--- [ LOS ANGELES ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=312) # The Realities of Los Angeles Charter Reform Written by Richard Lee Abrams. ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Dec-2025/098g.jpg) December 08 2025 [](https://www.addtoany.com/share) [Comments](#disqus_thread) THE VIEW FROM HERE - *“Everything has an appointed season, and there is a time for every matter under the heaven” Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 3:1* Now is neither the season nor the time for LA City Charter Reform. Unlike the New England colonies in the 1770's where the time for revolution was nigh, Los Angeles is not positioned for reform. In fact, the tenor of our times is towards totalitarianism with the Unitary Executive Theory on the Right and anti-Liberty Wokeism in the Left. Rather than discussing the current disintegration of the US Constitution, let’s focus on Los Angeles city. **History of Los Angeles Reforms** That’s the null set. Los Angeles has no history of reform. In 1915, however, Los Angeles published the landmark study how Los Angeles could remain free of domination of corrupt bosses. Because the 1915 Study was written by civil engineers, its political philosophy of how to construct a free and prosperous society was missed. The 1915 Study showed that Los Angeles had two possible futures: (1) Where all types of land uses expanded outward to avoid densification so that no elite could divert Los Angeles’s wealth potential away from the public to itself, (2) where a few wealthy monetized land by densification do that wealth flowed upward. See [1915 Study](https://bit.ly/3MqJYM3) (Not an easy read, but serious people need to know its essentials) Angelenos should remember that The 1915 Study came upon the heels of President Teddy Roosevelt’s Trust Buster Era and the relocation of the film industry to Los Angeles to avoid the oppressive Edison Film Monopoly (Edison Trust). Thus, people did not need to be warned about the evils of wealth concentration in a few hands. The 1915 Study was based on accurate data, topography, mathematics, and realities of finance. It warned that densification in core areas, e.g., The Basin, or along transit corridors (TODs) would transfer massive amounts of wealth to the 1% at the top and steal that wealth from regular Angelenos. When development is concentrated into a few dense areas, the developers are stealing wealth from other Angelenos in less dense areas, where projects would have otherwise been located. The worst use plan for Angelenos, but best for greedy developers and Wall Street, was the opposite of the evenly distributed density which the 1915 Study advised. The snide remark attributed to Dorothy Parker that Los Angeles was “72 suburbs in search of a downtown” was both true and false. True, our virtue was being 72 suburbs; false, Angelenos were not searching for a dense downtown like Manhattan. Angelenos persistently fought against rapid, mass transit, but it was forced upon us beginning with Congress’s Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964. Angelenos, however, refused to approve any matching funds until 1980 for the Hollywood subway which opened in 1993. The subway was instrumental in destroying Hollywood so that by 2010, Hollywood’s CD 13 had lost so many people due to densification that CD 13 no longer qualified as a legal council district. **Wall Street Sucks Wealth from Angelenos** Because densification falsely increases the price of land, anything constructed on the land has to sell for considerably more than the fair market value. As a result landowners have to carry excessive mortgages to cover this huge gap between fair market value and inflated sales price. See [Densification Steals Wealth ](https://tinyurl.com/3vuzhfsn) **The Densification – Mass Transit Vicious Circle** By densifying DTLA with office towers like Bunker Hill and placing bedroom communities in far-away Valleys, Wall Street created needless traffic jams. Then, it claimed that the only way for commuters to reach the Bunker Hill or Century City offices was by mass transit. As soon as mass transit was approved, Wall Street pointed out since transit fares would not cover the cost of the subways, all the land along the subway routes must be upzoned to increase residential density so that there will be more users. Thus, Wall Street makes a fortune by financing hundreds of billions in mass transit and by the inflated mortgages for the high rises and single family homes along and near the subway routes. (Land prices do not increase due to more value; in fact, nearby mass transit reduces value for families who want a home. See [Wall Street Tax.](http://bit.ly/2xjrJEt) In 1915, LA had the start of the best mass transit routes, i.e., buses along the regular streets. All LA had to do was construct streets which separated bus lanes from car lanes and prevent densification in DTLA and Transit Corridors. Because people would live nearby, these smaller office projects would be accessible by shorter routes with less congestion. Buses are efficient when there is less traffic. Look at courthouses, fire stations, police stations, schools; they are spread out. The same principle applies to business offices. Land owners of these smaller business projects would realize reasonable profits and people could live within reasonable distances of their offices. Because property values would not be inflated beyond fair market value, Wall Street could not siphon off LA wealth with excessive mortgages. 3/15/45 City Council Strikes Back Against Wall Street Corruption The two point about the 3/15/45 City Council: (1) It destroys Wall Street’s control of Los Angeles planning, (2) Wall Street will never allow it on the ballot. This article explains the details the 3/15/45 City Council: See [3/15/45 Council.](https://tinyurl.com/eez3a8b8) Briefly, each district has 3 co-equal councilpersons. The top three voter getters become the councilpersons. No run offs. Democracy does not require that any one person receive 51% of the votes; rather democracy strives to have many viewpoints represented in the governing body. Under the 3/14/45 Plan, Wall Street cannot have only its stooges elected. There are of enough anti-densification voters to elect at least one or two candidates who are not beholden to Wall Street. Assume that council district 13 still has one developer stooge who presents a monstrous project at city council, there is no way to enforce the One and Done Rule so that it is approved. The non-developer councilpersons from District 13 will vote No. That frees the other 42 councilpersons to likewise vote No. Even if every Wall Street stooge from each district votes Yes, that is only 15 out of 45 votes. Questions? See [3/15/45 Council.](https://tinyurl.com/eez3a8b8) Because Los Angeles lacks the social-political organization to mount a campaign to destroy Wall Street’s control, we will persist with “do nothing” proposal like transparency. Los Angeles will continue to lose its middle class and end up like a third world country. See [The Gates of Hollywood.](https://zwartztalk.wordpress.com/2017/03/17/warning-onion-edition-the-gates-of-hollywood/) ***(Richard Lee Abrams** is a former Los Angeles-based attorney, an author, and political commentator. A long-time contributor to CityWatchLA, he is known for his incisive critiques of City Hall and judicial corruption, as well as his analysis of political and constitutional issues. Abrams blends legal insight with historical and philosophical depth to challenge conventional narratives. A passionate defender of civic integrity and transparency, he aims to expose misuse of power and advocate for systemic reform in local government. You may email him at )* [![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/ME%20DENTAL%20SPA/me%20dental%202026%20final.jpg)](http://medentalspa.com/) ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/banners/signup-for-cw.png) ## Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays Email [ ![LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/LADWP/dwp%20level%20pay%205-7-25.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/82 "LA DWP #2 (Pay Your Bill Help)") [ ![Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/HHR/AHF-rent-too-high.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/component/banners/click/104 "Home - HHR Rent is too High - SB-2") --- ## Featured CityWatch Stories [ ![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/media/yootheme/cache/34/065h-34e1b43b.jpg) ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33212:reminder-to-the-red-states-turnabout-is-fair-play&catid=395) ### [Reminder to the Red States, Turnabout is Fair Play](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33212:reminder-to-the-red-states-turnabout-is-fair-play&catid=395) GELFAND’S WORLD - Indiana has been pounded by rains that resulted in widespread flooding. 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