At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 28, the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council’s Land Use Committee voted to recommend that the GWNC board oppose two proposed city planning ordinances that together outline rules for a partial delayed implementation of the state’s new SB 79 housing densification ordinance.
According to SB 79, cities across California must implement the new law, which uses developer incentives to add density to areas within 1/2 or 1 mile of certain kinds of transit stops, by July 1…or delay implementation in certain kinds of more sensitive areas (such as designated historic districts, fire zones, etc.) for up to three years while working on alternative densification plans. In March, the Los Angeles City Council approved a partial implementation plan that would roll out SB 79 incentives in many areas, but would delay effectuation in lower resource areas, high fire severity zones, and some kinds of historic districts until an alternative plan for those areas could be developed and implemented.
On April 17, the city released two new draft ordinances for SB 79 implementation. The first – the Draft SB 79 Phased Implementation Ordinance – spells out general plans to comply with SB 79 while delaying implementation in some areas. And the second ordinance – the Draft Low-Rise Ordinance – explains how SB 79 will work in the specific areas where full implementation is being delayed. Also, because any ordinance addressing SB 79 will have to be fully approved before July, the approval process is expected to proceed quickly, with the first public hearings scheduled for May 14…