PLANNING WATCH / PLAN-IT LOS ANGELES

By Dick Platkin* City employees and members off the public who follow city planning issues in Los Angeles were sending emails hot and heavy on Wednesday, June 30, in response to the announcement of the Director of Planning, Gail Goldberg that her last day of work would be July 16. Her bomb shell was paired with a similar announcement from the Mayor’s office, indicating that one of Gail Goldberg’s deputies, Vince Bertoni, would become the acting Director of Planning though late August. Those who think that Gail Goldberg’s departure will usher in new planning policies or procedures in Los Angeles are well meaning, but engaged in wishful thinking. In reality, changes in the management of the Department of City Planning are highly unlikely to affect any planning policies and practices. If there is any rift between the Planning Department and the city’s elected officials, it is not over policies, but only over the speed at which discretionary actions can be processed

By Dick Platkin* City employees and members off the public who follow city planning issues in Los Angeles were sending emails hot and heavy on Wednesday, June 30, in response to the announcement of the Director of Planning, Gail Goldberg that her last day of work would be July 16. Her bomb shell was paired with a similar announcement from the Mayor’s office, indicating that one of Gail Goldberg’s deputies, Vince Bertoni, would become the acting Director of Planning though late August. Those who think that Gail Goldberg’s departure will usher in new planning policies or procedures in Los Angeles are well meaning, but engaged in wishful thinking. In reality, changes in the management of the Department of City Planning are highly unlikely to affect any planning policies and practices. If there is any rift between the Planning Department and the city’s elected officials, it is not over policies, but only over the speed at which discretionary actions can be processe