Revised Sign Ordinance – CPC-2009-0008-CA

The following AIA/LA position letter was submitted for the record at the January 22nd City of Los Angeles Planning Commission Meeting.

January 22, 2009

 

Honorable Bill Roschen

Honorable Members of the City Planning Commission

Department of City Planning

City of Los Angeles

200 North Spring Street, Mail Stop 395

Los Angeles, California 90012-2601

 

Re: Revised Sign Ordinance – CPC-2009-0008-CA

 

Dear Commission President Roschen and Members of the Commission:

 

The Los Angeles Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA/LA) supports the intent of the draft Revised Sign Ordinance. The Draft is a comprehensive indicator of a new and welcome approach to regulate signage. In particular, AIA/LA supports the draft ordinance's elimination of the off-site signage definition, supports the continued ban on new billboards per the 2002 ordinance, and supports prohibitions on digital media, except as may be allowed in sign districts. AIA/LA, however, also urgently recommends that the Commission instruct the Department to convene a panel of design experts, or a consultant team with design skills, to work with staff and the public to further review, illustrate, and as appropriate make recommendations for the refinement of the sign type standards.

 

Citizens, designers, property owners, and managers need to be able to visualize the signs that will be allowed and the standards that will regulate them. Without visualizing the code, AIA/LA is concerned that the ordinance, despite good intentions, will be restrictive in ways that are unnecessary (for example, no allowance for signs over 35'), and expansive in ways that are not intended (for example, unintended incentivizing of more temporary signs).

 

Towards the goal of visual understanding, AIA/LA plans to immediately organize a public discussion where Los Angeles designers will immerse themselves in the proposed language, discuss its pros and cons, and make recommendations for consideration by this commission and others. It is essential that this type of visualization also be an integral part of the City's internal efforts as well as public outreach. Although City staff has been directed to have this ordinance ready for adoption by March 2009, the AIA/LA encourages the Commission to utilize the full six months available to make certain that the Los Angeles sign ordinance is visually vetted. A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

We look forward to contributing to a visualization process that will allow for better consideration of regulations that critically impact the environmental design of Los Angeles.

 

Very truly yours,

John Kaliski, AIA

President

AIA Los Angeles

 

cc:            Directors, AIA/LA

            S. Gail Goldberg, AICP, Director of Planning

“Solar LA; Greener City: Greener Economy. The Los Angeles Solar Energy Plan”

On March 3, 2009  the "The Los Angeles Solar Energy Plan" will be on the ballot as Proposition LA-B. Green Energy and Good Jobs for Los Angeles Program -- City of Los Angeles (Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required).  The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce prepared the following OVERVIEW and suggested certain notable amendments, which I believe have been included in the updated proposition.  Essentially, the original plan was to develop the 400 megawatts using only labor-union contractors and LADWP-owned photovoltaic cells placed throughout the City on consignment, yet the updated plan would also include cost-competitive private-sector alternatives such as feed-in-tariffs and Power Purchase Agreements with private power producers.  Here is the LETTER the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce submitted along with BOMA, VICA and the California Apartment Association.

Another source of information that seems to be in support of the issue is a detailed analysis from THE POLICY REPORT.  However, I would question whether or not this is a neutral source of information.  It is rather difficult to tell.

Other resources include the rather-biased LA WEEKLY article and of course the VOTE NO ON PROP B website.

Clearly, this is a complicated issue and its a shame that renewable energy initiatives are so easily highjacked.

It is of my opinion that utility-scale solar plans require an over-abundance of transmission infrastructure and that a feed-in-tariff/ distributed power generation protocol matched with a net-zero energy building portfolio would not only be more sustainable to implement, develop and maintain - but would benefit the City with more design diversity, as well.

-Will Wright

Director, Gov't & Public Affairs

AIA Los Angeles

Cornfield Arroyo Seco Specific Plan (CASP)

Will-

I wanted to wish you and everyone at the AIA a wonderful Holiday. If you haven't yet had the chance please take a moment to review the current draft of the Cornfield Arroyo Seco Specific Plan (CASP). Its on-line at http://cornfieldsla.googlepages.com. To provide time for some additional technical analysis we've extended the comment period until January 17th and postponed the environmental scoping meeting until March 2009.

We'll be releasing a second draft Plan prior to the scoping meeting. That draft will define the "project" that will be the subject of the environmental review process.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions. I can be reached at: 213.473.9987 or at: claire.bowin@lacity.org

Thank you again for your interest in the CASP and I look forward to working with you and the AIA n 2009.

Claire

Claire Bowin, AICP, LEED AP

Department of Planning

200 N. Spring Street, Room 721

Los Angeles, CA 90012

213.473.9987

claire.bowin@lacity.org

AB 32 Scoping Plan Meetings and Workshops

AB 32 Scoping Plan Meetings and Workshops

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) developed the Scoping Plan mandated by the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). Please look below for our complete public meeting schedule.

Scoping Plan Meetings and Workshops

Date	Title	Location	Materials
January 29, 2009	Workshop on AB 32 Implementation of the Scoping Plan (all day) | Live Webcast

Cal/EPA HQ, Sacramento CA - Byron Sher Auditorium

Coming Soon!

Other Public Meetings and Archives

• AB 32 Administrative Fee Workshops
• Climate Change Community Meetings
• AB 32 Technical Stakeholder Work Group Meetings

Meetings Archive - Scoping Plan Workshops

* The ARB Board approved the Scoping Plan on December 11, 2008