Let's keep pedaling forward!

Friends,

I wanted to share with you the some of the results of the efforts of my organization, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, and the dynamic and dedicated cycling community - which many of you are a part of. Please become a member of LACBC and continue to help make LA a more sustainable, equitable, and livable city!

Please forward this email on to folks you know who bicycle and friends who would like to bicycle if they felt the streets were safer. We are working to make LA streets safe and inviting for people ages 8 to 80!

Los Angeles Grabs National Headlines, Help Continue this Momentum

In last week's e-newsletter, we celebrated what had been designated as Bike Week in Los County, and we shared Momentum Magazine's article highlighting Los Angeles and the strides that have been taken to make Los Angeles more bike-friendly over the past few years.

This weekend, we saw the national "newspaper of record" take notice of our bicycling scene in a New York Times article about the increasing acceptance of cyclists on our streets.

Bicycling Magazine then gave Los Angeles a quiet nod of approval by including LA in its annual list ofAmerica's Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities at a respectable #32, citing a stat from our most recent bike count report as one of LA's bicycling claims to fame. (In case you're wondering how LA did last year, it didn't make the list).

In a city known for its car culture, we're pleased to see the rest of the country taking notice of this progress. It was just a few years ago that LA's most recent bike plan was from 1996, CicLAvia seemed like a distant dream, and you probably could count on one hand how many cyclists you saw in a day. This recent recognition of bicycling in Los Angeles is because of people like you that ride your bikes and and support a better, more bike-able Los Angeles.

Let's keep pedaling forward and building this momentum! Become an LACBC member or renew your membership so that we can continue working for you to make Los Angeles County a better place for you to ride. And if you happen to live in a city represented by one of our 10 local chapters, join that chapter at no extra cost.

Being nationally recognized is great and all, but we know there is still so much to be done to make Los Angeles County a truly welcoming place for people who ride bikes. Join us in making this possible!

And remember to live every week like it's Bike Week, Los Angeles!

Sonic Trace and the KCRW DnA Design Challenge

Sonic Trace and the KCRW DnA Design Challenge

Sonic Trace, a new media project and radio series, a direct result of KCRW’s Independent Producer Project, is bringing you stories that explore the three age-old questions about community and immigration — ¿Por qué te fuiste? ¿Por qué te quedaste? ¿Por qué regresaste? (Why did you leave? Why do you stay? Why do you go back?) And in case you don’t know KCRW, we’re a public radio station based in LA with a global audience and renowned news, talk and music programming.

Which begs the next question: Why YOU?

A large part of Sonic Trace is recording stories. But, in order to record stories, we need a Sound Booth. And that’s where you come in to play! In partnership with KCRW program DnA and Producer/Host Frances Anderton, Sonic Trace is launching a Sound Booth Design Challenge! We need your help spreading the word about our challenge. We’ve got a tight budget, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t looking to build something special. We’re challenging designers, architects, builders… visionaries to create an intimate, inviting and innovative sound booth.

The booth will be traveling all over Los Angeles — to churches, food fairs and schools. To rock, jazz and cumbia concerts. We will be at the park, at the coffee shop and hanging at the tamale hot spots. We’ll be setting up and closing shop alongside food trucks and observing public transportation from bus stops and corner shops. You get the idea? These places will be noisy and hectic. So we’ll need a space of intimacy, reflection and “border-less-ness” for broadcast quality story-telling. (Think Story Corps with a KCRW edge, an angelino accent and a tale that starts or ends in far-off land).

The deadline for entry submissions is June 8^th. More details on the design challenge can be found here!

AIA|LA UDC Presents...STREETS FOR PEOPLE :: Wednesday, May 16 (6:30 - 8:30pm)

As a reminder, we look forward to seeing you tomorrow night at the next AIA|LA Urban Design Committee meeting.

