HISTORY

Utilizing the principles of self-help and empowerment, CCSCLA seeks to organize and train residents to address issues such as employment, affordable housing, quality education, clean environment and other quality of life issues. CCSCLA is currently engaged in organizing block clubs in the community in an effort to address community concerns and to help enable the community to combat the problems which adversely impact our community. CCSCLA is playing a major role in the development of affordable housing and economic development ventures within our target area. CCSCLA is a volunteer membership organization which seeks to keep its community informed, cohesive and organized. The member constituency of CCSCLA are the residents, businesses and organizations of the Vernon-Central neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles. 100% of CSCLA's Board is African-American. 70% of the Board Members live within the organization's target area and 30% of its Board Members represent low income families. The open door policy at CCSCLA encourages any and all individuals (including spanish-speaking residents) to come into CCSCLA and ask for information and assistance.

Non-residents often view this community as a run-down industrial area and it was not until organizations such as CCSCLA began organizing to protect our community against intensive planning, poor environmental policy, inadequate city services and the lack of affordable housing and economic development that made other middle class communities in the city learn that our neighborhood concerns as residents, businesses and families are not that different than their own.

Through our extensive community involvement, organizing and monthly community meetings, we have earned the respect of many prominent organizations and local area businesses. Some of our local supporters include: the Oil Processing Company, Bank of America, New African People's Organization, the Black Employees Association, Day Light Transport Company, several different Block Clubs, Communities for Accountable Reinvestment and the Coalition of Neighborhood Developers. CCSCLA is proud to be supported by a variety of private institutions which offer financial assistance to organizations with demonstrated effectiveness in the areas of community organizing, housing and economic development Past grants and operational support have been contributed by the following institutions: Arco Foundation, The California Community Foundation, The Center for Community Change, The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Conservation Core, Fannie Mae, Local Initiative Support Corporation, The Los Angeles Collaborative and W. Alton Jones.

CCSCLA has received technical support from the Local Initiative Support Corporation and the Regional Council of Neighborhood Organizations. Members of the organization have participated in several training programs including: CCEDA Commercial Industrial Capacity Building Program, City of Los Angeles; Development Training Institute; The Los Angeles Collaborative Training Program, Phipps-Carr Capacity Building Program, City of Los Angeles; Regional Council of Neighborhood Organization Leadership Training.

CCSCLA has demonstrated experience in the field of real estate development and community organizing. Our philosophy is developing all of our projects is in line with our mission to help uplift the social conditions on our community and to effect positive change in our economic environment. CCSCLA understands that it is not enough to develop housing to affect change in a community; we must also strive to create meaningful jobs, provide services and physically improve our environment. The organization has strategically planned all of its developments within the concentrated area of the Central Avenue Corridor in order to have maximum impact in our community. We have organized block clubs around each of our developments in order to insure community input into all of our projects and to draw upon the human resources of the community. All of our developments are designed with the needs of the community in mind and are the "birth-childs" of our ongoing communication with the voices of the people who suport our efforts. As a subsidiary of CCSCLA, CURE embraces the same philosophy of community interaction and determination to improve the community.

CCSCLA is a model community-based organization that serves as a center of information for community residents, city officials, and graduate students alike, having documented the major social and economic concerns of our entire community. The organization has served as a consultant for many city and graduate studies of the economic, housing and environmental blight of our community. We work extensively with the UCLA School of Architecture and Urban Planning to determine statistical data on our community and to help train our staff on various public policy, housing, development and environmental issues. 95% of the staff at CCSCLA is from the Central Los Angeles community and have all received training from the best. In addition to formal university education, our staff members have participated in several development training programs to further the organization's understanding of development including: the Development Training Institute (DTI), LISC Housing Development Training Program, the City of Los Angeles Housing Capacity Building Program, the City of Los Angeles Industrial/Commercial Capacity Building Program, and the Collaborative Strategic Planning Training Program. It is such expert technical training that has allowed CCSCLA and CURE to in turn provide technical assistance to many other groups engaging in economic and housing development in the community.

Our receipt and approval of the millions of dollars in financing received from local City and private financing demonstrates the support we have received from the City Council, Mayor's Office and various financing institutions. It also speaks for our ability to handle substantial development accounts and effectively construct our developments within budget. CCSCLA believes in the strength or public / private partnerships and has plans to establish such partnerships in every way possible. In fact, the most important asset CCSCLA brings to the South Central community is our ability to form a vehicle for various institutions to work together for the betterment of the community and to serve as a structured community mechanism through which funds for housing and economic development can flow.

ZONING

In February, 1988, CCSCLA engaged in an eight month battle with the Los Angeles Planning Department in opposition of the down zoning of our community. Down zoning would have lowered the land use density in our community; decreased property values; and taken away the by-right status of our churches. Churches, some of which provide services such as child care, senior citizens homes, senior and youth services, food programs, etc.. would have been conditional use properties. With a conditional use status their right to be in residential communities could be appealed for any reason and therefore churches would run the risk of private developers taking them over.

CCSCLA recognized that the city was not providing enough of the services rendered by the churches and that the community couldn't afford to risk losing the churches and their services. The zone change would have also required up to a $5,000 conditional use permit in the event a church needed to make a $200 or more repair or improvement to their building. CCSCLA's successful organizing campaign resulted in our planning area being designated as a 'qualified zone 4' (QR-4) which saved over 634 churches in our community from being affected by the proposed zone change. This special designation allows churches to expand their buildings by 20% with no permit as long as the facility remains a church. As a result of our campaign, schools, convalescent homes, and colleges in South Central Los Angeles will also be permitted to utilize this special designation. In fact, we are frequently contacted by other communities interested in saving their churches from the consequence of the Planning Department's down zoning.