Topic: Los Angeles
Three Named to L.A. Successor Agency
When the City of Los Angeles voted against becoming the Successor Agency to the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA), it fell to Governor Jerry Brown to choose the three local residents to fill the roll of Successor Agency. Under the provisions of ABx1 26, which dissolved all California redevelopment agencies as of February 1, the new appointees will form a “designated local authority” that will assume certain duties associated with the terminated CRA/LA. These duties include disposing of agency assets, paying existing bond debt and assuming control over the previous redevelopment agency staff.
Governor Brown appointed Timothy McOsker, Nelson Rising and Mee Semcken to serve as the Successor Agency to the CRA/LA.
For more information about each of the appointees, as well as the appointees in Merced, Stanislaus and Ventura Counties, please see the Governor’s press release here.
City of LA Votes Against Becoming Successor Agency to CRA/LA
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In a lengthy session this week, the City Council of the City of Los Angeles, CA voted against assuming the obligations of the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) to become the successor agency under the provisions of ABx1 26.
The passing of ABx1 26 and the subsequent fallout has put several projects into a precarious position, including 10 projects in Los Angeles County show in the graphic on the left.
An article about the Council’s decision can be found in today’s Los Angeles Times. To hear the discussion about the Council’s decision and the next steps, watch the on-demand video of the meeting here.
Weekly Quick Hits
EPA Promotes Green Development in State Capitals – The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) is continuing its Greening America’s Capitals project that launched in 2010 by partnering with the capital cities of Alabama, Arizona, Mississippi, Nebraska, and the District of Columbia this year, in order to promote green development and economic revitalization. (EPA)
Stickers, Checklists Help Schools Cut Energy Costs – New York schools managed to cut their energy consumption by approximately 11% since 2008, by implementing relatively simple changes that aim to change people’s behavior. (New York Times)
Feds Approve Largest Public Solar Project to Date – The recently approved 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight Solar Farm project—located in the California desert east of Palm Springs—is set to generate enough power for more than 165,000 homes, create 630 jobs, and pump $336 million into the local economy. (U.S. Department of the Interior)
LA Debates Future of Trash, Recycling Policies – Los Angeles officials are considering making changes to the trash pickup and recycling policies that apply to apartment buildings, as residents express concerns regarding the current system. (Los Angeles Times)
LADWP’s Revised Solar Incentive Program
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) revised Solar Incentive Program takes effect September 1, 2011. Since the program’s initial launch in 2007, rebates for commercial buildings have dropped 8% and incentives for governments and nonprofits have fallen by 32%.
The program is currently budgeted to provide $60 million in financial incentives to LADWP residential and non-residential customers who purchase and install their own solar power systems. Additional funds are also available to those who purchase photovoltaic modules manufactured within the City of Los Angeles.
AB 208: California Approves 2-Year Extension of Tentative Subdivision Maps
Picture by Flickr User Eric Fischer
On July 15, 2011, @jerrybrowngov signed Assembly Bill 208 into law, which goes into effect immediately and extends the expiration date of tentative subdivision maps. The two-year extension applies to approved tentative subdivision maps and vesting subdivision tentative maps that would have expired between the bill’s passage date and January, 1, 2014.
Projects that were extended back in 2009 pursuant to AB 333 will also benefit from this latest statutory extension.
