New Year Advice From TPR Readers: "What Land-Use Priorities Should Our Electeds Have?"

"For one thing, we must promote mixed-use developments, learning from cities where this already exists. Living close to transportation hubs, employment, retail, and entertainment will allow us to reduce time spent in gridlock. This would shorten commuting time and increase productivity."

Sen. Jack Scott
D-Pasadena

"Developing urban infill housing, across a very large price range, Playa Vista and other builders are helping people live closer to where they work, reducing commutes, and taking cars off of freeways and regional highways."

Steve Soboroff
President, Playa Vista

"California must balance housing supply and demand by streamlining the permit process, boosting the supply of homes and planning for current and future infrastructure needs. We need leadership that makes housing and infrastructure a priority."

Ray Pearl
Executive Officer, Greater Los Angeles/Ventura Building Industry Association

"Fixing the entitlement/variance process so that people can not practice exclusionary zoning and thwart needed higher density development and the spreading of a fair share of housing for all income levels across the city."

Neelura Bell
Program Director, LA LISC

"Many local governments are trying to solve social and workforce issues without a clear understanding of the economic consequences of these actions. This, coupled with the "fiscalization" of land use emphasizing retail sales tax generators over true job generators, leads many local governments to neglect critical community initiatives."

Joel Kotkin
Senior Fellow, La Jolla Institute

"Restoration and re-use of abandoned or underutilized properties, commonly called brownfields, provide an opportunity to revitalize inner city neighborhoods (e.g., by creating jobs, housing, and tax revenues) and protect valuable agricultural lands, important wildlife habitats, and precious vistas."

Sen. Martha Escutia
D-Norwalk

"Our top priorities should be to 1) collaborate across neighborhoods and cities for better regional results, 2) plan for the long-term and involve the public in the planning process, and 3) focus our attention on transportation, housing and public facilities such as parks and schools."

Nick Bollman
President & CEO, California Center for Regional Leadership

"Armed with development incentives available through measures such as L.A.'s recently enacted RAS zoning ordinance, efforts to increase density beyond L.A.'s urban core and leverage L.A.'s transportation infrastructure through mixed-use projects will increase dramatically in 2005. Are L.A. communities really ready to become the ‘New York' of the West?"

Tony Lucente
President, Studio City Residents Assn.

"With billions in school bonds for new school facilities in hand, our electeds should break free of their institutional handcuffs and engage in collaborative efforts to leverage funds and build new schools as joint use centers of our neighborhoods."

Lucy Okumu
Executive Director, New School Better Neighborhoods