VOICES-On April 8, 2014, the Los Angeles PLUM Committee will be considering the mayoral appointment of a television producer and community activist to the Central Area Planning Commission (CAPC).
According to the submitted resume, the appointee’s experience and accomplishments are related to television shows, social media, and other items that are not related to the duties of the CAPC.
This brings us to the ultimate question? What are the qualifications of the appointed individuals to one of the important commissions within our city?
Some of the functions of the Central Area Planning Commission include rendering decisions on SNAP, planning issues, project litigation and appeals, and reports from the zoning administrator.
Therefore, a commission member must be qualified to review related documentation such as environmental impact reports, zoning law, determination letters, entitlement requests, and other relevant documents.
These must be reviewed prior to the conveyance of a final decision on a case filing or appeal. These reviews can take several hours depending on the complexity of a case or project.
How do the qualifications of the mayor’s appointee relate to any of these issues? Many decisions rendered by the zoning administrator are appealed and litigated.
Often, thousands of dollars are at stake. Are commission members truly qualified to make a final and often, crucial decision on such issues?
With this most recent mayoral appointment, I now question the qualifications of the seated members of the CAPC.
Residents within our city are entitled to have qualified and competent individuals make important planning decisions impacting their communities.
(Armen Makasjian is a commerical property appraiser and real estate broker. He lives in Los Angeles.
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 12 Issue 29
Pub: Apr 8, 2014
