Council, mayor will direct air rights funds

The deal allows the city to sell 9 million square feet of theoretical space over the sprawling Los Angeles Convention Center. Although city zoning laws allowed builders to go much higher, the center is just three stories high.

Now the city can sell that unused space to developers whose projects may be restrained by density limits.

How much of that space sells, if any, remains to be seen. Buildings downtown still must conform with the city's zoning laws and, generally speaking, it is difficult for builders to go very tall without assembling a large swath of land.

Deep in the ordinance that authorizes the deal is the key phrase: Ultimately the use of the money will be determined by the City Council and the mayor.

That means it could be spent to buy land for a new park or to build a downtown streetcar system. Or it could be spent on improvements or mitigations that a developer would ordinarily have to pay for out of their own pockets.

"I agree that we have to be very alert about the fund, because using it for something else would undermine the integrity of the program," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, whose district will probably benefit the most from the deal because the "air rights" revenue would have to be spent within a radius of two miles.

"I'm always worried about misuse of city funds," Perry said, "but I do think what helps here is that the funds must be used near the Convention Center."

Perry will probably have a big say in how most of the money is spent. The new law calls for a committee of community members and bureaucrats to first vet spending proposals, then give the council and mayor ultimate approval.

The committee must include the council member who represents the source and the destination of the air rights. That guarantees Perry a say because the Convention Center is in her district. The two-mile limit makes it likely that the air rights will be bought for projects in her district.

Perry said she intends to set up a working group to study the best way to determine how to spend the money, assuming developers begin buying air rights. She expects the air rights to sell over many years.