March 2008
Is Del Rey waking up a bit? I think so. Increasing attendance and newfaces at DRH&NA Board meetings and at various Del Rey Neighborhood Council functions make me optimistic that we are becoming a more unified, well informed, and proactive community. There is more diversity in the ranks of Del Rey activists; we increasingly reflect the broad spectrum of heritages, genders, ages, and lifestyles that make our enclave such a wonderful Westside “salad bowl”.
The time is right for this infusion of new participants, of new energy. The downturn from the unsustainable real estate juggernaut of the past decade may last a while. In coming months and years the conditions in our neighborhoods may have to rely less on ballooning home equity or the related swelling of state and local tax revenues, and more on assertive Del Rey voices. We will likely have to fight harder to preserve City and County budgets and services that sustain the livability of our little corner of fiscally challenged Los Angeles.
Ironically, the same economic hiccup makes our own streets, and our borders on several sides more vulnerable to overwrought development, as cities and the County desperately chase tax dollars and other income streams. We face what many feel are excessively large, tall, or dense developments on Del Rey-adjacent land in Marina del Rey and Culver City, plus at least one significant up-zoning request in the heart of our own community. It has never been more important for our residents to study these issues, develop informed opinions, and deliver them with conviction to us, to DRNC, and to the governmental bodies who will decide the projects’ fates...but may not have to live next to them!
Silence could be
a very costly
option.
Chris Nevil