Hot on the heels of the hard fought passage of a new community plan for Hollywood comes news that the City Council has approved five years of funding for L.A.'s planning department to revise the city's zoning code, for the first time since 1946.
It's been a good week for the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, after completing a decade long effort to develop an updated community plan for Hollywood, the City Council approved the Comprehensive Zoning Code Revision Ordinance, which "provides five years of funding for Planning Department staff to overhaul
the zoning code using money from the Construction Services Trust Fund
(a city fund that generates revenues through the General Fund
Maintenance Fee)," reports James Brasuell.
As Brasuell notes, the zoning code revision was far less divisive than the Hollywood community plan, with industry groups and homeowners both supporting a comprehensive update to the city's nearly 70-year-old code.
"The zoning code revision is part of a larger Planning Department effort
to streamline the development approval process. (If you really want to
know, the Multiple Approvals Ordinance, Core Findings Ordinance, the Community Plan Implementation Ordinance, and the Development Services Case Management Office are also included in what the city is calling the Development Reform Strategic Plan.) As Deputy Planning Director Alan Bell explained in April,
those earlier ordinances were incremental, targeted steps taken to
improve the most problematic parts of the Zoning Code, 'a down payment
on a comprehensive effort to reform the code,' so now the heavy lifting
begins."
FULL STORY: LA Will Finally Get a Major Overhaul of Its 1946 Zoning Code
Los Angeles Planners Have Had It Up to Here With Parking Podiums
Above-grade parking garages, also called parking podiums, have become a standard typology across Los Angeles. From Koreatown to Downtown, new residential buildings are separated from the street by several floors of space devoted to parking.
Los Angeles (Temporarily) Bans New McMansions
Concerns about out-of-character construction, much of it oversized, has led the Los Angeles City Council to prohibit construction of additional 'McMansions.' In some areas, all new development will be held up for two years.
Meet the Historic Oddities of the Los Angeles Zoning Code's Use List
With the city of Los Angeles amidst its first comprehensive overhaul of its Zoning Code since 1946, the Planning Department's outreach efforts include a new post explaining the regulated land uses of yesteryear.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie