Better Zoning Codes for Better Quality of Life

Joel Miller, Vice President and Principal at Psomas, explains the purview of re:code LA in an exclusive interview with The Planning Report. He distinguishes between zoning and planning, questioning the degree to which the public should be interested in an initiative that will not re-zone property. However, he does point out one area of re:code LA of import to the public: looking at development standards, which have the potential to impact quality of life if setbacks and parking requirements change in a given neighborhood.

Finally, Miller delves into the political challenges facing the process and his concerns about its completion:

"The thinking in City Hall is to start with Downtown because it tends to look more favorably on development and code amendments... The idea is to roll it out in Downtown first, and then see how that goes. If we can’t get a new zoning code done Downtown, then I don’t know how we can hope to be successful elsewhere... The rest of the city tends to be more circumspect and wary of what’s going on whenever City Hall wants to make changes. I really hope that I’m wrong, but I fear it’s going to be a difficult slog and a real challenge."

This is Part II in a TPR series on the Los Angeles zoning code. See the publication's January/February issue for the first installment.