Metro's Purple Line extension is Los Angeles' top mass transit priority, and for good reason: by giving Angelenos the ability to rapidly travel across the city's main east-west axis, it will transform commutes and living patterns for the better. Starting in 2023, subway stations at La Brea Avenue, Fairfax Avenue, and La Cienega Boulevard will give Miracle Mile residents and commuters quick, easy access to much of Los Angeles. This will make one of L.A.'s most vibrant, culturally rich neighborhoods an even more desirable place to live, work, and play.

But currently, much of the land along the extension is zoned exclusively for single-family housing. By banning apartments, only those who can afford a single-family home in that area will benefit from the increased transit access that the extension will provide. This is unfair. Rezoning the area along the extension to allow denser housing, and introducing an on-site affordable housing requirement, would allow more Angelenos from all walks of life to access this critical transit corridor and enjoy its benefits."

We understand that the Purple Line Transit Neighborhood Plan is now in the environmental review process, which requires an exploration of alternate rezoning scenarios. We urge the Department of City Planning to analyze the Friends of the Purple Line Plan as an alternative to the staff-recommended rezoning scenario, so that elected officials and members of the public will be able to fairly judge for themselves how the Friends of the Purple Line Plan compares to other scenarios.