CAPE-Represented Regional Planners Leading The Way to Greener Development

East LA 3rd Street Specific Plan Includes Transit Oriented Design; Encourages Developers to Build Around Transit Centers

Regional Planners working at the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning are taking important steps to build greener, more livable developments around transit villages.

The agency's East LA 3rd Street Specific Plan, which is Phase 1 of a two-part update to the East LA community's 1988 Community Plan, defines a vision and a set of development principles to guide future development in the area.  The Plan proposes incentives and encouragement for developers interested in making the eastside an even better place to live and work, with an emphasis on making the streets more vibrant and visually appealing. 

The Transit Oriented Design - TOD - project centers on the METRO Gold Line Extension along the 3rd Street Corridor.  The Plan's vision and development principles promote development in housing, retail and businesses that bring employment opportunities to the eastside community.

Planners note that adoption of the 3rd Street Plan will not result in any eminent domain actions by the County. Additionally, the entire planning process has involved input from community representatives at every juncture. 

A 21-member panel of elected and appointed community representatives was formed to serve as an advisory body throughout the community planning process, and early community input was taken at several workshops held in 2009.  More workshops are slated as the project takes shape in the next several months.

	CAPE-represented Regional Planners create zoning standards, coordinated transportation connections and better quality of life for residents.

Land use policy is an extraordinarily complicated challenge in every part of Los Angeles County.  The questions of how and where to build in East Los Angeles are especially difficult because there is virtually no vacant land.  Transit-oriented community improvements must involve the residents and existing businesses in the targeted neighborhoods.

A public draft of the East LA 3rd Street Specific Plan is scheduled to be released early next year for review and comment from East LA stakeholders, including the 21-member advisory panel. 

Once adopted, the Plan will greatly enhance the quality of life for East LA residents and businesses by creating zoning standards that establish coordinated transportation connections for pedestrian and bicycle traffic for the entire area.  

The plan will also create a comprehensive landscaping plan that includes open space and overall improvements in the aesthetic appeal of the neighborhoods around the transit villages.

Regional Planners working at the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning are represented by the California Association of Professional Employees - CAPE, AFL-CIO.

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