Neighborhood Integrity Initiative in a Market Driven Economy

Reading about the proposed Neighborhood Integrity Initiative sent me back to thinking about planning school ideas.  How does the fact that we operate under a capitalist economy interplay with efforts to improve the quality of our neighborhoods?  Are they exclusive?

I attended UC Berkeley in the early 70's where idealism and socialism were prominent.  But even back then I realized that in a market economy planners don't plan or build for an ideal world: they direct, they mirror.

And who is for them to judge what an ideal environment would be?

These ideas came up again with the proposed initiative.  This in turn sent me to review State law on general plans.

California cities are required to adopt long term general plans for the "physical development of the City."  This sounds like an economic development plan but State enabling language also directs cities to designate the "general location and extent of the uses of the land for housing, business, industry, open space, including agriculture, natural resources, recreation, and enjoyment of scenic beauty, education, public buildings and grounds, solid and liquid waste and disposal facilities, and other categories of public and private uses."

This language seems to enable the accommodation of both growth and neighborhood integrity.

But apparently Los Angeles's planning efforts do not, hence the birth of the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative.  It is not the first such initiative but rather joins a historic list of major planning efforts spawned by lawsuits or voters.

I am wondering where to go with this blog post and one direction is to comment that one idea of the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative makes a lot of sense and is remarkably similar to a past planning effort.

But after my years as a City Planner administering LA's planning labyrinth, I am inclined to comment instead on the fluidity and dynamics of development in LA.  The Neighborhood Integrity Initiative is another part of the complexity and moving target approach that makes up the mechanics of development in LA.  As I use to say to staff:  "It would be boring if we always had the answers."

Re-Boot and Marry the Hollywood Community Plan Update and the Re-Code Project

Hopefully someone has already thought of this but just in case no one has I'm putting it out there.

With the chaos in Hollywood over new projects versus neighborhood preservation, it seems there is an opportunity to re-think two City efforts--the Hollywood Community Plan Update and Plan Re:Code  (Re-Code LA).

HOLLYWOOD

                        http://recode.la/about

VERBATIM FROM CITY DOCUMENTS:

The purpose of the Hollywood Community Plan is to provide an official guide to future development . . . for the use of the City Council, the Mayor, the City Planning Commission; other concerned government agencies, residents, property owners, and business people of the community . . .

The purpose of  Plan Re: Code (Re-Code LA) is to establish a new zoning structure that will include clear and predictable language . . . to more effectively meet the goals and objectives of the General Plan . . . allow each neighborhood to maintain a distinct sense of place, while improving the sustainability, economic vitality, and quality of life for all residents.

                                  - - - - -

The resources of these two efforts could be combined in a single program that can address the concerns of all Hollywood stakeholders.  The Hollywood Community Plan Update program could work with community stakeholders to define the size and scale of development on each block.  When this is defined the Re-Code LA program could codify it into legal code based on the defined size and scale of development for each block in Hollywood.

This is the definition of a form-based code that Re-Code LA is attempting.  It is what Re-Code LA want to do for downtown LA.  However, there is more reason to do this in Hollywood considering the recent effort to update it's community plan was overturned by the Courts.  Instead of focusing on downtown LA, where there is no lawsuit, why not do it for Hollywood?

A Different Perspective on a STEM Education

I was reading about factories and warehouses that are becoming so completely automated that humans are not needed to build the product or operate the warehouse.  Then I looked at my cellphone and gave it a verbal command.

I stopped to think, when society "advances" to the point where everything that humans produce and make is verbally commanded to a machine to make, will an education in the humanities then become essential?

When we create robots that can produce everything, including making more robots, won't it be even more important to make sure that the commands we give robots are beneficial not just to the group commanding the robots but to society as well?

When this time comes it is imperative that the people commanding the robots make their decisions based on principles for the common good, not just the benefit of the robots' owners.  Where will they learn these principles?

I asked a 14 year old at a dinner party what college he wants to go to and he quickly replied MIT because he wants a good "STEM" education.  This is good, I thought, but how would a 14 year old learn to make "robot commands" that keeps the human race going if he also doesn't study humanities?  And if robots can make other robots how much of a demand will there be for a STEM education?

A Legacy Disco and a Legacy Zone Change

My friend Mark and I came of age in the disco era and has been saying for several years that we have to go to Circus Disco to relive our memories because it is closing soon.  Circus Disco has been around more than 40 years, smack in the middle of an industrial area of Hollywood.

"They're going to put up condos so we better get tickets to their last New Year's eve party" he insisted.

"Doesn't make sense" I equally insisted.  "They've announced their last party many times.  Besides, the property is in the middle of industrially zoned land and to build condos there would not only put those units between incompatible uses but would eliminate a large parcel zoned for keeping studios in Hollywood.  Let me show you," and I whipped out my phone to download the zoning map.

"Holy crap, forget about incompatible zones, we better buy our tickets now."

