LA County Board

13. Expediting Critical Community Benefits for Local Residents by\nStreamlining the Permitting Process for Small, Community-Serving\nProjects\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisors Mitchell and Solis: Instruct the\nDirector of Public Works, in consultation with the Directors of Regional\nPlanning, Public Health and Economic Opportunity, the Acting Chief\nSustainability Officer, the Fire Chief, and County Counsel, in consultation with\nthe EPIC-LA Governance workgroup to, within 120 days, develop and launch a\nCommunity-Serving Economic Opportunity Program aligned with the\nAnti-Racism Diversity and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative Strategic Plan and the use\nof ARDI tools to identify outcome and impact metrics rooted in equity (i.e.\ndemographic information of enterprises applying for permits, location and type\nof project, timeline to completion with and without technical assistance), to\ndeliver a single point of entry for small business applicants seeking permits\nwhere the permitted project will deliver a defined community benefit, including\nthe following:\nCreate climate resilient jobs leading to a reduction in greenhouse gas\nemissions;\nCreate opportunities for wealth building through small business ownership\nand development while prioritizing community benefits for historically\nmarginalized communities;\nPrioritize projects and opportunities to enhance and improve\nenvironmental quality in communities disadvantaged by persistent\npollution and health risk challenges according to Senate Bill 535\nCalEnviroscreen Data;\nPrioritize projects for individuals in highest need census tracts according\nto the COVID-19 Vulnerability and Recovery Index; and\nAllow for employee-ownership of shared business ownership models;\nInstruct the Director of Public Works, in consultation with the Directors of\nRegional Planning, Public Health and Economic Opportunity, the Fire Chief,\nand County Counsel, to explore opportunities to develop required timelines\nunder the Community-Serving Economic Opportunity Program, in consultation\nwith ARDI and aligned with their Strategic Plan, for processing both entitlements\nand issuing permits at all points of construction in order to more expeditiously\nopen projects with a defined benefit to the community, and report back to the\nBoard in writing in 180 days with recommendations on timelines and process\nimprovements, potential ordinance changes, and opportunities for additional\nfunding, and in developing recommendations, the exploration should include a\nreview of best practices from other jurisdictions, consultation with stakeholders,\nend users of the County’s permitting process, public utilities, and labor\npartners; and\nInstruct the Director of Public Works, in consultation with the Directors of\nRegional Planning, Public Health and Economic Opportunity, the Acting Chief\nSustainability Officer, the Fire Chief and County Counsel, to report back to the\nBoard in writing in 180 days with recommendations around whether the County\ncan provide a technical assistance program to small, community-serving\nbusinesses with an equity-based framework for service prioritization to help\nsubmit and expedite entitlements and permitting packages and how to implement\nsuch a program, including a plan to identify funding, with the recommendations\nto be made in alignment with the ARDI Strategic Plan and the use of ARDI’s\nequity tools to ensure that service delivery is rooted in equity. (23-2525)\nAttachments: Motion by Supervisors Mitchell and Solis\nPublic Comment/Correspondence