1970 Department of City Planning Los Angeles, California

REFERENCE 0 LY THE CONCEPT FOR THE LOS ANGELES GENERAL PLAN 8 7 32 ~ CITY OF LOS ANGELES SAM YORTY, mayor CITY COUNCIL JOHN S. GIBSON, JR., president ERNANI BERNARDI THOMAS BRADLEY MARVIN BRAUDE EDMUND D. EDELMAN JOHN FERRARO GILBERTW. LINDSAY DONALD D. LORENZEN BILLY G. MILLS LOUIS R. NOWELL JAMES B. POTTER, JR. PAT RUSSELL ARTHUR K. SNYDER ROBERT J. STEVENSON ROBERT M. WI LKINSON ROGER ARNEBERGH, city attorney CHARLES NAVARRO, controller CITY PLANNING COMMISSION JOHN J. POLLON, president MRS. ELIZABETH K. ARMSTRONG, vice president MELVILLE C. BRANCH EDWARD J. CROWLEY DAVID S. MOIR CITY PLANNING DEPARTMENT CALVI N S. HAMILTON, direetor THE CONCEPT FOR THE LOS ANGELES GENERAL PLAN JANUARY 1970 DEPARTMENT OF CITY PLANNING LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA PREFACE This report presents a proposed Concept for the long-range development of the City of Los Angeles, together with the goals upon which it is based. The Concept is intended to serve as the basic framework for the Los Angeles General Plan, which is scheduled to be com pleted by the end of 1970. The report is the first in a series of recommendations for the General Plan. The General Plan is the basic component of the comprehensive planning process. Its pur pose is to provide City officials with a guide for decision making on planning and develop ment matters and to inform the public of the expected future development of the City. The proposals included in the Concept are intended to be ambitious and far reaching, looking to the attainment of the full potential of Los Angeles. The Concept is designed to meet the needs of a future city of five million people. Other portions of the General Plan will be more explicit and will be tied to specific time periods. The Concept seeks to restructure the City in order to el iminate or alleviate cu rrent prob lems and anticipate and deal with future issues befo re they beco me seri ous problems. In the judgment of the Planning Department staff, the Concept would result in a physical structure consistent with the goals and objec tives of the City's citizens, as expressed through the Goals Program and other plan ning research. Adoption and implementation of the General Plan is the responsibility of the elected officials of the City - the Mayor and City Counci Imen. The future nature and form of Los Angeles must be determined by the representatives of the citizens, not by special interests either public or private. 1 on of the Concept recommended in 7. An open space program uti lizing both Jort will imply strong commitments to public acquisition and land use controls lowing broad policies and actions: must be formulated and implemented, in order to prevent the loss of private recrea ntlnued growth should be permitted tional lands threatened by development t must be guided by a comprehensive and reserve needed open lands in unde nning process. veloped areas; the passage of whatever State legislation is necessary to such a e funding and development of a rapid program must be advocated. nsit system must be advocated and lported, In order to provide for effi 8. A long-range continuing program of bal nt movement of peop Ie with in the ancing anticipated City expenditures and y. Station IDcations sh ou Id be confined revenues must be established, so as to the most part to intensively developed provide optimum fulfillment of the need Iters. Local feeder lines should be built for public services. an integral part of the rapid transit tem. Other elements and components of the Gen eral Plan will show how the development of 1:ain areas must be designated for various aspects of the City will proceed manent retention in low-density use, according to the Concept. They will include j held inviolate from zoning actions five and twenty year implementation pro ich would result in higher densities. grams. It is essential that a long-range concept such as that described in this report be anges in the State property tax laws adopted, so that these more detai led plans st be advocated, such changes to pro and programs may be completed. e that assessments shall be based upon The Director of Planning recommends that i land use potentials designated by the leral p Ian of a city, nat on land prices this Concept be approved by the City Plan ich reflect a speculative expectation of ning Commission, after review and recom ne other use, or on any other inter mendation by the General Plan Advisory 'tation as to the "highest and best" use. Board, and be adopted by the City Council and the Mayor as a part of the General Plan of sired development must be stimulated the City of Los Angeles. ough new approaches involving part "Ship between public and private enter The chart below 'Indicates the Planning se. Department's schedule for preparation of the Concept and the Citywide Plan, and the comprehensive