Recognizing Skid Row As A Neighborhood

Recognizing Skid Row As A Neighborhood is the name the Department of City Planning gave to Skid Row when the DTLA 2040 team leaders gave a three hour presentation to the Los Angeles Planning Commissioners back in September 2021 of DTLA 2040.

DTLA 2040 means updating, basically creating, the Community Plan for Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA). City Planning structures Los Angeles into 34 Community Plan areas. Community Plans set Land Use policy with the zoning tools to implement the policy. 2040 as in — — what will Downtown be in 2040?

The DTLA 2040 community engagement process began in 2015. In the Spring of 2017, many Skid Row nonprofit organizations and Skid Row residents sent a letter to City Hall asking that the process slow down in order for Skid Row to get engaged at a deeper level. City Hall slowed it down. From that came the Skid Row Now and 2040 coalition.

An example of that deeper engagement was when the DTLA 2040 leaders from City Planning showed up with an interactive display to the annual Festival for All Skid Row Artists in October 2017. City Planning brought to the Festival as part of their interactive display — Six Goals For Skid Row.

Here are the Six Goals:

1. Accommodate future growth without displacement of existing residents.
2. Expand housing opportunities, especially those accessible to current community members through private and public actions.
3. Celebrate, reinforce, and respect the character and history of Skid Row.
4. Make streets safe and friendly for those who use transit, ride bicycles, and walk.
5. Prioritize benefits that balances growth and delivers neighborhood amenities and services, such as restrooms and parks.
6. Create economic opportunity and stabilization through local enterprise, hiring, and partnerships.

The years following October 17, 2017 were a roller coaster ride with Councilmember Jose Huizar arrested for taking bribes and the Councilmember Kevin de Leon “tape scandal” in October 2022. During those years, Skid Row Now and 2040 had three main advocacy goals with several additional goals that occasionally changed in response to what was happening in the DTLA 2040 process.

Here are the three main advocacy goals:

1. Retain and Expand the IX1 Zone (Affordable Housing Only Zone).
2. Create some type of City Hall recognized “district council” to ensure Skid Row residents and workers can bring oversight and accountability to Plan implementation.
3. Lift up the parts of the Plan that support Skid Row as a neighborhood community.

Los Angeles City Council officially adopted the new Downtown Community Plan on December 19, 2024 and the Plan became law on January 27, 2025.

As for Kevin de Leon, he was defeated by housing rights attorney Ysabel Jurado in the November 2024 election. Skid Row Now and 2040 has been organizing with her office the first Town Hall with Ysabel Jurado set for February 11, 2025 in the heart of Skid Row.