Final EIR of City of Los Angeles’ Proposed Single-Use Carryout Bag Ordinance
The City of Los Angeles is proposing to adopt and implement an ordinance to ban single-use plastic carryout bags, charge a fee on paper bags, and promote the use of reusable bags at specified retailers in the City of Los Angeles. The Final EIR is available at City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, 1149 S. Broadway, 5th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90015; at www.lacitysan.org under What’s New…; and at the following public libraries:
- Central Library, 630 W 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
- Van Nuys Branch Library, 6250 Sylmar Ave., Van Nuys, CA 91401
- West L. A. Regional Branch Library, 11360 Santa Monica Bl., Los Angeles, CA 90025
- San Pedro Regional Branch Library, 931 S. Gaffey Street, San Pedro, CA 90731
- Granada Hills Branch, 10640 Petit Avenue, Granada Hills, CA 91344
Boost For Bikes: City Council Allows Car Parking To Be Swapped For Bike Spaces
Bike rack (Photo by via the LAist Featured Photos pool)
It took a long time but the Los Angeles City Council has passed an ordinance that will dramatically increase the number of parking spaces for bikes in new developments.
The Bike Parking Ordinance will allow new developments—both residential and commercial—to swap some parking spots for bikes in lieu of parking spots for cars. There are also rules standardizing bike parking space to ensure that they’re safe, secure and accessible.
One car spot can be replaced by four bikes for up to 30 percent of the required number of spaces for commercial developments that are near transit lines. At other commercial buildings not near transit lines, the number is 20 percent. For buildings with less than 20 required car parking spaces, up to 4 parking spaces may be swapped for bike parking. Residential buildings can replace up to 10 percent of car spaces with bike parking.
All new developments with few exceptions will need to have at least 2 parking spaces for bikes, and that can include the city’s bike corrals. The ordinance also has rules about what can and cannot be considered a parking spot. Spaces should be well-lit and easily accessible from the street. Short-term parking should be outside the building and easy to spot before you even walk in. There should be signs directing people to long-term parking, if it’s not immediately obvious where it is.
For more information, you can read the full ordinance (h/t Curbed LA and Streetsblog).
LA City Council Confirms Grayce Liu’s Appointment to DONE GM
The LA City Council unanimously confirmed the Mayor’s appointment of Grayce Liu as the next permanent general manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment on Friday. Grayce Liu was made interim general manager in August of last year after former GM BongHwan Kim left to take a position in San Diego.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa nominated Liu to serve as permanent general manager in December. In his letter to the City Council he wrote, “Her (more…)
Update on Digital Billboards in the City of L.A.
The LA City Council’s pending new sign ordinance will not outlaw digital billboards. Despite the City’s ban on new billboards dating back to 2002, the City is in the process of approving a new ordinance that will allow new signs (including digital signs) in designated “sign districts” which are to be limited to commercial and industrial locations. The proposed ordinance passed out of the PLUM Committee this week and is heading for full City Council consideration. It will be very important to read any possible changes that might be proposed there, including efforts to circumvent the recent Appeals Court decision in the Summit Media case that ruled that the secret billboards settlements entered into by the City with Clear Channel and CBS were illegal. That ruling also stated that the approximately 100 digital billboards erected as a result of the secret settlements are to be removed. Clear Channel and CBS are both lobbying the City to allow those signs to remain.
LASD Advisory: Protect Your Bicycle from Thieves
Bicycles are not cheap. That’s why you need to take measures in protecting it from thieves.
Follow these steps and share them with fellow riders.
Record the serial number, make, model and color of your bike. This information is usually located somewhere on the frame. Put the information in your cell phone or somewhere easily accessible in case it it is stolen.
Register your bike with the LA County Sheriff’s BEAR Program. The Bicycle Education and Registration program is a county program aims to educate citizens on bicycle knowledge, safety, laws and security. They also will register your bicycle with their county bicycle database.
Learn how to lock your bike and keep it locked when not in use.
Use a high quality U-lock.
Never leave your bike unattended. It only takes thieves a few seconds to steal it!
