Approximately 80 people attended a Nov. 13 Board of Transportation Commissioners meeting, many speaking in opposition to the agreement. (photo by Edwin Folven)

A plan between the city and a private developer to exchange two parking lots on Larchmont Boulevard has rolled to a stop after Los Angeles City Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez, 13th District, vowed to prevent the deal from moving forward. 

Many people in the Larchmont community worried that the agreement would have spelled the end for a bi-weekly farmers’ market and frequent community events held on a surface parking lot at 209 N. Larchmont Blvd., which many consider to be Larchmont’s “town square.” Dozens of community members attended a meeting of the Los Angeles Board of Transportation Commissioners on Nov. 13 at Los Angeles City Hall, where the commission listened to public comment but made no ruling. Following the meeting, Soto-Martinez announced that regardless of what the commission decides, he does not support the parking lot agreement and will not author a motion allowing it to progress to the City Council. 

“Our office stood unequivocally with the community at the Board of Transportation Commissioners meeting Thursday opposing the proposed deal for the parking lot. With over 450 emails received and dozens of residents showing up in person, your voices were heard loud and clear,” Soto-Martinez said in a statement to the community. “The board may bring the item back to vote it down for closure, or it may take no further action, but either way, we’re proud to report that the Larchmont Farmers’ Market and the rest of the community events at Lot 694 are secure.” 

The Board of Transportation Commissioners could have potentially considered the agreement at its next meeting on Dec. 11 or declined to consider the issue. A spokesperson for the commission did not return requests for information on what it will do next. Nick Barnes-Batista, a spokesman for Soto-Martinez, said it essentially doesn’t matter what the commission does because the item would have to come back to the City Council and the councilman does not support the agreement. 

“There’s no path forward,” he added. 

The announcement created uncertainty, however, about what will happen next with the two lots on Larchmont. The agreement between the city and Larchmont Properties, Ltd. would have granted the private developer the right to lease the city-owned parking lot at 209 N. Larchmont Blvd. where the farmers’ market is held and build on the site. In exchange, Larchmont Properties, Ltd. was going to transfer ownership to the city of a larger 167-space subterranean parking lot it owns across the street under the former Rite-Aid building. Larchmont Properties, Ltd. owns the former Rite-Aid building and plans to develop it into a new retail space. Specific plans for a project at the site have not yet been proposed. 

Approximately 80 people attended the Board of Transportation Commissioners on Nov. 13, with many speaking in opposition to the agreement. Opponents praised the news about the councilman stepping in to prevent the deal from moving forward. 

“From the very beginning, the councilman kept the neighborhood informed about what was going on and he asked us to voice our opinions,” said Sam Uretsky, with the advocacy group Fight Back! and president of the Larchmont United Neighborhood Association. “He listened to the community and stood up for us. I believe this is the best example of the community and the councilman working together.”