Has The Moment Arrived To End Political Interference in L.A. City's Land Use Decisions?

Writing under the nom de plume of the ghost of Ed Logue, an L.A.-based land use professional offers this modest proposal for eliminating political interference and campaign cash from L.A. city planning.

2 minute read

September 14, 2020, 10:00 AM PDT

By Clare Letmon


City Hall

trekandshoot / Shutterstock

In this exclusive op-ed for TPR, Ed(ifice) Locus*—a pseudonymous nod to legendary urban planner Ed Logue, and rooted in the Latin word for 'place'—asserts that decoupling campaign finance from land use planning is a necessary safeguard against the pay-to-play schemes that plague the city's entitlement process. Citing L.A. Metro's Conflict of Interest Code, Locus suggests the time has come for strong ethics rules that prohibit council members from voting on projects for campaign donors to begin to restore public faith in City Hall.

"This may be the moment we have dreamed for, the “time of opportunity” when we can finally do good land use planning in Los Angeles.

Truly revolting allegations of fraud and impropriety are in the papers almost every day, allegations that draw back the curtain on pollution in the municipal “entitlement” processes for real estate development. Yet, out of the trauma of this awful fraud, there may emerge a materially improved set of procedures that could render manifest benefits for improving our lives. 

Top quality urban planners have lamented (privately while in office and publicly after they left) that this city could not truly plan its future because of political interference in land use decisions.  It was City Councilmembers who called the shots, not the professional planners we admired, names like Cal Hamilton, Jane Usher, Con Howe and Gail Goldberg. City Council interference was a given. It was pervasive and was essentially required.

And we all knew that such interference could easily be purchased - for cash."

(*To protect the integrity of ongoing federal investigations into LA City Hall corruption, TPR has taken the unusual step of concealing the identity here of the LA-based land use professional who offers this modest proposal for eliminating political interference and campaign cash from LA city planning.) 

For the full article, visit The Planning Report.

Tuesday, September 8, 2020 in The Planning Report

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder