Local Panels Created to Study Land Issues Facing Jittery Start

Los Angeles is on the verge of a major change in the way development projects are evaluated, and despite assurances from city officials, some fear the transition won’t be smooth.

Starting July 1, the Board of Zoning Appeals will be abolished and seven new planning commissions are to begin operating throughout Los Angeles, making decisions on local planning issues. A citywide commission, expanded from five to nine members, will take up projects with broader impact.

“It’s not going to be business as usual with the new commissions, but we anticipate having all of them on board by July 1, assuming the mayor and council get the appointments through,” said Franklin Eberhard, a deputy planning director for the city.

Mayor Richard Riordan has not yet made 18 of the 39 appointments, and some attorneys and developers are concerned that there won’t be time to confirm and train the new commissioners.

“I think things are very much up in the air,” said Encino attorney Fred Gaines, who handles land use cases for developers.

Tom McCarty, a land use lobbyist, is watching the transition closely.

“I was a little concerned that the mayor waited as long as he did to announce his appointments, but they are coming in now,” said McCarty, who is co-chair of the land use committee of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. “It remains to be seen how all of this shakes out.”

McCarty said he thinks “there are going to be some projects caught up in this thing.”

Riordan hopes to announce the remaining 18 appointments in the next two weeks and is confident that their confirmation by the council will be expedited in time for the July 1 deadline set by the new City Charter, said Peter Hidalgo, a mayoral spokesman.

Meeting places for the new panels have been leased, and staff is being assembled, Hidalgo said.

“We feel very confident about the whole process of getting ready to implement the charter reforms, especially those that affect the Planning Department,” Hidalgo said.

Under the new charter approved last year by city voters, many local land use decisions, including appeals of decisions by zoning administrators, will go to the local area planning commissions. Projects with broader impact, such as landfills or airport expansions, will be heard by an expanded citywide planning commission.

Councilman Hal Bernson, who chairs the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee, said he is willing to be patient as the new system begins working.

“There is going to be a learning curve,” Bernson said. “The new commissioners will have to be given instruction and help in how the process works. It’s going to take a little time.”

Gaines said he already has encountered delays.

He is representing a Jewish temple in North Hollywood that wants to build a school for 150 students. The application was filed April 12. Under normal circumstances, a hearing notice would be sent out a few weeks after the filing and a hearing held within 30 days of the notice.

Gaines said Friday that the notice still has not gone out.

Eberhard said he is not aware of any delays in processing applications and that there may be other factors at work.

Ben Reznik, another attorney in the field, said he is not worried about the change. He said Riordan has chosen people with experience dealing with City Hall, including Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Assn.

“By and large,” he said, “these are pretty sophisticated commissioners being appointed.”