L.A. has to rezone for 250,000 more homes, Burbank Airport fights high-speed rail, and more

Late last year, the City of Los Angeles adopted a new plan which aimed to build 500,000 new homes by 2029.  That initiative was thrown into a disarray earlier this week by state officials.

"Yesterday, Los Angeles City Planning was made aware by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) that the State would like to see a few clarifying amendments reflected to the City of Los Angeles’s recently adopted 2021-2029 Housing Element, or the Plan to House LA," the Planning Department announced on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the city must now rezone to accommodate an additional 250,000 units by October 2022, a deadline which could be difficult to meet. Failure to gain certification for the housing element could cut Los Angeles off from billions in affordable housing grants.

A Netflix-leased office campus in Hollywood is trading hands, Newmark announced this week.

The roughly 75,000-square-foot Hollywood Media Campus, located at 1350 N. Western Avenue, was sold for $93 million by Gemdale USA Corp. to The Georgetown Company, a New York-based real estate investment firm.

“The Hollywood Media campus offered the ideal combination of stable income from existing tenancy coupled with the growth potential from the development of the adjacent parcel,” said Kevin Shannon of Newmark in a statement. “The new ownership will have a variety of options for the site ranging from by-right development to pursuing a zoning change to increase density.”

Here's what we're reading this week:

Downtown LA’s Secret Weapon "What if, during the next phase of downtown development, as hybrid work makes traditional office strategies a thing of the past, such residential growth — not commercial — is what matters?" (Commercial Observer)

LA’s First Museum Dedicated to Mexican Food Opens Downtown "LA Plaza Cocina debuts with an exhibit dedicated to corn, Mexico’s gift to the world" (Eater LA)

Assemblymember Phil Ting Reintroduces Bill to Decriminalize Jaywalking "Citing statistics that show that jaywalking laws in California are mostly used to cite Black and brown people in California, Assemblymember Phil Ting introduced a new bill, A.B. 2147, to end the practice of stopping and citing pedestrians that pose no danger to themselves or others when they cross a street." (Streetsblog CA)

Interest in district-subsidized teacher housing in California intensifies "The report’s conclusion: Half of the 151,500 acres owned by California school districts are potentially developable; those sites are located on 7,068 properties; 61% are located where entry-level teachers face challenges affording housing. And 1 in 5 properties are particularly suited for housing, after weighing employee income and the sites’ zoning and other assets." (EdSource)

Virgin Hyperloop switches focus from passengers to cargo as it lays off half its staff "Virgin Hyperloop, formerly known as Hyperloop One, has achieved significant milestones, including the first ever test-run with human passengers. But, like many companies trying to bring the experimental technology to fruition, it’s also struggled with attracting funding and talent, and meeting deadlines. In 2017, company execs told The Verge they expect to see 'working hyperloops around the world... by 2020.' That date was later pushed to 2021. There are currently no working hyperloops in action." (The Verge)

Hollywood Burbank Airport files environmental lawsuit against California’s bullet train "The suit alleges that the rail authority’s plans for tracks and an underground station near the airport could affect its operations and safety. It asks the state agency to reformulate its designs with a new environmental impact report that it would circulate for public comment." (LA Times)

UCLA advocates for campus station on Metro’s proposed Sepulveda rail line "For Metro to meet connectivity as well as equity, diversity and inclusion objectives, UCLA also strongly believes the Sepulveda line must connect directly with the Purple Line station in Westwood Village to make it easier for people in the eastern-most part of the county to get to and from UCLA." (UCLA)