Read  Planning Fall 2019 Quarterly Report

Director’s Message

This quarter, Los Angeles City Planning revamped our communications, giving a fresh start to our website, publications, and social media accounts. As with our ongoing overhaul of the City’s Zoning Code, our guiding principles are simplicity, clarity, and coherence.

Strengthening our lines of communication—internally and externally—will result in greater efficiencies. Open communication is critical to managing the various programs of the largest city planning department in the United States. Providing direct access to information makes life easier for Angelenos, whether they are scheduling appointments at the public counter or organizing around community issues.

Transparency demonstrates our responsibility to the public trust. While City Planning has long sought to engage Los Angeles’s communities through outreach, our communications have not always been fully integrated. Until recently, City Planning operated 23 websites, each dedicated to a subset of our work program. Consolidating and organizing these materials reflects our commitment to openness, which is only meaningful if we speak clearly and with a single voice.

Centralizing more resources also positions City Planning to respond to challenges strategically. Integrating our efforts citywide makes it possible to see the big picture, so that we come up with solutions that work for all Angelenos. Taking a high-level view of the City helps us anticipate communities’ needs and respond to systemic issues like homelessness.

This is the first issue of City Planning’s quarterly report in its new, expanded format. It illustrates the scope of what we do, bringing together housing construction, legislative action, historic preservation, updates to the Community Plans and Zoning Code, and more.