BIALAV members attended a webinar
with the Department of City Planning and the Department of Building & Safety this week. Deputy Director of City Planning, Lisa Webber, covered updates on Project Planning operations during COVID-19. BIALAV applauded the City's efforts in the midst of a pandemic: 400 of their employees are working from home, and apart from some technological adjustments, the department is just as efficient as before.
Planning
Lisa reported that a physical dropbox at the Department has been provided for any documents that cannot be handled electronically. A s
ense of urgency is being felt from the department, as they become more innovative during this time.
W
orkflow has remained the same in March as it has been. 154 LODs were issued in March: 3,400 housing units, 660 of which are affordable.
LODs are being issued within the typical manner. Projects that don’t require hearings are also going through the normal process; those that require a hearing will be able to have a virtual hearing by May. Commission hearings are already up and running. Zoning Administrator hearings are anticipated to begin by May 18th.
In regards to CEQA, Lisa reported that the Department is not looking to modify the circulation periods. EIRs and major projects are going through as per usual, thanks to Luci Ibarra, whom was Marqueece Harris-Dawson's (CD8) Planning Deputy for some time, but has now resumed her role at Planning. Thanks to her oversight, scoping meetings have been uninterrupted. The LA Department of Transportation (LADOT) just this week issued a Memo creating and relaxing VMT in advance of the July 1, 2020 deadline. Projects currently doing traffic counts should go to the
DOT website
for more information. The D
epartment will issue a memo shortly regarding how s
treamlined,
ministerial
infill projects (SB35) will be processed going forward.
Ken Bernstein at City Planning's Urban Design Studio reported that they have been maintaining a regular schedule through this time, with projects advancing as usual, and are still receiving a normal
workload
flow.
Building & Safety
Assistant Deputy Superintendent of Building, Charmie Huynh, reported that the Department has set up drop-off and pick up but have encouraged going online for anything that can be done electronically. They have implemented online payments for online submittals. After the Mayor issued construction site safety guidelines, they have been enforcing protocols. They are processing the s
ame amount of inspection services as usual and will begin h
olding virtual hearings beginning in May.
If would like more information, please email Senior Director of Government Affairs,
Christine Rangel
.
