Picus Proposal to Split Planning Panel Rejected

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday rejected a proposal by Councilwoman Joy Picus to put a measure on the April ballot asking voters to decide whether the citywide Planning Commission should be replaced by four regional panels.

Moments before the council voted 10 to 3 to kill it, Picus, who represents the southwestern San Fernando Valley, told her colleagues that the plan would “empower a citizenry” frustrated and alienated by city government by giving them new leverage over land-use decisions.

But a report by Con Howe, city Planning Department chief, said the Picus measure--which would require voter approval because it would amend the City Charter--would be too costly and would make it more difficult to articulate a citywide planning vision.

“We’re all aware how people are disaffected . . . that government isn’t speaking for them,” Picus told the council members. “They really want a stronger voice in the government decisions that affect their daily lives.”

The current five-member commission does not have the time to study planning issues fully, Picus said. She likened her plan to community-based policing, which seeks to bring police closer to the communities they serve.

Under her proposal, the city would have been divided into four zones--the San Fernando Valley, the harbor, the Westside and the central city--each with a five-member commission appointed by the mayor.

Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the northwestern Valley, criticized the expense such a change would entail. “Essentially, we’d be creating three more commissions and three more staff to cover it at a time when our finances are very tough,” Bernson said.

Councilman Nate Holden said the public is expecting city government to streamline itself rather than expand, and Westside Councilwoman Ruth Galanter warned that Picus’ plan would encourage the already strong decentralizing forces in the city. “The biggest danger is neighborhoods wanting to erect walls around themselves,” Galanter said.

“The challenge to all of us is to find a way to encourage a citywide perspective,” Galanter said.

As an alternative, Galanter suggested that council members establish their own district advisory planning panels.