City Council to consider “dense development” restrictions in Silver Lake and Echo Park

Council member Mitch O’Farrell submitted two separate motions to discourage “dense” development in the Silver Lake and Echo Park neighborhoods, which fall within his district.

City staff were asked Tuesday to prepare reports on potential zoning and land use strategies to put stricter regulations for new construction in the neighborhoods.

The first motion asked planning staff to recommend ways to ensure future development in Echo Park is in character with its unique historical identity and, Curbed reported. The motion said large commercial development and high-density residential uses are unfit on that basis.

The second motion proposed recommendations that would restrict demolition and redevelopment projects in Silver Lake.

O’Farrell’s spokesperson Tony Arranaga said the motions were inspired by a recently proposed project on Echo Park Avenue that would replace seven 1920s-era bungalows with a dozen three-story homes, according to Curbed.

While the Silver Lake-Echo Park-Elysian Valley Community Plan, which sets guidelines for development in the area, is not due for an update, planning staffers will be asked to amend the land use plan to limit the scale of new projects. [Curbed] — Subrina Hudson