Month: December 2021

by

Beginning January 1st, 2022, SATTWeekly will provide two Readership options

SATTWeekly

Since 2015,  SATT has provided an information portal for readers who seek to stay aware of land use policy in the City of Los Angeles.   Sources of information include agendas for the Area Planning Commissions (APCs), City Planning Commission (CPC), Planning Land Use Committee (PLUM), and City Council.) These up-to-date posts highlighted proposed land use and planning policy specific to the City of Los Angeles, emphasizing San Fernando Valley communities.

Weekly reports to your email inbox have grown to over 1,700 posts that provide timely and actionable information.  Over the next year, you will see significant and surprising changes.

Readership Option One is fee-based at the cost of $52 annually. Option One will provide City of Los Angeles land use policy updates identifying motions, meetings, and public hearing dates. There are two bonuses in Readership Option One. Firstly, access to insights on the implementation of land use policy gained through research, interviews with leaders such as City Council land use deputies, land use consultants, Neighborhood Councils, greater understanding of news articles gained from discussions with the writer(s), and polling of selected interested parties who speak at public hearings, and a look at land-use applications that utilize recently adopted land use policy. Secondly, access to recent land-use articles related to the City of Los Angeles planning and development process.

Readership Option Two is free and provides City of Los Angeles land use policy updates identifying motions, meetings, and public hearing dates. Under the no-fee option, the bouses in Readership Option One are accessible with a one-year delay.

Readership Option One is free for contributors willing to indulge me with my questions and provide me your advice (i.e., on or off the record).   The payment process is being set up, but you can beat the clock by forwarding your email address to  SATTgovt@gmail.com, and I will provide a Venmo processing payment request or mail $52 to  SATT’s business address shown below.

 

Best regards to all,  Nicolas

 

 

by

Update to Mailing Notification Requirements

Source:  Department of City Planning

 

Dear Angelenos:

Recently, City Planning updated its mailing notification procedures to require a copy of the applicable notification map and Perjury Statement at the time of case filing and the remaining notification materials, including mailing labels, would be requested by Project Planning staff when needed. No changes were made to the Neighborhood Council early notification process.
Based on feedback received, City Planning has further modified its mailing procedures. Starting January 1, 2022, the applicable notification map and Perjury Statement shall no longer be required at the time of case filing. Instead, a copy of a ZIMAS map identifying all contiguously owned properties shall be provided to DSC staff, and Project Planning staff will request all notification materials from the applicant approximately 6-8 weeks before scheduling a public hearing or issuing the determination letter, including the applicable notification map and Perjury Statement.
Procedures for notification of case filings to Neighborhood Councils remain unchanged.
For detailed instructions regarding required materials, please refer to the Mailing Procedures Instructions (CP-2074). For questions, you may contact Mindy Nguyen at mindy.nguyen@lacity.org.
by

SATTWeekly – Transformation in 2022

Since 2015,  SATT has provided an information portal for readers who seek to stay aware of land use policy in the City of Los Angeles.  Weekly reports to your email inbox have grown to over 1,700 posts that provide timely and actionable information.

Over the next year, you will see significant and surprising changes that include insights on the implementation of land use policy gained through research;  interviews with leaders such as City Council land use deputies, land use consultants, and  Neighborhood Councils; more significant understanding of published news articles gained from discussions with the writer(s); polling of selected interested parties who speak at public hearings; and a look at land-use applications that utilize recently adopted land use policy.

by

Reforms to the Neighborhood Council (NC) System

CF 18-0467   AT CITY COUNCIL 01/16/2019

HEALTH, EDUCATION AND NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS COMMITTEE REPORT relative to the proposed reforms to the Neighborhood Council (NC) System.

Recommendations for Council action, as initiated by Motion (Ryu – Blumenfield – et al.):

INSTRUCT the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) to:
Begin phasing out the use of the term EmpowerLA in any and all print and/or online messaging and branding, and report back to the Health, Education and Neighborhood Councils (HENC) Committee in 120 days with a status update and methods to more cohesively brand the NC System.

Develop formal rules, guidelines and a process for NC selections, including minimum requirements for outreach and allowable seat criteria, and report back to the HENC Committee in 120 days with a strategy and timeline for implementation.

Implement a system-wide minimum voting age and board member age of 16 years, with the exception of up to one youth seat per NC in which the minimum age to vote or hold the seat can be as low as 14 years old.