If your bike is stolen report it immediately with your local police department.
For more information about the BEAR program go to www.bear.lasd.org
For full details, view this message on the web.
L.A.’s Neighborhood Councils Flex Their Muscles
From the L.A. Daily News, January 24, 2013
A recent fight over a proposed $3 billion bond issue for street repairs illustrated the growing influence of neighborhood councils in Los Angeles City government, as they exerted enough influence to keep the measure off the ballot for now.
The success in that case represents an evolution for the councils, which at their inception a dozen years ago were seen as potentially powerless because they held no real voting authority in city matters. But through wider participation and exerting a louder voice, observers say, they are now fulfilling the influential role envisioned for them when voters revised the City Charter in 1999.
“This is what it was meant to be,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute at California State University, Los Angeles, and who served as the top aide to the appointed Charter Reform Commission.
“They were meant to be a strong community voice and weigh in on major issues. It might be annoying (to the City Council, but the whole idea was to create a different form of review and allow the community to weigh in.”
The street bond proposal from Councilmen Mitch Englander and Joe Buscaino provided the perfect vehicle for neighborhood councils to weigh in.
Englander and Buscaino proposed on a Friday afternoon to have the council vote the following week to place the bond on the May 21 ballot, without any formal staff reports and only sketchy details on the cost for the public.
Neighborhood council groups, starting with the Los Angeles Alliance of Neighborhood Councils, and supported by the Valley Alliance and others, called for a 60-day delay to allow time for review of the proposal. City Council offices began receiving telephone calls of protest from homeowners. The public outcry forced the council to (more…)
Billboard Working Group – Volunteers Wanted
Opportunity – Respond quickly if interested.
The Department of City Planning is looking for volunteers for a new billboard working group. The PLUM Committee has directed us to assemble this working group to address billboard and digital billboard issues, and in particular a potential new program that could allow a limited number of digital billboards in exchange for the removal of a greater number of existing traditional billboards, provision of specific community benefits, and/or revenue sharing with the City. The working group will be composed of stakeholders who represent the range of perspectives on these topics, and will meet three times over the next five weeks or so, at City Hall downtown (dates TBD). In order to enable fruitful discussions, the group will be limited to about 20 people. While we might not be able to accommodate everyone who wants to participate, we will make every effort to ensure that the group has a balanced range of viewpoints from throughout the City. Volunteers should contact Daisy Mo at daisy.mo@lacity.org by this coming Wednesday, Feb. 6. Thank you!
http://plancheckncla.com/2013/02/billboard-working-group-volunteers-wanted
City of Los Angeles Releases a 3-1-1 App and a Cleaner Website
Los Angeles residents will be able to complain about graffiti, abandoned furniture, potholes, broken street lights and fallen trees using their iPhone and Android smartphones starting March 18.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled the My LA 311 mobile app and a redesigned website for the City of Los Angeles in a Google+ hangout with reporters Wednesday.
“Silicon Beach has raised the game,” Villaraigosa said, referring to the city’s coastal tech hub. “And the city of L.A. needed to raise ours. And we did.”
The new look for the website, which launched Wednesday, is the first refresh in 15 years. It delivers clearer portals for business owners and visitors to the city. It also brings better access to city TV channels, where people can watch live streams of city council meetings.
During the hangout, councilman Joe Buscaino said the city would be hiring a website content manager to make sure the website isn’t filled with outdated and useless information.
On the app, city residents can also pay their Department of Water and Power bill. There’s also an option to find nearby parks, libraries and police stations. By taking advantage of a smartphone’s GPS and camera, the app promises to make reporting complaints a simpler process. L.A. is one of the last big cities in the country to have a 311 app.
“My LA 311” comes alongside the first major re-launch of the city’s website in 15 years. The new LACity.org offers a smarter user experience with self-updating “Top 10 Service Requests”, “Top 10 City Council Files,” and a “Dynamic City Calendar.” The citizen-centric redesign features live streaming home screen video, centralized job opportunities, and easy to access City services. The site will also provide a more social user experience through “LA City Now,” a homepage ticker-tape of every City twitter feed. (more…)
