To the editor: Lawyer. General Rob Bonta and the state of California have done a great job going after vocally NIMBY cities like La Cañada Flintridge and Huntington Beach. The biggest problem is that the State is not doing anything about the quiet NIMBY cities. (“More housing, fewer murders and other 2024 New Year’s resolutions we’d like to see,” editorial, January 1)
South Pasadena decided to do just one of its four required regions to build more homes. Los Angeles is backtracking on commitments made in its housing element to rezone single-family neighborhoods. Hermosa Beach effectively added about $100,000 in fees to each new housing unit, ensuring that these units can never be built for financial reasons.
All of these things will kill new housing more than what La Cañada Flintridge and Huntington Beach are doing, but the California Department of Housing and Community Development is not willing to do anything to stop these quiet NIMBY cities.
Josh Albrektson, South Pasadena
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To the editor: The Times editorial board put together an admirable list of resolutions for 2024. Here’s one more: that the Times find a way to comment on land-use controversies without using “NIMBY.”
This acronym for “not in my backyard” appears in the first sentence of his first New Year’s resolution, reflecting his characteristic disdain for interested parties who do not subscribe to his progressive dogma.
The Times should drop this overwrought cliché for the rest of the year, if not the decade.
Shelley Wagers, Los Angeles
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To the editor: In his resolution on climate change, he writes: “And no, increasing the air conditioning from 68 to 70 degrees does not count.”
Yes, it counts. Every little bit counts and is important.
It counts as an acknowledgment and as an acknowledgment. It is a first step towards a world where each and every one of us accepts our responsibility to right the wrongs of the past and move forward to make our world the place it can be.
We have power over our destiny.
Gregg Ferry, Carlsbad
