With fewer staff members to cover the workload, L.A. is redefining planners' roles, including a change that will make planners more community-focused and less centralized.
Mitch Mezner writes, "Cases will be assigned to a Geographic Division based on the location of the project. For example, a project located in Westwood would be assigned to the West Harbor Geographic Division and the Westside Subgeographic Section. By organizing around geographic regions, the Planning Department expects planners to gain a breadth and depth of knowledge about a particular community, which it believes will ensure high-quality, localized project review in all regions."
Mezner says the change is supposed to eliminate redundancies from the past where multiple planners would be required to weigh in on the same project.
Read the full story: L.A. City Planning Reorganization Is 'Game Changing'
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