Develop an ongoing compendium of best practices for community engagement, policy making, legislative processes and financial management, among others, generated in collaboration with the NC, and develop a working how to manual to be periodically disseminated to NC’s, and report back to the HENC Committee with a status update in 120 days.

Develop a departmental points of contact list for all City departments, bureaus or agencies, including but not limited to the Departments of Aging; Animal Services; Cannabis Regulation; Bureau of Contract Administration; Disability; Economic and Workforce Development; Emergency Management; Office of Finance; Los Angeles Fire Department; Housing and Community Investment; City Planning; Los Angeles Police Department; Port of LA; Recreation and Parks; Transportation; Water and Power; Los Angeles World Airports; the Zoo and City sanctioned Business Improvement Districts, with the assistance of the aforementioned entities, and share the contact lists with the entire board of the NC, facilitate trainings for departmental points of contact on best practices for assisting NC’s, and coordinate with NC’s to appoint designated points of contact between the NC membership and each department, creating a single, responsible point of communication flowing in both directions. If no NC contact is appointed, the NC President or Chair shall be the default contact.

INSTRUCT the DONE, with the assistance of the City Clerk, to report back to the HENC Committee in 120 days with suggestions on how to deliver demographic and neighborhood data to NC’s that would point out areas where current seat allocations, when compared to the data, may not be equitable and provide written suggestions for ways each NC could amend their bylaws to create a more equitable allocation of seats if the data shows potential inequities.

INSTRUCT the DONE, with the assistance of the City Attorney, to report back on establishing rules and guidelines stipulating that after each decennial census, NC’s will evaluate any seats tied to residency and allocate those seats proportionally based on population.

INSTRUCT the DONE and the Department of City Planning to design and implement a mandatory planning and land use management training, required of both current and future Chairs and Vice Chairs of the NC planning and land use committees, and report back to the HENC Committee in 120 days with a status update on the roll out of the training.

INSTRUCT the DONE, with the assistance of the Department of General Services, to assist NC’s with accessing shared space in City facilities, as envisioned in Council file No. 16-0298, and report back to the HENC Committee in 120 days with a status update on the implementation of the program and a process to notify the NC’s.

INSTRUCT the City Clerk and the DONE to implement a process by May 1, 2019 for NC’s to roll over a non-cumulative maximum of $10,000 in any given fiscal year.

INSTRUCT the City Clerk, with the assistance of the DONE, to report back to the HENC Committee in 120 days on the feasibility of holding all NC elections on the same day in order to provide for uniform Citywide outreach and advertising and increase voter turnout.

REQUEST the City Attorney, with the assistance of the DONE and City Clerk to prepare and present an Ordinance by January 14, 2019 to amend the Los Angeles Administrative Code to define community interest stakeholder as any individual who lives, works, or owns real property in the neighborhood and also to those who participate in, or are a member of a community organization, defined as a named entity, which has a physical street address within the boundaries of the NC for not less than one year prior to the NC election or selection which performs verifiable ongoing activities and operations that confers some benefit on the community. This may include but is not limited to, chambers of commerce, houses of worship or other faith-based organizations, educational institutions, non-profit organizations or other such community based organizations. NC’s may and are encouraged to expand this definition by amending their bylaws to include other defined groups of stakeholders that conform to the above definitions.

Fiscal Impact Statement: Neither the City Administrative Officer nor the Chief Legislative Analyst has completed a financial analysis of this report.

Community Impact Statement: Yes.
For:
Empowerment Congress North Area Neighborhood Council
Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council
Palms Neighborhood Council
Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council
Los Feliz Neighborhood Council
Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council
PICO Neighborhood Council
Greater Echo Park Elysian Neighborhood Council
Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council
Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council
East Hollywood Neighborhood Council
Van Nuys Neighborhood Council
Del Rey Neighborhood Council

For if Amended:
Encino Neighborhood Council
Greater Valley Glen Neighborhood Council
Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council
Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council
Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council
Silver Lake Neighborhood Council
Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council
Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council
Zapata-King Neighborhood Council
Greater Valley Glen Neighborhood Council
Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council
Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council
Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council
Atwater Village Neighborhood Council
Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council
Westside Neighborhood Council
NoHo Neighborhood Council
Historic Cultural Neighborhood Council
Against:
Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council
Neutral:
Wilshire Center Koreatown Neighborhood Council

Click on the BLUE highlight to view official documents and reports.

Refer to CF 18-0467 for prior to 2019 entries

01/10/2019 City Clerk scheduled item for Council on January 16, 2019 .  Report from Heath, Ed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
by

Commentary: Top 10 Western Region Commercial Real Estate Trends in Q4 2021

Allen MatkinsAllen MatkinsThe annual Allen Matkins View From the Top brings together the top real estate economists, owners, investors, developers, and brokers in Western Region commercial real estate. Now in its 14th year, View From the Top remains a key source for up-to-the-minute market information and predictions.

Here are the top takeaways from this year’s CRE brain trust:

  1.  Yields Driving CRE Investments Over the Next Year. Michael Van Konynenburg, President of Eastdil Secured, kicked off this year’s event with an excellent summary of the unprecedented bullish economic climate. The U.S. economy is heating up at a fast rate, and due to a doubling of the Federal Reserve balance sheet over the last 18 months and an injection of stimulus capital into the economy equal to 25% of the annual GDP, there is a massive amount of capital in play. Banks and investors are having trouble finding places to invest this capital. At the same time, low interest rates are pushing investors to search for yield and are pushing down cap rates—the longer we have low rates the lower cap rates will go. This bullishness bodes well for commercial real estate, as this “need for yield” should drive investments over the next year.
  2. A Strong Economic Recovery from COVID-19 Points to a Big Recovery for CRE Markets (At Different Rates). The U.S. and world economies are coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic with strength. As Owen D. Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties, points out, “strong economic growth coupled with low interest rates creates a great environment for real estate investment evaluation.” As a result, most CRE sectors are trading competitively above pre-pandemic levels, with office being the one exception (except for highly leased first-class office projects in urban areas) for the sole reason that most employees have not yet returned to the office, which should change in the next year. According to Gregg Walker, Senior Managing Director and Head of Business Development at DivcoWest, “many office tenants are still trying to figure out what their office footprint will look like. For the next 24 months, there will be a lot of tenants trying to figure out what that balance will look like for them.”
  3. Demand for Office Space that Incorporates Collaborative Outdoor Areas Will Skyrocket. With businesses in a post-COVID-19 world eager to bring back employees to the office, there is a massive new demand for office layouts to emphasize outdoor space—decks, rooftops, terraces, and plazas will be incorporated into workspaces like never before. Kilroy Realty Corporation’s CEO John Kilroy sees workplace environments as moving towards a greater engagement with the outdoors: “with COVID and other things that will come up in the future, more and more meetings will take place outside, whether they’re small group collaborations or several hundred-person events.” Kilroy has invested heavily in incorporating collaborative outdoor areas into the company’s recent office developments and believes strongly that “if I can have my office outside in nature, I can be much more productive. I think that’s the model we’re all headed towards.”
  4. Employees Will Return to the Office in Greater Numbers Than We Think. Despite the current hesitancy of workers to return to the office, panelists all agreed that a return to office life is inevitable, and a year from now offices will be filling up faster than we anticipate. It will look different, with offices filled to 65- 80% of pre-pandemic levels on any given day. There will be more separation between employees and more collaborative workspaces, but the bottom line is that companies have come to realize the importance and value of having employees collaborate together in an office, and employees themselves will follow suit due to a fear of missing out. Though a hybrid work-from-home model will likely be the future for many companies, research conducted by CBRE indicates that “most companies want their employees to come into the office at least 2.5 days a week, if not more. The smaller the company, the higher the expectation they have that people will come to the office all the time,” according to Julie Whelan, Global Head of Occupier Thought Leadership at CBRE.
  5. State-of-the-Art, Reimagined Office Space is Needed to Bring Employees Back to the Office, Causing a “Flight to Quality.” In a post-COVID-19 world, it’s clear from panelists’ insights that companies will need to re-think their office space in fundamental ways to attract talent and bring their employees back to the office. Aside from an increased emphasis on outdoor space, “a common theme for office tenants today is a flight to quality, safer new spaces, and buildings as their top choice,” according to Walker. Whether it’s larger lobbies and conference areas, blurring the lines between outdoor and indoor space, or offering a variety of different spaces within the office where employees can work, will help the employer compete for and attract talent, which is vital right now. “What we’re moving into is a world where employers will have to make their workspace so much more appealing and productive than being at home that there’s no doubt for employees that they will get more done at the office,” says A. Robert Paratte, Executive Vice President of Leasing and Business Development at Kilroy Realty Corporation. Van Konynenburg believes that “the product that can’t do that will have to be re-imagined to make it special enough to bring workers back to the office and give them a reason for being back at work.”
