Month: October 2014

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Baseline Hillside Ordinance – CF14-1059 and CF14-1059 S1

City Council

INSTRUCT the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) and the Bureau of Street Services, with the assistance of the Department of City Planning (DCP), and in consultation with the City Attorney, to prepare a report in 90 days that provides recommendations relative to the feasibility of:

– Modifying the exemption process for hillside grading.
– Including cement trucks into the haul route hearing process to provide Council offices with a mechanism to monitor and insure safety.
– Requiring a full completion bond on hillside projects and best practices.
– Increasing the notification for haul route hearings to include residents within a 500 square foot radius along with those residents living along the haul route, excluding those living along highways.
– Increasing the street bond for haul routes.

DIRECT the LADBS, with the assistance of the DCP, and in consultation with the City Attorney, to provide recommendations relative to best practices as it relates to withholding Certificate of Occupancy permits for outstanding violations, and the feasibility of revising the permitted hours of construction, and the potential impacts of limiting the hauling of dirt and cement pours to Monday through Friday, with no Saturday or Sunday hauling.

INSTRUCT the LADBS, in consultation with the City Attorney, to also report on the feasibility of requiring hillside project applicants to pay a hillside safety fee for increased inspections and infrastructure to protect neighborhood residents from the adverse impacts of large out of scale development projects.

DIRECT the LADBS to also include in its report information regarding:

– The inclusion of grading that results from caissons and other similar concrete shoring/footing elements.
– The requirement of a licensed contractor for homes of a certain size and not allowing owner/builder allowances for extremely large homes.
– The requirement for additional review, including those related to the California Environmental Quality Act, for homes of a certain size.

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What’s Happening in Planning 2013

“The City of Los Angeles is at a pivotal point in its history. Over the last ten years, many positive changes have taken place. With thousands of new lofts and LA Live, Downtown is now thriving. The revitalization of Hollywood is a success story that shows what visionary leadership and strategic redevelopment can accomplish. All across the City, mixed use development that combines multi-family housing with ground floor commercial is the new norm. With the passage of Measure R in 2008, the region is making an unprecedented investment in its rail transit system. Much as the freeway system defined Los Angeles in the 20th Century, the creation of a true regional transit network has the potential to redefine Los Angeles in the 21st. While the City faces many challenges, from creating new jobs and building enough affordable housing, to repairing our streets, maintaining effective public services, and providing adequate infrastructure, there is reason for optimism.

On January 1, 2014, a new Department of City Planning and Development goes into effect that will unify the City’s planning, development services, and permitting functions. Along with the new Economic and Workforce Development Department, which was launched on July 1st of this year, the potential to improve the City’s business climate by eliminating bottlenecks and improving customer service has never been greater. Coordinating the work programs of these two Departments can create public-private partnerships and synergies that will facilitate the creation of thousands of new high-tech and green jobs, laying the foundation for a 21st Century economy. BuildLA, the long-anticipated web-based permitting system, will revolutionize the way the City does business with everyone who invests and builds in Los Angeles, from homeowners and small business owners to large corporations and developers.”

Table of Contents of What’s Happening in Planning 2013

Full Report: What’s Happening in Planning 2013
Part I – Introduction
Part II – Overview of City Planning in Los Angeles
Part III – Recent Accomplishments
Part IV – What’s Happening in 2013-14

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Motion – Amend Hillside Ordinance

CF 14-1059, 14-1059-S1

City Council reviewed and adopted PLANNING AND LAND USE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT relative to a report on the Baseline Hillside Ordinance. Motion initiated: (Koretz – LaBonge):

INSTRUCT the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) and the Bureau of Street Services, with the assistance of the Department of City Planning (DCP), and in consultation with the City Attorney, to prepare a report in 90 days that provides recommendations relative to the feasibility of:

Modifying the exemption process for hillside grading.

Including cement trucks into the haul route hearing process to provide Council offices with a mechanism to monitor and insure safety.

Requiring a full completion bond on hillside projects and best practices.

Increasing the notification for haul route hearings to include residents within a 500 square foot radius along with those residents living along the haul route, excluding those living along highways.

Increasing the street bond for haul routes.

DIRECT the LADBS, with the assistance of the DCP, and in consultation with the City Attorney, to provide recommendations relative to best practices as it relates to withholding Certificate of Occupancy permits for outstanding violations, and the feasibility of revising the permitted hours of construction, and the potential impacts of limiting the hauling of dirt and cement pours to Monday through Friday, with no Saturday or Sunday hauling.

INSTRUCT the LADBS, in consultation with the City Attorney, to also report on the feasibility of requiring hillside project applicants to pay a hillside safety fee for increased inspections and infrastructure to protect neighborhood residents from the adverse impacts of large out of scale development projects.

DIRECT the LADBS to also include in its report information regarding:

The inclusion of grading that results from caissons and other similar concrete shoring/footing elements.

