This area has a Red Line subway station, yet look at the zoning around it. Immediately surrounding it is R4, medium density multiple family density. Not bad, but a subway station right in the middle of LA should be high density. Surrounding that is a medium sized area of R2. This is only two dwellings per lot. That is ridiculous. A subway station can only handle lots that can average 2 families? Intertwined with this R2 and surrounding it is M1. That's light industrial. This, around a subway station? It's impressive. Congratulations planning department of LA. You've really outdone yourselves here. Why would you zone industrial around a subway station? Why not allow other and larger types of development? Way to really make that station efficient.
http://zimas.lacity.org/map.asp?Cmd=panTool&ActiveTool=panTool&ActiveDataTab=AddressLegalInformation1&MapSource=http%3A%2F%2Fzimas.lacity.org%2Foutput%2FZimasMain_68wzimas4044448046.png&MapWidth=616&MapHeight=472&PrevExtXMin=6445956.56651716&PrevExtXMax=6462430.79109343&PrevExtYMin=1848897.40831361&PrevExtYMax=1861520.51545647&MapExtXMin=6457269.22397781&MapExtXMax=6473743.44855408&MapExtYMin=1853657.81736325&MapExtYMax=1866280.92450611&NewExtXMin=6463928.447873088&NewExtXMax=6480402.672449358&NewExtYMin=1844752.1082984782&NewExtYMax=1857375.215441338&LegendStr=95%3A1|12%3A1|80%3A1|85%3A0|89%3A1|87%3A1|53%3A1|6%3A1|91%3A1|74%3A1|24%3A1|16%3A1|49%3A0|28%3A0|54%3A0|11%3A1|55%3A0|58%3A0|93%3A1|0%3A1&BackgroundLayer=GPLU&ClickX=&ClickY=&SelectGeometry=&SelectShiftState=&SelectCtrlState=&SelType=0&Selection=&MultiSelPin=&SelectedMultiAddress=&ToolTips=true&ReportType=&IncludeMap=&PIN=&BufferDistance=0&BufferUnits=&SessionID=746F2C42BA3340B19FCC2DAC68E83B08&StartNbr=0&StrName=&SpecPlan=&ReportQuery=&WorkOrder=&ReportFormat=&RandomFactor=
Saturday, November 28, 2009
LA Zoning Website (Cityscape)
This is one of my favorite websites. It shows how Los Angeles is zoned for development. It's pretty interesting to see how neighborhoods are ruled. Take a look at it here.
http://zimas.lacity.org/map.asp?Cmd=legend&ActiveTool=zoomInTool&ActiveDataTab=AddressLegalInformation1&MapSource=http%3A%2F%2Fzimas.lacity.org%2Foutput%2FZimasMain_68wzimas4964438858.png&MapWidth=616&MapHeight=472&PrevExtXMin=0&PrevExtXMax=0&PrevExtYMin=0&PrevExtYMax=0&MapExtXMin=6235210&MapExtXMax=6588657&MapExtYMin=1685416.98701299&MapExtYMax=1956240.01298701&NewExtXMin=6235210&NewExtXMax=6588657&NewExtYMin=1685416.98701299&NewExtYMax=1956240.01298701&LegendStr=95%3A1|12%3A1|80%3A1|85%3A0|89%3A1|87%3A1|53%3A1|6%3A1|91%3A1|74%3A1|24%3A1|16%3A1|49%3A0|28%3A0|54%3A0|11%3A1|55%3A0|58%3A0|93%3A1|0%3A1&BackgroundLayer=GPLU&ClickX=&ClickY=&SelectGeometry=&SelectShiftState=&SelectCtrlState=&SelType=0&Selection=&MultiSelPin=&SelectedMultiAddress=&ToolTips=true&ReportType=&IncludeMap=&PIN=&BufferDistance=0&BufferUnits=&SessionID=746F2C42BA3340B19FCC2DAC68E83B08&StartNbr=0&StrName=&SpecPlan=&ReportQuery=&WorkOrder=&ReportFormat=&RandomFactor=
I'll be posting reviews of how certain neighborhoods are zoned and discuss the effects of this.
http://zimas.lacity.org/map.asp?Cmd=legend&ActiveTool=zoomInTool&ActiveDataTab=AddressLegalInformation1&MapSource=http%3A%2F%2Fzimas.lacity.org%2Foutput%2FZimasMain_68wzimas4964438858.png&MapWidth=616&MapHeight=472&PrevExtXMin=0&PrevExtXMax=0&PrevExtYMin=0&PrevExtYMax=0&MapExtXMin=6235210&MapExtXMax=6588657&MapExtYMin=1685416.98701299&MapExtYMax=1956240.01298701&NewExtXMin=6235210&NewExtXMax=6588657&NewExtYMin=1685416.98701299&NewExtYMax=1956240.01298701&LegendStr=95%3A1|12%3A1|80%3A1|85%3A0|89%3A1|87%3A1|53%3A1|6%3A1|91%3A1|74%3A1|24%3A1|16%3A1|49%3A0|28%3A0|54%3A0|11%3A1|55%3A0|58%3A0|93%3A1|0%3A1&BackgroundLayer=GPLU&ClickX=&ClickY=&SelectGeometry=&SelectShiftState=&SelectCtrlState=&SelType=0&Selection=&MultiSelPin=&SelectedMultiAddress=&ToolTips=true&ReportType=&IncludeMap=&PIN=&BufferDistance=0&BufferUnits=&SessionID=746F2C42BA3340B19FCC2DAC68E83B08&StartNbr=0&StrName=&SpecPlan=&ReportQuery=&WorkOrder=&ReportFormat=&RandomFactor=
I'll be posting reviews of how certain neighborhoods are zoned and discuss the effects of this.
