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Pico Boulevard / Bond Street / Chick Hearn Court / LA Live Way / Subsurface, Airspace, and Street Vacation

Council File 21-0458

Under review — the city is reconsidering its 2024 approval of a street vacation for the Convention Center expansion after the developer requested boundary adjustments. The Public Works Committee is now weighing the revised plan, which includes a pedestrian passage beneath a new convention hall spanning Pico Boulevard.

Introduced
2021-04-22
Last changed
2026-09-18
CFMS file status
File open See note on file status
Expires
2028-09-17
Committee
Public Works Committee
Initiated by
Bureau of Engineering
References
Vacation: VAC-E1401376Related Council File: 20-0600-S82

This is the City Clerk's status for the council file itself, not the outcome of the measure. A file often stays open after the Council has already adopted an item. The summary above reflects the latest recorded action.

Brief

The Bureau of Engineering initiated proceedings to vacate portions of Pico Boulevard, Bond Street, Chick Hearn Court, and LA Live Way — specifically the subsurface and airspace rights — to accommodate the LA Live mixed-use complex downtown. Council adopted the vacation in November 2024 by a 13-0-2 vote. However, new engineering documentation submitted in September 2026 has been referred back to the Public Works Committee, suggesting ongoing administrative or implementation work on the project.

Full summary

This file concerns a street, subsurface, and airspace vacation proceeding tied to the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) Expansion Project in Council District 9. The Department of Convention and Tourism Development, working with private partner AEG Plenary Conventions Los Angeles LLC under a public-private partnership, is seeking to vacate portions of public right-of-way along Pico Boulevard and LA Live Way to allow construction of a new convention hall that would span over Pico Boulevard, connecting the existing South and West Halls. The vacated airspace above Pico Boulevard would be used to build this New Hall structure, while the street below would remain open to vehicles and pedestrians as a designed pedestrian passage — dubbed the Pico Passage — featuring lighting, art installations, and hardscaping. A minimum 15-foot vertical clearance would be maintained below any built structures in the vacated airspace. The vacation request has been revised multiple times. Originally it included Bond Street, Chick Hearn Court, and portions of Pico Boulevard west of LA Live Way, but the applicant withdrew those areas at the request of Caltrans (which had objected to the Bond Street portion) and through subsequent scope changes in 2024 and 2026. The current revised request covers airspace and subsurface zones along two segments of Pico Boulevard and multiple segments of LA Live Way, with precisely defined vertical limits — for example, airspace from 15 to 200 feet above street surface along the main Pico Boulevard segment, and subsurface space extending up to 100 feet below grade in various zones. The City Planning Department found the revised vacation in substantial conformance with the General Plan and Downtown Community Plan, and LADOT stated no opposition provided standard conditions are met. No objections remain to the revised request. The Bureau of Engineering filed the initial vacation initiation report in April 2021, and Council adopted those initiation proceedings in May 2021. An updated report in September 2024 led to Public Works Committee approval in October 2024 and a 13-0-2 Council vote on November 19, 2024. However, because the applicant subsequently requested further adjustments to the vacation boundaries in September 2025 and February 2026, the Bureau of Engineering produced a revised report in September 2026 recommending that the 2024 Council action be rescinded and replaced with a new, modified approval. That revised report was referred to the Public Works Committee in September 2026, where the file currently sits pending committee action. The petitioner must satisfy a list of conditions before the vacation is recorded, including utility coordination with LADWP, AT&T, Verizon, Southern California Gas, and Crown Castle; sewer and storm drain relocations; street improvements and ADA-compliant curb ramp reconstruction along Pico Boulevard and LA Live Way; and execution of liability, indemnification, and insurance agreements. Vacation proceedings will be terminated if conditions are not met within two years of Council action on the City Engineer's report.

Activity (16)

  • 2026-09-18 Bureau of Engineering document(s) referred to Public Works Committee.
  • 2026-09-17 Document submitted by Bureau of Engineering, dated September 17, 2026.
  • 2024-11-20 Council action final.
  • 2024-11-19 Council adopted item, subject to reconsideration, pursuant to Council Rule 51.
  • 2024-11-15 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on November 19, 2024.
  • 2024-10-09 Public Works Committee approved item(s) .
  • 2024-10-04 Public Works Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on October 9, 2024.
  • 2024-09-25 Public Works Committee continued item to a date to be determined due to September 25, 2024 meeting cancellation.
  • 2024-09-19 Public Works Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on September 25, 2024.
  • 2024-09-12 Bureau of Engineering document(s) referred to Public Works Committee.
  • 2024-09-12 Document(s) submitted by Bureau of Engineering, as follows:Bureau of Engineering report, dated September 11, 2024, relative to a vacation proceeding to vacate a portion of Pico Boulevard, Bond Street, Chick Hearn Court, and LA Live Way (subsurface, airspace, and street vacation); VAC-E1401376.
  • 2021-05-13 Council action final.
  • 2021-05-12 Council adopted item forthwith.
  • 2021-05-07 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on May 12, 2021.
  • 2021-04-23 City Clerk transmitted Council File to Public Works Committee Clerk.
  • 2021-04-22 Document(s) submitted by Bureau of Engineering, as follows:Bureau of Engineering report, dated April 22, 2021, relative to the initiation of vacation proceedings to vacate a portion of Pico Boulevard, Bond Street, Chick Hearn Court, and LA Live Way (subsurface, airspace, and street vacation); VAC-E1401376.

Documents (32)

Council votes (1)

  • 2024-11-19 Adopted — 13-0-2 · Regular

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