Weekly Quick Hits
#Carmegeddon Is a Success in Many Ways – The closure of the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles brings perspective on transportation after a weekend with little traffic and a massive construction project that finished early. (Los Angeles Times)
Putting the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant on a Fault Line? – In the aftermath of the tsunami damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan, seismologists in the United States are focusing on the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California, as it is located on a potentially dangerous fault system. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Opinion: Time for an Infrastructure Bank – Felix Rohatyn, the famed Lazard Partner and Managing Director, opines that it is now time to create a national infrastructure bank to bolster the U.S.’s infrastructure and to create jobs. (Politico.com)
NASCAR Powered by Corn Ethanol – This past weekend at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in order to promote corn ethanol, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and more than 40 other drivers used a gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol. (Boston Globe)
CA Interest Groups Challenge Recently Passed RDA Legislation
Photo Credit: Flickr - by Generationbass.com
On June 28, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law two bills (ABX1 26 and ABX1 27) that seek to either force California community redevelopment agencies (“RDAs”) to relinquish a portion of their revenues for certain municipal uses (e.g., education) or shut the RDAs down altogether. The California Redevelopment Association (CRA) and the League of California Cities have declared their intent to file suit challenging the legislation on constitutional grounds. The argument relies heavily on Proposition 22 passed by California voters in late 2010 which prohibits the State from borrowing or taking funds from redevelopment agencies.
Carmageddon 2011 – “The Price You Pay to Live in L.A.”
Transportation officials plan to shut down Interstate 405 between the U.S. 101 and Interstate 10 for 53 hours, from late Friday night (July 15) to early Monday morning (July 18), at which time crews will demolish the Mulholland Drive Bridge to accommodate the planned $1 billion freeway expansion and the addition of a northbound carpool lane on I-405 through the Sepulveda Pass (I-405 Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project).
The closure, dubbed “Carmageddon,” will affect an estimated 500,000 cars that travel the busy corridor every weekend. Huge delays are expected and travelers have been advised to stay away from the region altogether. In fact, the Los Angeles Police Department has encouraged people to throw block parties and has asked celebrities — from Lady Gaga to Ashton Kutcher — to Tweet about the closure. Local business owners are encouraging local residents to ditch their cars and explore their neighborhoods on foot instead. Some businesses are even offering deals to patrons during Carmageddon. Motorists who do take to the roads will be forced onto surface streets that pass through neighborhoods in the San Fernando Valley, Santa Monica and the Westside, likely creating lines of traffic throughout those regions.
The specific closure boundaries are:
- Northbound I-405: 10 miles between U.S. 101 and I-10
- Southbound I-405: 4 miles between U.S. 101 and the Getty Center Drive ramp
Sepulveda Boulevard will remain open as an alternate route for local residents only. More information, including alternate routes, can be obtained here.
Resources:
L.A. Metro Mulholland Dr. Bridge Demolition and Reconstruction Fact Sheet
EMAIL:
PHONE:
213.922.3665
FACEBOOK:
TWITTER:
NYC Solar Map: Visualize Your Solar Power Potential
Sustainable CUNY, a program of the City University of New York (CUNY) and leader of the New York City Solar America City Partnership which is comprised of CUNY, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and the City’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability (OLTPS) has developed an online interactive solar map of New York to help NY residents understand the solar potential of their homes and businesses.
Users can enter an address and retrieve information regarding the solar-power generating potential of any given building in the five boroughs, as well as the costs of conversion. The map employs lidar technology, which uses laser-pulsed light to detect distances and other characteristics. Also of note, The NYC Solar Map uses orthophotographs versus aerial photographs for its satellite images, which provide a much more accurate estimate of solar potential than other publicly available basemaps. Even though they can be grainy at close-up zoom levels, they provide better information to users.
The website also directs users to various public incentives (e.g., tax credits and rebates), and estimates the time it might take for a system to pay for itself. Users may also learn the potential reduction in carbon dioxide emissions that may result from a building’s conversion to solar power.
Other municipalities are offering similar maps in an effort to expand the use of solar power. Click on the following links for examples:
LEED Gold For Goodwin’s L.A. Home
601 So. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles
“We are thrilled to call home a building that actively carries out the sustainable values that we seek to deliver through our work, and applaud Brookfield for its tireless efforts to improve the sustainability profile of its office portfolio,” says Doug Praw, a partner in Goodwin’s Real Estate group.
Brookfield maintains a 78-million-square foot global office portfolio and has committed to ensuring the sustainable performance of each office. 80% of Brookfield’s US Properties have achieved Energy Star certification.