The requirement of a licensed contractor for homes of a certain size and not allowing owner/builder allowances for extremely large homes.

The requirement for additional review, including those related to the California Environmental Quality Act, for homes of a certain size.

Adopted, (11); Absent: Buscaino, Fuentes, Krekorian, Price (4)

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Executive Directive No. 5 – Creating a Water Wise City – Issued October 14, 2014

Executive Directive No. 5 – Creating a Water Wise City

Los Angeles and California as a whole are currently experiencing extreme drought
conditions. The just completed 2013-2014 rain season was the seventh driest year in
Los Angeles since record keeping began in 1877. The combined last three years
represent the third driest 3-year stretch on record. 92 percent of the state is suffering
from extreme drought.

The drought has led our City to increase use of imported water to over 80% of
consumption.

Imported water is costly. Furthermore, our imported water supply is at immediate and
long term risk because of the impacts of global warming, which include a reduction in
the Sierra snowpack, the key water supplier for much of California.
The Metropolitan Water District, our major supplier of imported water, expects to curtail
supplies in the next 12 months. In addition, Los Angeles could face extreme hardship in
the event of an earthquake that severs the aqueducts that deliver water here.
Reducing imported water use is of critical importance to Los Angeles. City government
and the people of Los Angeles must take steps to confront this crisis, both in the short
and long term. In particular, reducing outdoor water use is critical to solving this crisis as
it accounts for more than half of all residential water use in Los Angeles.

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Off-Site Sign Periodic Inspection Program

Council File 11-1122 PLANNING AND LAND USE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT and ORDINANCE FIRST CONSIDERATION relative to amending the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) to reduce the time cycle of the Off-Site Sign Periodic Inspection Program (OSSPIP).
On December 26,2008, Ordinance No. 180,446 was adopted, creating the OSSPIP. OSSPIP requires a survey of every off-site sign in the City of Los Angeles. Currently, OSSPIP requires inspection of every off-site sign in the City of Los Angeles every three years, payment of a$186 regulatory fee for inspection, and issuance of acertificate of compliance when fees have been paid, inspections have been conducted and the off-site sign structure has been determined to be in compliance with the terms of its permit as described in Section 91.6205.18.2.

The proposed amendments would reduce the inspection cycle to two years, reduce the regulatory fee for inspection to $169.87 and eliminate the necessity of issuing and attaching a certificate of compliance to the off-site sign structure.

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Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts (EIFD)

CF No. 14-1349

Council instructed the Economic Workforce and Development Department, in conjunction with the Bureau of Engineering, the City Administrative Officer and the Chief Legislative Analyst, to report in 45 days on the feasibility of creating an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District (EIFD) along the Los Angeles River to support restoration and maintenance of the River and River adjacent communities.

Read Los Angeles Times, Monday, January 19. 2015, New revenue stream? by Catherine Saillant

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Master Planned Development (MPD) Zone/ CPC-2010-3315-CA CEQA: ENV-2014-361-CE

City Planning Commission, October 9, 2014

The proposed ordinance (Appendix A) amends Sections 12.03, 12.04, 17.02, and 17.05 and adds new Section 12.04.10 to the Los Angeles Municipal Code to establish the Master Planned Development (MPD) Zone as a new zone classification to facilitate the entitlement of master planned campus-like or otherwise unified and integrated development projects in the City of Los Angeles.

On July 24, 2014, the City Planning Commission (CPC) considered the Department’s Staff Recommendation Report on a proposed ordinance that would create a new zone classification, the Master Planned Development (MPD) Zone. At that meeting staff presented an overview of the proposed enabling legislation. The CPC heard testimony from five members of the public, discussed the ramifications of the ordinance among themselves, and directed a number of questions to staff. The Commission continued their consideration of the MPD Zone to October 9, 2014, and stated that public comment would be reopened at that meeting.

Staff has since conducted an in-depth review of 41 case studies, including 36 upcoming and five selected past major projects. As a result of the research, staff is recommending a revised proposed ordinance to require that projects consist of at least three buildings in order to qualify for the MPD Zone. Research corroborated that the previous proposed minimum property size of 3 acres is appropriate and does not inordinately eliminate projects downtown, in Hollywood, or close to transit stops, as was postulated at the previous CPC meeting. Generally, projects on smaller properties appear to be associated with less floor area or fewer dwelling units, or guest rooms. Therefore no change was made to the required minimum property size.

The MPD Zone will be available for projects on property a minimum of 3 acres in area with a minimum of three buildings, and at least 500,000 square feet of nonresidential floor area, or 500 dwelling units or guest rooms, or a combination of 250,000 square feet of nonresidential floor and 250 dwelling units or guest rooms; the new zone classification will also be available to entitle parks or recreational facilities that are a minimum of 20 acres in area and open to the public. These projects by the nature of their size and scope require master planning. In addition, other details of the ordinance were refined to enhance its utility and clarity, as well as further protect the community.