerly homeless individuals to provide trash and bulky-item cleanup services 2 days per week for 5 hours per day through a partnership with Chrysalis. These crews have not yet been deployed, but we hope to see them within the next several weeks. Additional information can be found in this press release. 

LA-HOP is designed to assist people experiencing homelessness in LA County with outreach services. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority uses information received to dispatch a homeless service outreach team to the area being requested. Visit LA-HOP’s website to learn when you should fill out a request, find out what outreach workers do, and get more information regarding homelessness and outreach services in Los Angeles County. While you’ll always be able to contact the BID for these types of concerns specifically in the LA Fashion District, we encourage you to begin requesting outreach for homeless individuals that you regularly encounter both in downtown and in your respective neighborhoods. 

For the past couple of years or so, we’ve watched our unhoused population expand throughout our city with encampments spreading to the city's sidewalks, off-ramps, freeway embankments, and beyond. Now, two legal actions are underway that challenge the city’s lawsuit settlements and court decisions that many believe have caused this crisis. For more information about the legal actions be taken in Boise and right here in Los Angeles, check out the Los Angeles Daily News piece. 

Illegal dumping continues to be an issue in the district. The BID is working closely with both City of LA Sanitation and NASA to address this issue and collectively work to mitigate these issues. In June, LA City Council approved Councilmember Huizar’s legislation calling for added resources and enforcement to address illegal dumping and Mayor Garcetti detailed a crackdown on illegal dumping that is subject to a fine up to $1,000 and a 6-month jail sentence. This is a serious issue and we need full cooperation from Fashion District property owners and tenants to help keep our sidewalks, alleys and streets clean and safe.

Last month, the BID worked directly with LA Sanitation to clean up an area of 16 ^th Street that was littered in trash, abandoned shopping carts, and graffiti. Together, they were able to clean the alley and remove all graffiti. 

Despite CMC’s being partially under construction, they’re offering community programming on the plaza 5 days a week. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 11am – 2pm, explore new lunch options with a variety of food trucks. On the go, in a hurry, or don’t feel like standing in line? No problem! You can actually pre-order your lunch and just swing by to pick it up. Plaza seating is available if you need some midday fresh air. From 9am – 2pm on Wednesdays, CMC hosts the Fashion District’s only Farmers Market. This is a great source of farm-fresh produce and local artisanal goods.