development code, suggested timing of official actions by said orporating zoning, land subdivision and bodies. Jsing regulations, must be adopted, in ler to give assurance of coordinated II-planned development and to facili e technological innovations in construc n methods. )ULE FOR GENERAL PLAN ADOPTION CJ ry Counol Ac:op uon Ch'l PIi"d1.nlo[) COlllmisslon AI)OrOIolDI Gen e-; al PI ilo Ad'" isory eO()r d Ra:on 11'1~r::l dlions City Counei r A600hon (Ily ?raonlng LOfllmlS$lon APOfOval Clt~ PI.mi' iog Comm i'$S.l 00 He,a1"1 ngs. GftO'8(diPI.... AO visory BOClrd R€'corn rneod.1t IOO~ W'A. G '92 HT 168 13762 .L7 L632 c.2 CONTENTS PREFACE INTRODUCTION CHARACTER ISTICS OF LOS ANGELES 4 Development Patterns Urban Problems Development Trends THE PLANNING PROGRAM FOR LOS ANGELES 6 Comprehensive Planning Process Goals Program Alternative Concepts Formulation of the Concept CONCEPT FOR THE GENERAL PLAN PURPOSE AND CONTENT 9 General Plan Concept GOALS FOR THE GENERAL PLAN 10 GENERAL FEATURES OF THE CONCEPT 11 Centers Suburbs ELEMENTS OF THE CONCEPT 22 Land Use Housing 23 policies features Commerce 26 policies features Industry 28 policies features Open Space and Recreational Lmds 29 policies features Circulation 31 policies features Service Systems 35 policies features STUDIES FOR CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT 37 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 40 3 lC.R.T.D. UaKARl INTRODUCTION CHARAc-rERISTICS OF LOS ANGELES The reputation of Los Angeles has long rested Los Angeles has also become a major indus primarily upon the way of life of the City's tri<J1 cenler. The most important industries are residents. The majority of residents enjoy a aerospace, entertainment, oil extraction and unique and pleasant style of life, ch<lracter processing, and electronics. Recent industrial ized by the ownership and occupancy of the development has taken p'lace mainly in out single-family house. The mild and sunny lying areas, close to the workers living in the climate of Southern California makes outdoor expanding suburbs. Since land there has been recreation possible throughout the year. relatively inexpensive and large acreages have Mountains, desert and ocean are all within an been needed for parking, suburban industrial hour's drive 0 f the Civic Center. districts tend to exhibit the same sprawl as housing. The newer aerospace industry has located mostly in the S,m Fernando Valley, which has also been the area of greatest Development Patterns population growth. Los Angeles grew with the automobile. More Los Angeles has also become an important than in any other large city, it has permitted center of education, science and technology. the migration of the middle-income popula Several major universities and a number of tion to the suburbs. As a consequence, the smaller public and private colleges attract Ci ty has become a vast agg lomerat ion of students and faculty from around the world. single-family houses. Scientists and engineers, particularly, are attracted by the aerospace and electron ics Today, the only large vacant lands remaining industries. available for either new residential develop ment or for parks and open space are in the Santa Monica Mountains and in the fringe areas of the San Fernando Valley. As develop Urban Problems able land has become scarce, construction of apartments has begun to overtake that of As the population of Los Angeles City single·family dwellings. approaches three million (in a metropolitan area of seven million), the City's amenities are Providing goods and services to the large more and more offset by emerging problems. population of Los Angeles requires a commer These may be characterized as social, eco cial establishment of the first magnitude. The nomic and physical; most, however, involve commercial districts of Downtown, Wilshire, aspects of all three types. Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Westwood have grown into an almost continuous corridor of Some of the most critical problems, such as high-intensity development, which has air poll ution, traffic congestion, inadeq uate become the core of business, financial, cul public transportation and limited airport tural and governmental activities of the capacity, are regional in nature. Their solution Southern California region. will require concerted action by Los Angeles 4 County, all of the 77 cities in the County, Since most of the remaining open lands in the special regional districts, and the State and City will be taken for housing, little will be Federal governments. Los Angeles City, how left for the parks and recreation areas needed ever, because of its dominance in size and by the added population. Developed land will population, is in a position to give leadership have to be acquired at high cost to correct the to a comprehensive problem-solving effort.

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