  6. Leasing Transactions are Mixed, Depending on Location and Industry. The consensus among all the Western region leasing markets panelists was an optimistic outlook across most sectors and regions, though it may take a year or two to get office leasing (other than first-class office space in urban areas) back to pre-pandemic levels. In Seattle, life science construction is currently hitting all-time highs, while big tech companies continue to move forward with large office projects, according to David Abbott, Executive Vice President at Colliers. In the Los Angeles region, technology-driven entertainment companies, dubbed the “techtainment” industry, are extremely hot and driving the leasing market, especially in Culver City, Burbank, and Hollywood, per Jeffrey Welch, Executive Vice President at CBRE. It is taking longer for leasing activity in San Francisco to pick up than in other regions, however, as the city has seen very stringent lockdown rules. Companies and workers are taking longer to get back to a normal work routine. According to Jonathan Lange, Senior Vice President, Los Angeles Region at Boston Properties, “if you look at the fundamentals of West L.A., Bellevue, Seattle, parts of the Bay Area, and San Diego, there is tremendous leasing coming from a few specific areas of our economy while other areas have slowed down.”
  7. Sublease Space is Still Prevalent, but it is Decreasing. Vacant subleased space skyrocketed during the pandemic as large tech companies found their massive offices empty and questioned how much they would be using their space moving forward. This uncertainty has led to more clarity for companies who have determined that office culture will still be a vital part of their work environment moving forward, though the time frame is still unclear. As a result, this sublease space is beginning to be taken off the market due to increased demand. Abbott predicts that in the Seattle market “sublease space will decrease in Q4 by way of transactions and landlords taking their space off the market in anticipation of a return to the office.” Lange points out that “when you look at some of these rental rates, pricing and asset values are up—even in some multi-tenant assets—in an environment where everyone is still questioning how much we’ll be using the office moving forward.” It’s safe to say that this trend will continue as the office picture becomes clearer in the coming months.
  8. The Trend of Office-to-Life Science Conversions Will Slow. Currently, the lack of demand for office space in many regions has spurred a trend of converting office space to life science space, which is red hot right now. When asked about where he sees the market going in the next year, Eliott Trencher, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer at Kilroy Realty Corporation, pointed out that as employees begin to return to the office and office space becomes more in-demand, this life science conversion trend will slow and we will see people gravitate towards traditional office buildings: “As we begin to get closer to a pre-pandemic world with a return to the office, people that are going to life science as a safe haven will begin to reassess the need to make this conversion.”
  9. COVID-19’s Effects on Construction Site Protocol, Material Costs, and Availability Have Impacted Developers, but Not Stopped Them. Developers reported that it was a large learning curve to adjust to construction site COVID-19 protocols which led to some inefficiencies, but residential projects continued to be built and delivered, albeit a bit behind schedule and over budget (commercial projects were deemed non-essential and were not able to move forward for a period). Supply chain disruption during the pandemic caused delays and price spikes for construction materials, which has increased overhead costs considerably for many projects. Lumber costs saw a huge spike at one point and have since come down to 2018 prices, while overseas delivery of steel has seen a huge delay. Aaron Fenton, Vice President of Development at Boston Properties believes that “we’re still in a transitory inflation period that’s affecting commodity prices and there’s a backlog of orders that are still getting filled due to factories being shut down last year. It will probably take six to nine months for that backlog to get churned through before prices start to settle.”
  10. There is Still Much Uncertainty as to how COVID-19 Applies to Force Majeure Clauses in Construction Contracts. Owners and contractors will be reconsidering the specific force majeure language, and allocation of force majeure risks, in construction contracts going forward. According to Matt Field, President at TMG Partners, “the contract language we’re going to get now is going to contemplate these things and there will be a new negotiation around delays that come from these kinds of events.” These negotiations could cause issues with lenders, who may have issues with the increased costs that could result from these negotiations.
by

Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) / Section 58.02 / Violations / Administrative Citation Enforcement (ACE) Program / Ordinance

CF 20-0553

COMMUNICATION FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY and ORDINANCE FIRST CONSIDERATION relative to amending the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) to authorize the use of an administrative citation for failure to abate a public nuisance consisting of weeds or other dangerous conditions on real property.

Recommendation for Council action, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE MAYOR:

PRESENT and ADOPT the accompanying ORDINANCE, dated June 18, 2020, relative to amending Section 58.02 of the LAMC, to authorize the use of an administrative citation for failure to abate a public nuisance consisting of weeds or other dangerous conditions on real property, and to allocate 50 percent of any Administrative Fine collected to the Council District Real Property Trust Fund.

Fiscal Impact Statement: None submitted by the City Attorney. Neither the City Administrative Officer nor the Chief Legislative Analyst has submitted a financial analysis of this report.

Community Impact Statement: None submitted.

(Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee waived consideration of the above matter)

by

Map of Submitted Applications to LA City Planning – December 6, 2021 to December 17, 2021

Click Here to See Map of Recent Applications or email SATT for customized maps with different time periods.

Narrow your search by selecting any combination of the following:

  • Address
  • Case Number
  • App. date
  • Request Type
  • Project Description
  • Community Plan Area
  • Council District
  • Neighborhood Council
  • Applicant Contact

 

by

Planning Administrative Cases Now Accepted Online

Online Application Portal

Source:  Department of City Planning

Dear Stakeholder:

Los Angeles City Planning is pleased to announce that most stand-alone administrative cases can now be filed entirely online using the Department’s Online Application System portal (OAS). Open 24/7, the OAS allows users to submit documents digitally, in addition to obtaining status updates on a project filing, without requiring an in-person appointment.

Throughout the pandemic, the OAS has helped City Planning maintain its core services so project applications can advance easily through the review process. By incorporating new technological advancements, the Department has also been able to maximize its resources.

To utilize this service, applicants must first create an online account. After establishing login credentials, applicants will be directed to select from a menu of planning clearances supported by OAS.

In the months ahead, the Department will expand the list of planning services available online. Until then, the Department will continue to accept physical files at the Metro/Downtown and Van Nuys Development Services Centers (DSC). However, physical drop-off boxes have been set up at the DSCs to ease the process for submitting project applications and plans, without having to schedule an appointment.

For more information, contact the following DSC locations and visit the Department’s website.
Metro/Downtown DSC

201 N. Figueroa St., 4th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 482-7077
planning.figcounter@lacity.org

Van Nuys DSC
6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 251
Van Nuys, CA 91401
Phone: (818) 374-5050
planning.mbc2@lacity.org

West Los Angeles DSC
1828 Sawtelle Blvd., 2nd Floor
West Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 231-2598
planning.westla@lacity.org

by

REVISED MEMORANDUM ON SB 35 MAXIMUM DENSITY PERMITTED BY LAND USE DESIGNATION OR ZONE

Source:  Department of City Planning

On September 29, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown approved Senate Bill No. 35 (SB 35), effective as of January 1, 2018. On November 29, 2018, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) released the guidelines for the Streamlined Ministerial Approval Process created by SB 35 (SB 35 Guidelines}. As required by Article 3, Section 300 of HCD’s Streamlined Ministerial Approval Process Guidelines, the Department of City Planning has created an application process for eligible developments. This memorandum replaces the SB35 Maximum Density Permitted by Land Use Designation or Zone memorandum issued by City Planning on September 16, 2020, and clarifies the process for SB 35 projects in “P” Automobile Parking Zone.

Read entire memo December 6, 2021

Read SB 35

 

by

Council and Committee Referrals – Friday, December 03, 2021

21-1431 Replacement obligations and occupant protection provisions of California Government Code Section 66300.
To Housing Committee
Motion (Bonin – Raman – Harris-Dawson) relative to directing the Los Angeles Housing Department and Department of City Planning, with the assistance of the City Attorney, to draft and present an ordinance with an urgency clause that requires the replacement obligations and occupant protection provisions of California Government Code Section 66300.

 

21-1426 L.A. Al Fresco Program, Slow Streets, and other transportation safety programs.
To Transportation Committee
City Administrative Officer report 0150-11670-0002, dated October 25, 2021, relative to authorizing the Los Angeles Department of Transportation to execute a Fourth Amendments to each of three contracts for As-Needed Traffic Control Services that support the L.A. Al Fresco Program, Slow Streets, and other transportation safety programs.
by

Council and Committee Referral – Wednesday December 01, 2021

21-1414 Ordinance establishing basic precepts applicable to all SB 9 projects is adopted.
To Planning and Land Use Management Committee
Motion (Koretz – Blumenfield – Raman) relative to instructing the Department of City Planning and Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, with assistance from the City Attorney and members of the subdivision committee, to prepare a memorandum that shall be used by all Departments and agencies until such time as a local implementation ordinance establishing basic precepts applicable to all SB 9 projects is adopted.