L.A.'s low-key effort to rewrite the zoning code

Well, low-key if you're not a lobbyist. An overhaul of the city's outlandishly complicated, 64-year-old zoning code certainly makes sense - as does a revamping of the business tax structure. But the players are hardly disinterested - developers want to develop and community groups want to be left in peace. Homeowner activist Cary Brazeman, whose organization has been taking out ads in the LAT and Daily News, says that the changes being considered would stifle the public hearing process and create higher densities than currently allowed. In other words, a development free-for-all. From the Business Journal:

"More, bigger projects will be approved across the city without regard for negative impacts," Brazeman said. Oddly enough, some business groups fear the opposite: that some of the proposed changes could give neighborhood activists more power to block development. "While we support the overall effort, some of our members think that some of the language is ambiguous, and could make it easier to frivolously challenge a project," said Carol Schatz, chief executive of the Central City Association, which represents business interests, including developers. For example, under the changes, a development could be hung up if it is found that it would cause "further degradation" of its neighborhood. Opponents could simply argue that an apartment complex, for example, will mean more cars will be on the streets, causing "further degradation" through traffic and pollution.

The Planning Commission has delayed any action for 90 days to give administrators time to meet with all sides. Eventually, it'll land in the City Council's planning and land-use committee and then on to the full council sometime in the spring (talk about sending shivers down your spine). Besides zoning, Brazeman has dived into the subway debate. In a full-page LAT ad, he's urging the MTA to scrap its plan to end the proposed rail line at Westwood. Instead, he wants the subway to run all the way to Santa Monica. City officials have low-balled this more ambitious proposal, known as Alternative #3, figuring they're better off focusing on the downtown-to-Westwood route.