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CCA's industrial land press conference located at Linear City's Toy Factory Lofts, from left to right: Councilwoman Jan Perry, CCA's President & CEO Carol Schatz, and Councilman Jose Huizar (see third article below).
Council Approves Landmark TFAR Ordinance; CCA Major Player
CCA is pleased to announce that the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved the Transfer of Floor Area Ratio (TFAR) proposal that CCA, the Planning Department and the Community Redevelopment Agency drafted in early 2006. This proposal is two years in the making, originating in the Planning Commission in early 2005.
TFAR allows developers to purchase density, or "air rights," from underdeveloped Downtown sites, in order to build new projects at greater density than existing limits would otherwise allow. While TFAR has been in existence since the 1980s, the law, as previously written, made the TFAR process extremely costly. The revised law makes TFAR relevant to Downtown developers, streamlining the process and establishing a reasonable public benefit payment. We are hopeful that this will result in greater density and residential development in Downtown, and enhance the "look and feel" of our City Center.
CCA would like to thank members John Whitaker of DLA Piper Rudnick , and O'Malley Miller and Paul Rohrer of Munger Tolles & Olson for all of their hard work and time spent on this successful effort.
PLUM Approves Downtown Housing Ordinances
CCA's strong advocacy pushed three ordinances through City Council's Planning & Land Use Management Committee (PLUM) this week. Referred to as the "Downtown Housing Ordinances," these ordinances implement design guidelines for Downtown; establish a floor area bonus to encourage affordable housing in high rise construction; and update development standards to foster residential development recognizing Downtown's dense, urban fabric. Most importantly, these ordinances will allow developers to build greater density, by right. Once approved by the City, these ordinances will streamline the development process for many Downtown developers, eliminating the need for certain variances.
CCA worked closely with the Planning Department to develop these ordinances more than two years ago. While the Planning Commission approved the ordinances in 2005, they waited for a hearing in PLUM for more than one year. CCA is advocating for a timely full Council hearing.
CCA Holds Press Conference Highlighting Recent Industrial Land Study
CCA held a press conference at Linear City's Toy Factory Lofts to demonstrate the importance of mixed-use development in and around Downtown's Arts and Fashion Districts. Toy Factory Lofts is a shining example of the positive impact mixed-use development can have in Downtown's industrial zone. For this event,
Councilmembers Jose Huizar
and
Jan Perry
joined CCA's President & CEO
Carol Schatz
and CCA members
Kate Bartolo
,
KOR Group
;
Len Hill
,
Linear City
; and
Kent Smith
,
Fashion District.
John Underkoffler
of
Oblong
, a technology company based on the ground floor of the Toy Factory, also participated.
The press conference gave CCA the opportunity to highlight critical points from its commissioned study conducted by CBRE Consulting on the economic impacts of preserving Downtown's industrial land for industrial uses only. CBRE Consulting found that mixed-use development in certain areas of Downtown's M-zones, including the Fashion District and the area in and around the Arts District, will create more jobs, pay higher wages, and generate more tax revenues to the City than heavy industrial uses.
Those running stories include
ABC Eyewitness News, L.A. Times, Downtown News,
and
Garment & Citizen.
CCA has been leading the business community's response on this issue, in favor of a more flexible land use policy. CCA submitted comments and the CBRE Consulting study to the City in mid-February. The City is reviewing CCA's and other stakeholders' comments and will present updated recommendations to the Planning Commission in the coming months. In addition, CCA has met with
Director of Planning, Gail Goldberg
and is very appreciative of her support for an open stakeholder process.
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• CCA staff and Cedd Moses, 213 Ventures, met with Chief Zoning Administrator, Michael LoGrande, to discuss 7th Street revitalization and the possibility of obtaining a blanket CUP for the corridor. • CCA's Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Veronica Perez Becker, met with area business leaders to discuss modernization of LAX. • CCA staff testified in opposition to the Planning Commission's revised draft implementing ordinance for the Mello Act, a state law requiring affordable housing in the coastal zone. The revised draft ordinance takes out the flexibility originally proposed by Planning staff and will hinder the development of housing along the coast. • CCA's Transportation & Infrastructure Committee met with LADOT General Manager Gloria Jeff to discuss CCA's transportation initiatives. CCA will schedule an additional meeting with Ms. Jeff to hear status reports on several items. • CCA and Weston Benshoof held a fundraiser in support of Richard Alarcon's bid for the Council District 7 seat. City Council / LAUSD School Board Election Results : CD 2 - Wendy Greuel; CD 4 - Tom LaBonge; CD 6 - Tony Cardenas; CD 7 - Richard Alarcon; CD 8 - Bernard Parks; CD 10 - Herb Wesson, Jr.; CD 12 - Greig Smith; CD 14 - Jose Huizar; LAUSD 1 - Marguerite LaMotte; LAUSD 3 - Runoff (Tamar Galatzan and Jon Lauritzen); LAUSD 5 - Yolie Flores Aguilar; LAUSD 7 - Runoff (Richard Vladovic and Neal Kleiner). CCA endorsed all of the candidates who won (except CCA did not take a position in the LAUSD District 1 race) and CCA endorsed the following candidates who are in runoff elections: LAUSD 3 - Tamar Galatzan, LAUSD 7 - Richard Vladovic. This election is scheduled for May 15, 2007. CCA IN THE NEWS "'There are so many different areas in which to buy or rent now,' said Carol Schatz, president and chief executive of the DCBID and the Central City Association. 'Housing has sprouted up across Downtown, some of it in areas we never expected to see for a long time. There's housing in the Industrial District, and new construction in South Park. Who ever thought we'd see that?'" March 2, Downtown News , " Live and Learn ," by Kathryn Maese about DCBID's housing tour, this weekend.
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