Local News in Brief : Committee Endorsement

The advisory committee for Hollywood’s redevelopment project has endorsed a major restructuring proposal that would tip the panel’s balance of power toward residential interests.

By an 8-7 vote, with one abstention, the Hollywood Project Area Committee recommended that Los Angeles officials strip the business community of four of its nine seats on the 25-member panel.

The four business representatives would be replaced by residential renters who live within the 1,100-acre redevelopment area, a group that many contend has too few representatives on the committee. Statistics show that 94% of residents in the project area are renters.

The vote marks a symbolic victory for opponents of the redevelopment project who have long complained that the committee, which makes recommendations to the Los Angeles City Council and the Community Redevelopment Agency, has been dominated by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and several large commercial interests.

But the restructuring proposal faces stiff opposition at City Hall, where it needs City Council approval to take effect. A CRA official said that the agency opposes the proposal, and Hollywood-area Councilman Michael Woo said he will not support it.