Mini-Mall season is over at City Hall, but there are numerous ordinances which are just beginning to come into focus.
An 11-0 City Council vote on Tuesday, November 29, has formalized the council process, outlined in Councilman Hal Bernson’s motion, which sets deadlines for consideration of the Permanent Sewer Hook-Up Ordinance. The Council has set a February 1 deadline to modify the current ICO. This could include changes in the proportional distribution of building permits or the amount of sewage allowable. The current ICO, which is modeled on a first-come-first-serve basis, must be replaced by August when it expires.
The CRA has formed a task force to establish a fair formulate for the price of the transfer of air rights. This was the result of developer opposition to the CRA proposal to double the cost of transferring air rights. Their recommendations are due within the next 2 months.
A child care ordinance before the Planning Commission in December would provide incentives for developers—an increase of floor area space—when child care is provided in industrial and commercial development.
Councilman Hal Bernson recently introduced a motion to limit the maximum square footage of single family dwellings. It seems that several projects on Devonshire in Northridge looked to intense and bulky for the size of the lot.
Another ordinance before the Commission in December is a proposal to average the Floor-to-Area Ratio for commercial and industrial projects. In shopping centers, for instance, some units may exceed the FAR for the entire project as long as the average is the same… The Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee on Affordable Housing anticipates raising $15 million per year from a linkage program.
A brouhaha has developed on the Hollywood/Bel Air-Beverlycrest ICO. Residents are concerned about the prohibition on new construction and remodeling, as well as the parking requirements—1 space per 1000 square feet on new construction.
One of the most recent initiatives from the Mayor’s office centers on hotel liquor permits. Developers must obtain their alcohol Conditional Use Permit before obtaining a building permit. If the developer does not receive a CUP first, no alcohol will be served at the hotel for five years.
The Specific Plan for the Mulholland Drive Scenic Parkway was approved by the Planning Commission on November 10, and is now going to P&E.
Of the five new urban design positions funded for the Planning Department, one position will now be responsible for pedestrian issues—a result of the Woo-Braude motion to create a Pedestrian Advocate.
Woo is also trying to implement Pedestrian Overlay Zones into the General Plan.
At the Planning Department, a new section head for Code Studies will be selected in the next two or three months.
The City Council will soon consider a motion to place the CRA directly under the control of the City Council.
Starting December 5th, Diane Love will the chief prosecutor for AQMD.
In a sign of things to come, 200 residents representing nine Venice neighborhoods met to discuss proposed standards for development and provide recommendations for the Local Coastal Plan. Soon each community will have a Community Planning Advisory Council. The Planning Department expects to have its first CPAC’s—for Northeast and Sylmar—established by June.
The city is funding its new $25 million arts funding with a hotel tax and 1% of city capital improvements and private development projects.
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