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For
more information, call
Sue Reeves, Executive
Director |
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LAHQ Newsletter FOCUS - click on go! |
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Dear
Members:
As President of the
Los Angeles Headquarters Association, I am sending this letter to discuss
with you an important initiative that our organization is undertaking.
As you know, our mission statement provides that we shall "partner
with government and the community to promote and create healthy economic
growth, while enhancing quality of life in greater Los Angeles.”
To accomplish that goal, we in the business community must work
together on a wide range of issues.
However, all too often other competing interest groups propose
initiatives that directly impact our ability to bring jobs and economic
growth to our neighborhoods, leaving the business community in a reactive
position. Striving
to be pro-active on an issue of critical importance to businesses, LAHq
has decided to seek major revisions to the City of Los Angeles Planning
and Zoning Code. The Code
affects all businesses, directly impacting the ability of new businesses
to develop new uses in our City, as well as existing businesses which
seek to expand their operations.
Despite the universal application of the Code to the ever changing
world of business, the Code remains a hodgepotch of zoning regulations
stitched together on a case by case basis.
Indeed, many say that zoning in our City is done by variance,
not by planning. And virtually
all complain that the right to know the type of land use conditions
and the amount of fees that will be imposed on any project at its
outset is simply not a right enjoyed by businesses in Los Angeles. We
are mindful that significantly revising the Code is a substantial undertaking.
A similar effort in the mid-1990s aimed at "permit streamlining"
resulted in some advances, but many worthy ideas were left on the table.
Therefore, LAHq would like to take a focused approach, working
on those problematic aspects of the Code that directly affect the business
community. The first step
in such an undertaking is to understand from our members the type of
Code issues that have, in fact, affected you and your business over
the past five years, such as change of use, expansion of existing uses,
parking, hours of operation, etc..
We would welcome your comments about your experience on such
matters. Please feel free
to email your "story" to LAHq at LAHq4U@aol.com or contact
me directly by email or phone at 213-576-1000 or ecasey@wbcounsel.com.
We would appreciate your comments by December 15, 2003. We
look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, |
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Los
Angeles Headquarters Association
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