AIA|LA Urban Design Committee presents
STREETS FOR PEOPLE: Moving Forward
Wednesday, May 16 (6:30pm - 8:30pm)
AIA Los Angeles
3780 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 800
Los Angeles, CA 90010

RSVP to Will Wright at Will[@]aialosangeles.org

STREETS FOR PEOPLE: Moving Forward

SPEAKERS:
Bill Roschen, FAIA - President, Planning Commission - City of Los Angeles
Margot Ocañas

Please join us in a lively discussion about the Streets For People initiative as we celebrate the success of their recent Sunset Triangle Plaza (generously designed byRios Clementi Hale Studios). Ideally, the S4P initiative will set a precedent and a template for how community groups citywide can identify and adopt underutilized street surfaces and repurpose them into public plazas and common spaces. On the 16th, we aim to:

• Share a presentation and lead a discussion about the Streets For Peopleinitiative.
• Discuss next steps for the pilot project and the program overall
• Identify what will be most helpful moving forward to inspire more people to get involved
• Identify what the AIA|LA Urban Design Committee and the AIA membership can do to propel the S4P initiative further
• Identify what resources needed to create the template that can be adopted by other community group

For more details about the Streets For People initiative, please click here.

To read an article about the recent Silver Lake Triangle, click here.

About Streets For People:

The mission of Streets For People (S4P) is to inexpensively repurpose underused portions of streets, changing them into vibrant public spaces, and turning streets for cars into streets for people.

There has been increased demand in Los Angeles for safer and more welcoming streets for residents to play, walk, run, bicycle and relax. At the same time, City agencies are trying to decrease rates of obesity, improve air quality, create alternative transportation choices, address lack of park space and improve the walkability and accessibility of neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

Streets for People offers a cost efficient and time expedient approach to creating public plazas out of underutilized portions of our streets. These demonstration plazas are designed to be temporary (with movable barriers and furniture and easily removable street paint) and dynamic spaces that can become destinations for people of all ages, backgrounds and physical abilities; where a resident can linger, patronizing businesses or engaging with members of their community.

Cities like New York and San Francisco have led the way in creating successful public spaces from underused portions of the street and Los Angeles, with it's wide and flat streets, myriad outdoor events and warm weather, is an ideal city to embrace public realm projects taking place around the country.

For more information, please contact:

Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA
Director, Government & Public Affairs
AIA Los Angeles
(213) 639-0764
email: Will[@]aialosangeles.org

Comprehensive Zoning Code Revision - Facts Regarding Current Proposal

Greetings All:

We wanted to go ahead distribute the attached one-page fact sheet regarding the Comprehensive Zoning Code Revision funding proposal and proposed work program.  Below is the text contained in the attachment:

Comprehensive Zoning Code Revision

Facts Regarding the Current Proposal – May, 2012

 

PROPOSED PROJECT

The City of Los Angeles Department of City Planning has developed a proposal to embark on one of the City’s largest planning initiatives to date: a comprehensive revision of the City’s Zoning Code.  The current Zoning Code was first adopted in 1946, and has grown from an 84-page pamphlet to a 600+ page book that does not reflect the City’s 21st Century needs or vision.  The five-year work program includes three major deliverables:

• Dynamic Web-Based Zoning Code - Clear and predictable Code that allows for customized/interactive on-line experience
• Layperson’s Guide to Zoning - Easy-to-Read Guides that help people navigate regulations & procedures
• Unified Downtown Development Code - New Zoning Tools for revitalization of Downtown within first 24-30 months of the program; ensuring it is poised to lead the charge for Los Angeles’s economic recovery

 

RECENT ACTIVITY

On March 27, 2012, the Department requested funding for a 5-year effort to comprehensively revise the City of Los Angeles’s Zoning Code.  Staff presented this request along with a detailed work program to the City Council’s Planning & Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee at its April 24, 2012 meeting.

Audio of this meeting can be found here: http://lacity.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=103&clip_id=10369

Public comments can be found 48 minutes and 10 seconds into the meeting audio linked above.  PLUM approved the Department’s request.

