City Council seeks planning wonk to ensure developer accountability

Making sense of Measure JJJ and L.A.’s labyrinthine planning policies could soon be a full-time job.

Following a meeting Wednesday, the L.A. City Council is now considering the possibility of creating a new administrative position overseeing the planning process, to “ensure accountability” and oversee implementation of the initiative, Curbed reported.

The Build Better L.A. initiative (known as Measure JJJ) passed on November 8, despite opposition from affordable housing experts. It requires many developers to add affordable housing units to their projects and use local labor to build them.

Enforcing the complex regulations required by the new law would require a position which many other cities have as typical matter of course for oversight.

“L.A. is a big city with more people than available housing, so we need to work with the development community and help them do what they do best in a way that works best for the most people,” councilman Paul Koretz said in a press release. “We need to look at our policies, our codes, our financing mechanisms and our approval processes … and we probably need someone to make sure we do it methodically and effectively.” [Curbed] – Gabrielle Paluch