An Open Letter to the New Planning Director of Los Angeles

Do Good Planning

Dear Mr. LoGrande,

Five years ago more than 50 planners, academics, community activists, and researchers signed an open letter about the need to find a planning director who would share the vision and have the skills to plan for a “Livable City.” That letter laid out 17 areas critical to better planning. Some, though not all of the principles and ideas identified by the Livable City letter have begun to be addressed, including those elaborated by the Planning Commission’s “Do Real Planning” principles.

However, much still needs to be done. Mayor Villaraigosa has appointed a new Planning Director at a moment in time when planning issues -- whether related to the built and physical environment, community development, transportation and land use, public health, housing, open space, or community participation in the planning process -- remain as critical and contested as they were five years ago. With the Great Recession slowing down the pace of development and deeply cutting into the public sector’s capacity to facilitate such development, we see this moment as an opportunity to step back again, not to simply focus on the next development, but to re-envision those principles and vision that could and should guide what planning means to Los Angeles in creating a more livable city for all its residents.

The potential changes for the city and the region are enormous. For example, the 30-10 Plan to build $40 billion worth of transportation projects in the next 10 years, with 70% of that funding going to transit, promises to transform Los Angeles’ rail and bus network into a world-class transit system. Such a shift in how we plan our transportation creates the opportunity to revitalize neighborhoods around old and new rail stations and new and improved bus lines, and build new homes for people who live and work here; all while making Los Angeles a better place to live.

But Los Angeles will not be a better place to live if all the focus is on approving any and all new development quickly. It needs to be about getting the kind of new development we want where we want it. That takes good planning. That takes getting out in front of the developers by giving them a clear vision of what our neighborhoods want and our city needs, rather than always reacting to proposed developments.

We urge the new Planning Director, Michael LoGrande, to “Do Good Planning.” By that we mean to work with the people who live and work in the City to craft plans that will achieve a collective vision of:
• good jobs
• clean air
• more opportunities to walk, bike and take the bus and rail rather than drive
• revitalizing neighborhoods with new development without displacing current residents
• affordable places to live near work, family, schools, and shops
• neighborhood shopping that includes local businesses and healthy food choices
• more safe and accessible parks with activities for children and families
• access to healthy, fresh, good food for all communities and residents
• meaningful community engagement where everyone is provided the tools to actively participate

Now is a good time to plan. Free from the pressure of proposed developments during this economic downturn, we can concentrate on crafting the plans that will get us the kind of development we want in the places we want it. Through strong planning we can send a clear signal to developers about what we want and this clarity will make their work easier and faster.

We need to break out of the silos that separate and then pit against each other the needs for affordable housing, parks and open space, transportation alternatives, good jobs close to where people live, livable places and environments, and good food. We need strong community participation in envisioning the places where we live, work, play, and eat. We can do that by strengthening opportunities like the community plan process to make that visioning concrete and establishing and institutionalizing the mechanisms for effective community input into the planning process.

Let us lay the foundation for putting our neighbors back to work building the green city of our dreams. The last major transformation of Los Angeles came when we embraced the automobile; the next one will occur when we embrace a walkable, livable city.

[Your name]