SPOT ZONING at its most Illustrative  

The blue areas are industrial uses that allow motion picture stages with outdoor sets by-right, something appropriate for Hollywood.  This industrially zoned area of Hollywood is one continuous portion except for the pink area at the top.  This is the location of Circus Disco which has been re-zoned to allow residential and commercial uses but not outdoor movie production.  695 residential units have been approved despite the fact that on three sides of the property industrial uses are allowed.

The Industrial Zones of Hollywood

The map below consists of almost the entire industrial zoned properties in Hollywood.  The large blue parcel on the bottom right is Paramount Studios and above that in green is Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  Circus Disco is almost in the center, the pink area surrounded on 3 sides by industrial blue.

FULL DISCLOSURE:  I learned about this proposal about 10 years ago when I was working for City Planning.  I thought it didn't make sense.  Years later I was preparing to hold a public hearing for a proposed zone change from industrial to commercial on a small 6000 sq ft lot in Venice and the Deputy Director made very clear that such a proposal was not to be approved.  

On April 8, 2015 the zone change became effective:  Council File 2015-0036  ( http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2015/15-0036_ca_02-24-15.pdf ) and City Planning Case 2006-9797 ( http://161.149.221.137/caseinfo/casesummary.aspx?case=CPC-2006-9797-MPR-CUB&zimas=y&pin=&address=6649%20W%20SANTA%20MONICA%20BLVD )

"Mark, say good-by to Circus.  

This New Year's Eve really will be the last!"

Thoughts on Simplifying LA's Planning Code

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The Planning Code for the City of Los Angeles is based on words yet it dictates the physical form in which the City grows.  Everything is described in words but not in illustrations, the few illustrations it contains highlight minuscule details such as retaining walls or parking angles.  This is a picture of the four pages that dictates the form for LA's most common development:  the single-family R1 zone.

Another point can be made here:  these four pages need to be used with the Code's 700 plus pages in order to add to or build a new single-family.  Also, there are six other single family zones and five subsets.  And if the property is in an historic, coastal, hillside, design, specific plan, or other overlay zone, an additional set of documents need to be followed.

Los Angeles is undergoing a 5 year multi-million dollar effort to change this.  Since childhood I have been fascinated with City form so when this project was announced I was immensely intrigued.  But after decades of working with LA's word-based Code I was slow to understand how a form-based code can be created for a City built with words.  I decided to try it.

Using the LA's existing regulations, for the R1 zone, I started with a simple form:

               Will people understand the drawing enough to know what can be built on their street?  

               Does this accurately illustrate the R1 zone?

It is hard to answer the first question but comparing it to the the four pages illustrated above, I think the drawing is easier to understand.  This argues for the creation of a form-based code.

But the drawing does not capture the many exceptions that can be built on an R1 zoned street, there are way too many.  

I am coming to the conclusion that an R1 form-based zone, and all the other residential zones, needs to be created and applied to every block.  Further, the number of existing zones is not going to be enough to encompass the variety of existing single-family residential development.

                              ADD DRAWING HERE of a Zone overlaid on existing block.

Other Thoughts

--code simplification won't be achieved until every block has an overlay and the existing Code
   is dismissed
--simplification won't be achieved unless the entire code is replaced;  replacing it partially will be
   confusing
--a form-based code is likely to be inherently simpler and smaller but requires the user to have some        
   kind of spatial perception as opposed to a written perception;  the latter is more common
--for blocks and properties that are not rectangles, the same form can be imposed but existing
  overlays applied (i.e. specific plans), or if none, the exceptions applied
--currently the Building Department administers the Code, transitioning to a form-based code begs
   the question of whether this can or should continue.  Either way the transition will have a major
   impact on the Building and maybe the Planning Department.  Resources need to be allocated.

LAX is an Unrecognized Chunk of Urban Design

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LAX is undergoing major changes.  Most of these have to do with access and enhancing the traveller's comfort and experience.

I posit that the urban form of LAX is also very important to a traveller's comfort and experience.  Therefore it's urban form should be considered in the proposed changes.  How the traveller perceives their LAX visit is framed by their grasp of its total environment and not only how easy it is to get through it, find a good place to eat and shop, or idle time waiting for a flight.

The less confusing LAX looks the more positive impression it will make.  Being able to understand it's layout and form is important to that perception.

The link below illustrates a proposed urban design form for LAX.

An Earlier Study of LAX's Urban Form

Gambling as a Way to Fund Housing

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California State law allows cities to set the rules on gambling

—method to provide fees for affordable housing

—annual taxes on business licenses for gambling houses

—tax on gambling revenue

—penal code of California lists what kinds of gambling activity are prohibited

—cities can create their own regulations outside of these prohibitions

—City of LA Muni Code Chapter 4 states more gambling activities that are illegal (everything State didn’t catch LA makes illegal)

—this section would have to be repealed or amended

—lobbying effort fellow council members

—neighborhood councils

—housing advocates

—building industry

—gambling is an industry ideal for Hollywood;  can be cited in Hollywood but revenues to fund housing can be distributed to all council districts

--GAMBLING FUNDS HOUSING AND SOCIAL SERVICES IN INDIAN RESERVATIONS

--gambling revenue lost to casino day bus trips can be captured