 

SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

The proposal will result in a new Zoning Code that:

• Establishes clear & predictable language
• More effectively implements the Goals & Objectives of the General Plan and Community Plans
• Offers a wider variety of zoning options that protect and/or enhance our communities
• Reflects the diversity of Los Angeles and allows each neighborhood to maintain a distinct sense of place
•  Accommodates the City’s current and future needs
• Improves the built environment, economic vitality, & quality of life
• Is an economic development tool that will help shore up the City’s tax base

 

The work program was established with the idea that the Zoning Code is the set of rules that everyone agrees to play by.  It includes an enhanced public participation strategy that will include many opportunities for public involvement and feedback.  Our Department is committed to an open and transparent process that ensures that all stakeholders are given the opportunity to participate and contribute to the new land use and development standards.

 

WHAT THE PROJECT WON’T DO

The project will not: 1) override any existing Specific Plans or Overlays; or 2) result in the wholesale "up-zoning" of the City.

 

Although changes will eventually be pursued in order to implement the new Zoning Code, the proposed work program does not include any amendments to the current Zoning designations.  Any future changes will include notifications and public hearings.  The Department’s official position is stated 37 minutes and 40 seconds into the PLUM meeting audio.

 

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.

Facts Regarding Comprehensive Zoning Code Revision - May 2012.pdf Download this file

Department of Regional Planning - Technical Update - Division 2

The Department of Regional Planning is in the process of updating Title 22, the Zoning Code.  This project, the Technical Update to Title 22, will reorganize and simplify the existing code, correct errors and omissions, and remove obsolete and redundant regulations.  There will be no modifications to land use regulations or development standards.

The draft for Division 2 – Base Zones is available for public review and has been uploaded to the Department’s website at http://planning.lacounty.gov/tu. Division 2 consolidates and categorizes individual use lists from 25 zones in the existing code, converting them in to use charts organized in to similar zones.  Within each use table, uses have been alphabetically relocated into one of 15 use categories.  In order to consolidate the use lists, repeated or lengthy use/development standards were converted into footnotes and are explained at the end of the use tables, or were transferred to Division 6 – Standards for Specific Uses. 

We welcome and encourage your comments.  Please send your comments to us directly at ordstudies@planning.lacounty.gov by May 22, 2012.  This Division will be presented to the Regional Planning Commission as a discussion item (no vote) on May 23, 2012 at 9 a.m.  After the Regional Planning Commission has reviewed all sections of the Technical Update, the entire document will be brought to the Regional Planning Commission for a public hearing. 

We will be forwarding you sections of the Technical Update every two months over the next year.  You have received this announcement because of your previous interest in Regional Planning projects.  Since the Technical Update will be applicable countywide, please feel free to inform other interested parties of this project.                            

If you would like to be removed from this list, please respond with "remove" in the subject line.

Ordinance Studies Section
Department of Regional Planning
320 W. Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA  90012
http://planning.lacounty.gov 

 

 

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This email message, including any attachments, from the Department of Regional Planning is intended for the official and confidential use of the recipients to whom it is addressed. It contains information that may be confidential, privileged, work product, or otherwise exempted from disclosure under applicable law. If you have received this message in error, be advised that any review, disclosure, use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction of this message or its contents is strictly prohibited. Please notify us immediately by reply email that you have received this message in error, and destroy this message, including any attachments.

OPENING MONDAY 5/14: Catenary Whorl Opens at Little Bear

Catenary Whorl  OPENING: Monday, May 14, 5-7 p.m. Little Bear 1855 Industrial Street Los Angeles, CA 90021   This past semester Woodbury School of Architecture graduate students designed and built Catenary Whorl in a class taught by David Freeland, of FreelandBuck. The students suspended an acoustic canopy above Little Bear, a boisterous gastropub in downtown Los Angeles.   Conceived as part of Freeland's drawing and visualization seminar, Evolving Media, the canopy is composed of 5,000 feet of soft, thick rope, which hangs from the ceiling of the restaurant. The canopy diffuses and absorbs sound while creating a unique atmosphere. The rope is hand-dyed and the hues correspond with regions of color intensity identifying areas of acoustic absorption. Because the rope is hung more densely in some areas than others, the undulating surface subdivides the restaurant into smaller volumes, reducing reverberation time and creating distinct spatial qualities for bar, lounge, and dining areas.   Catenary Whorl was created by Woodbury School of Architecture graduate students in the visualization seminar Evolving Media taught by David Freeland. Zachary Schoch, teaching assistant; Ana Del Longo-Silberstein, Henry Cheung, Israel Castillo, Kemi Esho, Michael Kuroda, Pamas Moleeratanond, Roosevelt Golino, Sunny Lam   Additional assistance: Juan Lau, Teagan Castellon, Rana Ahmadi, Mark Montiel, Paul Castellanos, Duc Le, Brian Diaz, Joseph Veliz, Eric Arm.

