We just wanted to update you all on what happened at the Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee Meeting yesterday afternoon, and give you an idea of what happens next.

PLUM Approves Proposal
The PLUM Committee has approved the Comprehensive Zoning Code Revision proposal and recommended to the City Council that they approve the first year of funding for the proposal, ask the City Attorney to prepare an Ordinance to temporarily increase the General Plan Maintenance Surcharge for a period of 5-years, and that the Department of City Planning prepare a Request for Proposals (otherwise referred to as “RFP”) for the proposed project.

The audio for yesterday’s meeting can be found at the following link:
http://lacity.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=103&clip_id=10369

Alan Bell, Deputy Director made a quick, yet informative presentation in which he outlined the proposal, some history/background on the current Zoning Code, and the benefits of a new Code; we have attached a PDF copy of the presentation to this email.  More importantly, he stated what the proposal is NOT going to do (at 00:37:41 into the meeting audio):
It will not override any of the existing Specific Plans or Overlays; and
It will not result in the wholesale “up-zoning” of the City.

When the City Clerk completes the official action of the PLUM Committee, they will post it on the project’s Council File page; a link has been provided at the end of this email.

What’s Next?
The next step will be for the City Council to review and act on the project’s proposed funding and work program.  We will let you all know when a date is confirmed.  Planning staff will be putting together the paperwork for the RFP and start working with the City Attorney’s Office on the Fee Ordinance.

Assuming the Comprehensive Zoning Code Revision project is funded (we’ll work on a better project name as momentum builds; any suggestions?), most of the work our Department will be doing for the next few months is going to be related to getting the project up and running.  We’ll also work on providing opportunities for early input as well.

PLUM Scheduling Confusion
We apologize for all of the confusion yesterday, but we went through the same back and forth that you experienced via email and we did our best to keep you updated in real-time.  To those who were able to make it, thank you for participating and providing your insight.  We would also like to thank those of you who took the time to submit your comments in writing.  Those of you who were not able to make it, you may have another chance when the proposal goes before the City Council.

Below are links to the Department’s funding request which outlines the work program and budget plan.

Council File No. 12-0460
http://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=12-0460

PDF of Proposal
http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2012/12-0460_rpt_plan_3-27-12.pdf

Help us spread the word by forwarding this information to anyone you feel might be interested.

If you received this email via forwarded message from someone other than myself, and you want to obtain updates directly from the Department, please email erick.lopez@lacity.org and ask to be added to the interest list.  Please type “Add Me To Zoning Code Notification List” in the subject line.

If you are on  Facebook , please visit our Los Angeles City Planning – Code Studies page at http://www.facebook.com/LACityCodeStudies.  Click on the “like” button and you will receive updates in your news feed regarding this project and other proposed Zoning Ordinances as they become available.

As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact myself or David Olivo at david.olivo@lacity.org; email is preferred.

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Erick Lopez
City of Los Angeles | Department of City Planning
Code Studies | Office of Zoning Administration
erick.lopez@lacity.org | 213.978.1323