Park Fee Policy May Alter Mayor's Visions for L.A.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has vowed to turn Los Angeles into the greenest city in the nation, promising a wave of public investment to create new parks for a graying metropolis.
At the same time, he has championed a more vibrant downtown, one transformed into an around-the-clock mecca of cultural and residential life.
But the mayor may be forced to choose between these visions, both hallmarks of his plan for the city. The pressure stems from a little-known City Hall policy that helps lure developers to downtown by slashing the fees they are required to pay for new parks.
The discount -- offered to builders who convert old, vacant structures into so-called live-work condominiums -- has been credited with helping spur downtown's recent revitalization. But it also has robbed municipal coffers of millions of dollars for parks and recreation facilities in an area short on both.
Officials in the city Recreation and Parks and Planning departments are reassessing the policy, asking whether it's time to hike the fee in light of downtown's real estate boom. The matter is likely to land on the mayor's desk.
Villaraigosa, hesitant to do anything that would impede downtown's rejuvenation but also reluctant to side with developers over environmental advocates, acknowledges the dilemma. So far, he has yet to tip his hand.
"You can't rush to judgment," he said in an interview last week. "You have to reevaluate on a regular basis to ensure that you are using the best strategies to promote a high quality of life in downtown and other communities."
The policy on park fees, which went into effect seven years ago, was part of a broader effort to revive downtown by rethinking the use of vacant office buildings, many of them historic landmarks.
The idea was to attract a new generation of graphic artists, video techies and other adventurous spirits who would live and work in residential lofts dotted with marble lobbies and oversized windows -- a strategy that had succeeded in New York, San Francisco and Denver.
In 1999, Los Angeles officials modified building and zoning regulations, allowing the conversion of commercial buildings into residential units while relaxing parking and yard rules required of traditional construction projects.
A new zoning definition was created for these "joint living and work quarters," designating one-third of their space as residential and two-thirds as commercial.
