City Council

F.6. REFORMING HOUSING APPROVAL AND PERMITTING PROCESSES\nTO ENCOURAGE HOUSING PRODUCTION [J. ERICKSON, Y.\nQUARKER, A. LOVANO]:\nSUBJECT: The City Council will consider several reform measures to\nexpedite the City’s Planning and Building & Safety approval and permitting\nprocesses to speed up and encourage housing production in the City.\nThese reforms include several policy changes and administrative changes\nto update the City’s processes and re-enforce West Hollywood as a pro-\nhousing city.\nRECOMMENDATIONS: 1) Direct staff to prepare a Zone Text\nAmendment to streamline the review and approval process for residential\nprojects with fewer than 100 units, and mixed-use projects with fewer than\n100 units and less than 30,000 square feet of non-residential floor area,\nincluding: changing the review authority for such projects from the\nPlanning Commission to the Director of Community Development,\neliminating requirements for a neighborhood meeting, and allowing only\none appeal to the City Council (Short term priority, about six to nine\nmonths); 2) Direct staff to evaluate and draft a Zone Text Amendment to\ncreate a ministerial approval process for residential projects with fewer\nthan 100 units, and mixed-use projects with fewer than 100 units and less\nthan 30,000 square feet of non-residential floor area that are compliant\nwith the General Plan and Zoning Code (Long term priority, about two\nyears); 3) Direct staff to explore ways to streamline maximum housing\nproduction in accordance with Recommendations 1 and 2, while\ndiscouraging under-building of housing for parcels included on the sites\ninventory; 4) Direct staff to prepare a Zone Text Amendment to eliminate\nparking minimums throughout the City (Short term priority, about six – nine\nmonths); 5) Direct staff to amend current City processes to allow\ndevelopers to apply for planning entitlements and building permits\nconcurrently for new residential and mixed-use projects that do not require\nlegislative action (Short term priority, about six months); 6) Direct staff to\ncreate and publish informational materials to encourage applicants to\narrange for a pre-filing meeting prior to submitting a development\napplication (Short term priority, about six months); 7) Direct staff to track\nstate and local efforts to amend stairway egress building codes, and, in\ncollaboration with Los Angeles County Fire Department, evaluate\nestablishing an Alternate Materials and Methods bulletin for the\nconstruction of “single stairway” apartment buildings of up to six stories\n(Medium term priority, about one year); 8) Direct staff to research and\nreport back to Council with options for a self-certification program for\nlicensed professionals to expedite permits for residential, commercial, and\nmixed-use developments (Medium term priority, about one year); 9) Direct\nstaff to monitor and track similar streamlining efforts underway in the cities\nof Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and other local jurisdictions to determine if\nadditional measures can be implemented to further support the\ndevelopment of new housing in the City; 10) Direct staff to provide\nquarterly updates to the Council on the number of development permit\napplications and average processing times for different types of\napplications, including those from Planning, Building & Safety, and\nEngineering; and 11) Direct staff to provide an update to the Council\non these initiatives and any other streamlining efforts currently underway\nwithin 120 days.