LA $1 billion in the red. Go for pensions? Obviously. (Politics)
There's no doubt that a government job is a sweet deal. You get a government job and you're set for life, or at least that's how it used to be. More than 60 years of this spoils system and even government officials now are talking about those cushy jobs seriously. Maybe it's not such a good idea that we pick and choose which jobs will be loaded. Maybe not letting consumers decide which jobs will be most lucrative was a bad idea. Maybe, just maybe, government is as efficient as consumers are with how they spend their money. We know what we want, the government is never going to be as good as us.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/11/la-faces-1-billion-deficit-by-2013-budget-chief-calls-for-pension-reforms.html
Anyway, the budget chief is calling for pension reforms. What else can you say but "about friggin' time."
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/11/la-faces-1-billion-deficit-by-2013-budget-chief-calls-for-pension-reforms.html
Anyway, the budget chief is calling for pension reforms. What else can you say but "about friggin' time."
Friday, November 27, 2009
Unions compromise on furloughs (Politics)
Will they agree to pay cuts? No way. Will they agree to lower retirement benefits? Nope. What is their incentive?
A public employee union has all the power in the world. They already have salaries well above market rates, and it's easy to see why. The state can't fire them all, the politicians who organize that will never be reelected. Those politicians would be accused of being unsympathetic or of even being inhumane. When a union has no possibility of being laid off, then they have no reason to compromise. They will lose nothing if they strike outside of a few weeks or months pay. There is no risk of losing a job. When the company cannot compromise with the laborer, then the company would start losing money because labor would be ridiculously overpriced. It's a failed business model that the state so openly embraces. It's no wonder California is failing.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lausd24-2009nov24,0,1277280.story
A public employee union has all the power in the world. They already have salaries well above market rates, and it's easy to see why. The state can't fire them all, the politicians who organize that will never be reelected. Those politicians would be accused of being unsympathetic or of even being inhumane. When a union has no possibility of being laid off, then they have no reason to compromise. They will lose nothing if they strike outside of a few weeks or months pay. There is no risk of losing a job. When the company cannot compromise with the laborer, then the company would start losing money because labor would be ridiculously overpriced. It's a failed business model that the state so openly embraces. It's no wonder California is failing.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lausd24-2009nov24,0,1277280.story
Can you balance the budget? (Politics)
The LA Times has put up their user-friendly approach to the California budget. It's designed to show that it's impossible to balance the budget without raising taxes.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-statebudget-fl,0,95571.htmlstory?sel=2/4/10/33/12/27/30/32/42/44/49/54/9/29/19/34/47/11/26/43/45/50/52/53/37/35/36/38/40/51/41/23/24/
That's my solution. With it, the state is still $4,000,000,000 in the hole and I'm really out of options since I'm not going to choose things that are illegal. So how else do you make up $3,000,000,000. I think the state could get close if it tolled all major roadways and made those tolls pay for the roads. Then the surface streets would be paid for with the gas tax. Through this approach, you may still need a gas tax increase, but the goal is for the roads to be budget neutral. That itself would save a ton of money.
Would I attack prop 98? Of course. Would it be successful? Of course not, so it's not something that could fix the current mess. More like a down the road kind of thing.
What would really get the state out of the red though is population growth. This is where local governments come in. These municipalities must loosen zoning laws so that housing prices can come down via more housing units getting built. More people, more tax revenue.
If you have more solutions, post them here.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-statebudget-fl,0,95571.htmlstory?sel=2/4/10/33/12/27/30/32/42/44/49/54/9/29/19/34/47/11/26/43/45/50/52/53/37/35/36/38/40/51/41/23/24/
That's my solution. With it, the state is still $4,000,000,000 in the hole and I'm really out of options since I'm not going to choose things that are illegal. So how else do you make up $3,000,000,000. I think the state could get close if it tolled all major roadways and made those tolls pay for the roads. Then the surface streets would be paid for with the gas tax. Through this approach, you may still need a gas tax increase, but the goal is for the roads to be budget neutral. That itself would save a ton of money.
Would I attack prop 98? Of course. Would it be successful? Of course not, so it's not something that could fix the current mess. More like a down the road kind of thing.
What would really get the state out of the red though is population growth. This is where local governments come in. These municipalities must loosen zoning laws so that housing prices can come down via more housing units getting built. More people, more tax revenue.
If you have more solutions, post them here.
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