Join us for: From Ideas to Reality

Hi there!

We are so excited! 

At this month's LA Here and Now workshop we are collaborating with 

the Hub LA and Startup Hen

on an interactive workshop:

_______ From Ideas to Reality  _______

Making LA a better place to live, work and play

Whether you have your own idea for how to improve LA, 

or you want to learn new techniques for getting concepts implemented in the future, 

we will teach you how to conceptualize a sustainable model for change.

Saturday, May 19

9.30am - 1.30pm

Hub LA
830 Traction Ave 3A
Los Angeles, CA

Additional Details & Registration

_______________________________________________________

LA Here and Now, New Tools for A Better City is the LA-based event and workshop series of the City Works Campaign

The goal of LA Here and Now is to provide people with the tools and techniques needed to kickstart positive change in LA.

Through partnering with LA's most innovative groups and thought leaders

 and putting on workshops and events, we leverage and integrate the skills of 

 local urbanists, designers programmers, software developers, designers, community activists, 

 urban planners, and urban thinkers into real solutions for our city’s problems.

If you would like to unsubscribe or subscribe from this list, please email hello@cityworkscampaign.org 

with an email subject of UNSUBSCRIBE / SUBSCRIBE

Follow us on twitter @LAhereandnow

AIA Opposes Legislation to Limit Govt Employee Attendance at Association Events

Some of you may have heard about legislation before Congress that would severely restrict the ability of federal government employees to take part in association events and conferences. The legislation, which Congress is rushing through in the wake of the GSA conference scandal, would limit any agency from expending funds on “more than a single conference sponsored or organized by an organization during any fiscal year, unless the agency is the primary sponsor and organizer of the conference.” This means that if agency employees took part in a single AIA event, they would be barred from taking part in any other AIA events that year.

The AIA has joined with nearly 2000 other associations in a letter to Congress expressing its concerns about this legislation and asking Congress to recognize the important educational and information sharing functions that take place at association conferences. The letter, while reiterating the importance of ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, urges Congress to amend the legislation to ensure it does not unduly prevent government personnel from taking part in legitimate conferences and events.

To read the letter, click here.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Andrew L. Goldberg, Assoc. AIA

Managing Director, Government Relations and Outreach

The American Institute of Architects

1735 New York Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20006

Tel 202-626-7438

agoldberg@aia.org

Twitter @aialobbyist

Learning About Los Angeles by Larry Burnett

Learning About Los Angeles.pdf Download this file

LA/2B Maker Challenge Outreach

$500 IDEAS COMPETITION :: CAR-FREE IN LOS ANGELES

Springtime is here and we want you to get out and explore the streets of LA! The City of LA and GOOD want to know what would be your ideal CAR-FREE day in LA? This is a great place to get out and do things. Be it by bike, foot, bus or even horse. It’s sunny. It’s warm. It’s friendly. It’s LA. Now get creative and submit an idea for the chance to win 500 dollars to bring it life!

The deadline to submit is Tuesday, May 15^th, at noon PT.  At that point, we’ll open up all ideas for voting, so rally your colleagues and friends to join the GOOD community and decide which idea is most deserving of the cash. Voting is open May 15-31. The top-voted idea will take home $500 to implement their idea.

Submit your idea to the GOOD LA/2B Challenge: http://la2b.maker.good.is/

Connect with this challenge on twitter at @GOODmkr and follow the conversation via #LAcarfreeday. And, if you’d like to continue to be notified of future GOOD Maker Challenges, let us know here: http://bit.ly/yYlwXS

Can’t wait to see your ideas! http://la2b.maker.good.is/

 

Thanks!

The City's Mobility Element Team