Vacancies Go Unfilled on New Regional Commissions

Los Angeles is on the verge of a major change in the way development projects are evaluated, and, despite assurances from city officials, some planning experts fear the transition will not be smooth.

Under a new city charter beginning July 1, the Board of Zoning Appeals will be abolished and seven new planning commissions are to begin operating throughout Los Angeles, making decisions on local planning issues while a citywide commission, expanded from five to nine members, will take up projects that have broader impact.

“It’s not going to be business as usual with the new commissions but we anticipate having all of them on board by July 1, assuming the mayor and council get the appointments through,” said Deputy Planning Director Franklin Eberhard.

Planning decision appeals filed this week are scheduled to be heard by the new area planning commissions beginning in July, Eberhard said.

But with a month left before the change, Mayor Richard Riordan has not made 18 of the 39 appointments to commissions required by the new charter, and some attorneys and developers are concerned there will not be enough time to confirm and train the new commissioners.

“I think things are very much up in the air,” said Encino attorney Fred Gaines, who handles land use cases for developer clients.

Tom McCarty, another land use lobbyist, also is closely watching the transition.

“I was a little concerned that the mayor waited as long as he did to announce his appointments, but they are coming in now,” said McCarty, who is co-chairman of the land use committee of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. “It remains to be seen how all of this shakes out.”

“I think there are going to be some projects caught up in this thing,” he added.

Riordan hopes to announce the remaining 18 appointments in the next two weeks and is confident their confirmation by the council will be expedited in time for the July 1 date of the new charter, according to mayoral spokesman Peter Hidalgo.

Meeting places for the new panels have been leased and staff is being assembled, Hidalgo said.

“We feel very confident about the whole process of getting ready to implement the charter reforms, especially those that affect the Planning Department,” Hidalgo said.

Under the new charter approved last year by city voters, many local land use decisions, including appeals of decisions by zoning administrators, will go to the local area planning commission, while projects with broader impact, such as the expansion of a landfill or airport, would be heard by an expanded citywide planning commission.

Panels still lacking a quorum of appointments include the south Valley and north Valley area planning commissions. In addition, Riordan has not yet named the four additional members of the citywide planning commission.

Councilman Hal Bernson, who chairs the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee, said he is willing to be patient.

“There is going to be a learning curve,” Bernson said. “The new commissioner will have to be given instruction and help in how the process works. It’s going to take a little time.”

Gaines said he has already encountered delays.

He is representing a Jewish temple in North Hollywood that wants to build a school for 150 students. The application was filed April 12. Normally, the hearing notice would go out in a few weeks and a hearing would be held within 30 days of that notice.

Gaines said Friday that the notice had still not gone out.

Eberhard said he is not aware of any delays in processing applications and said there may be other factors at work.

Ben Reznik, an attorney with many developer clients, said he is not worried about the changeover. He noted that Riordan has tapped a lot of people with experience dealing with City Hall, including Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn.

“It just means applicants will have to educate the planning commissioners,” Reznik said. “By and large these are pretty sophisticated commissioners being appointed.”