Picus Urges Split-Up of Planning Commission

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus, a key figure in a far-reaching dispute over the proper role of political pressure in city planning, on Thursday proposed disbanding the city’s Planning Commission to increase public input into development decisions.

Calling the current city planning process unresponsive to public concerns, Picus suggested replacing the five-member Planning Commission with four separate panels, each responsible for its own geographic area. The proposal would make commissioners more responsive and give them more time to consider controversial projects, Picus said.

“This creates a greater opportunity for the public to get into the system,” Picus said of her novel proposal, which would require an amendment to the City Charter. “My feeling is that we need more access, not less access.”

The proposal is directly contrary to Mayor Tom Bradley’s call to shield city planners from interference by council members and local pressure groups, and encourage greater concentration on citywide concerns.

City officials and planning experts quickly expressed worries that Picus’ plan would cater to the parochialism that some critics say already distorts the planning process. They said such an approach would give neighborhood anti-development protests greater weight than citywide needs for housing and commercial space, and inhibit effective management of regional concerns such as traffic congestion and air quality.

“We need to take a look at solving those issues from a bigger picture rather than from a smaller picture,” interim city Planning Director Melanie Fallon said. “I think it’s important to have some citywide direction on growth.”

Picus’ proposal, unveiled Thursday at a meeting of the Woodland Hills Homeowners Organization, calls for the current Planning Commission to be replaced with four five-member boards appointed by the mayor. Each would have the same powers as the current commission, but its jurisdiction would be limited to its specific district.

Picus has been criticized recently over her intervention in the planning process for political purposes. She is the target of a $100-million lawsuit against the city by a developer who said she intentionally blocked approval of his commercial project in Woodland Hills to appease angry neighbors who she feared would vote against her in the next election.