I am writing this to discuss with you an important initiative that our organization is undertaking. According to our mission 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 this goal, we in the business community must work together on a wide range of issues. How-ever,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.

In an effort to be proactive on an issue of critical importance to businesses, LAHq has decided to seek revisions to the City of Los Angeles Planning and Zoning Code. This Code affects all businesses, directly impacting the ability of new businesses to develop new uses in our City while limiting opportunities for existing businesses to expand their operations. Despite the universal application of the Code to the ever changing world of business, the Code remains a hodgepodge of zoning regulations stitched together on a case by case basis. Many say that zoning in our City is done by variance, not by planning. And virtually all complain that it is impossible for businesses in Los Angeles to know the type of land use conditions and the amount of fees that will be imposed on a project at its outset.

We are mindful that significantly revising the Code is a substantial under-taking. 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 is going to focus on developing an approach that will streamline those elements of the Code that directly affect the business com-munity. The first step in such an undertaking is to understand from our members the type of Code issues that have affected you and your business over the past five years, such as change of use, expansion o f 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 e-mail or phone at ecasey@wbcounsel.com or 213-576-1000. We would appreciate your comments by February 9, 2003.

We look forward to hearing from you.