The Los Angeles River

Cornfield/Chinatown (reopen the case?)
I would re-open the case around the redevelopment issues that affect the people who live in that area. Without their full backing, it would be inadvisable to proceed with any existing proposal. The people of Chinatown have been patiently waiting to improve their neighborhood through a mixed use approach to this property. My plan would be to include any and all the people of L.A., giving them a voice in the final result of that very choice piece of real estate. I propose a culturally sensitive multi-use scheme that would encourage open space, housing, education, and retail.

Part 2 (Impact report?)
A thorough environmental impact report is essential to any project being considered at this time. However, the goal of this report should not be to tinker around the edges of the current project for minimal mitigation. We have to look into the distant future anytime we build a project to determine what our legacy will be. Can this project still be beneficial to our citizens one hundred years from now? Too many projects with short term goals have been built only to be later found completely inadequate.

L.A. River State Park System
I would support legislation extending the state park system to include the entire river, but this park must have a flexible enough status to ensure that low income housing, schools, and green industries may be included. A mixed use plan should be designed to allow the greatest opportunity for access. State park legislation may be valuable, but only when it will directly benefit all of the people concerned in an affected neighborhood and in the larger circle of the city. Further study and open debate will be necessary to determine whether this is in fact the best possible solution for each section of the river. As long as sufficient leeway exists within the State Park legislation, then I am in support of it.

L.A. River Planning Process
Solutions for the L.A. river, as a whole, should fall under the Sustainable City Plan. I don't want to create a plethora of new agencies. There should be a planning process and additional planning mechanisms to address the future of the river. My vision includes water reclamation for public use as well as bike path improvement, green space, parks, etc. I plan to use the best and the brightest design team to help create a real gem in L.A., to be the envy of the entire Pacific rim.

Part 2 (Specific person assigned to River issues?)
Again, the person in charge of the Sustainable City Plan and will have jurisdiction over River issues.

Water Quality (Drop or continue the Water Quality Control Board suit?)
I would drop any suit that would seek to lower water quality standards. As mayor, I would continue to fight for more rigorous standards in water quality. Using alternative methods to chemical filtration would improve the quality of the L.A. river and the quality of life for our citizens. Biofiltration is a process in which microbes and other living organisms are used to break down and make harmless practically every known toxic. Biofiltration is a proven alternative to chemical decontamination. L.A. should be a leader in developing and promoting new technologies. We should use natural self-sustaining systems wherever possible. We need to take serious long lasting steps towards reducing our use and dependence on outside water sources.

Bikeway
With funds available for a commuter bikeway, we should work to extend it the length of the River, including to Union Station. However, only when included with a massive re-education program, including many cost effective and rapid transportation alternatives, will such a commuter option see any significant use. The bikeway that does exist should be improved with landscaping and any forms of architecture that would make it a more esthetically pleasing and attractive asset of our city.

Parks (Specific new parklands policy?)
Yes, the city should seek to establish a policy that will help encourage the development of new park lands and open space wherever possible, including along the river. By developing biofiltration and water reclamation we can produce and maintain all of our own landscaping materials exclusively for our parks department. This would provide many long term jobs and potential revenue for the the city.

Part 2 (Commit resources or community based initiatives?)
We can simultaneously commit city resources and facilitate community based initiatives to develop new parks. Certainly, successful organizations, such as Northeast Trees, must continue to be encouraged. I would also train and hire individuals to lead and facilitate a force of community volunteers to care for and maintain new and existing parks, greenscape and gardens throughout the city of L.A.

Community Arts Project Along the River (Are channelized sections an eyesore?)
The channelized sections of the River are an unfortunate, albeit necessary, eyesore. Their distinctly flood-control-channel-feel certainly dampens much enthusiasm for our city's river. However, the form and function of water retention could be made to look and work as art.

Part 2 (Community arts program?)
Murals and other forms of art would be encouraged and can only serve to enhance our quality of life and celebrate the rich culture of our community. Beyond murals, sculpture and other expressions of art can be incorporated into the river system. Architecture, landscaping, even theme park elements could be used to enhance the river and make it visually stimulating. A program to foster the input of our many arts and design colleges, including Art Center, Otis Parsons, USC, UCLA, FIDM, and Los Angeles Art Institute, would produce a plethora of possible concepts.

The Urban Environment
Planning a Livable City

Livable City Plan (Establish one?)
L.A. must establish a sustainable city plan. We cannot afford to continue on this path of resource depletion. We sorely lag behind neighbors Pasadena, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica.

Part 2 (Single broad-based agency?)
There will be one agency to carry out the Plan, but all city departments must include sustainable approaches in their individual missions. Whole systems design should be used to test the validity of any existing project.

Part 3 (Best coordination of environmental policies?)
The agency overseeing the Sustainable Plan must handle this coordination. City departments must build on their individual missions to carry out and implement the overall environmental strategy. It is only through the establishment of a single environmental mission that we can start to bring this city into a new era.

Livable communities/urban design issues (Expand mixed-use development?)
I strongly support mixed use development, and would encourage it wherever feasible.

Part 2 (In-fill development?)
I do support more in-fill development that increases rather than decreases density where it supports public use and participation.

Part 3 (Pedestrian activity)
I would encourage more pedestrian activity, as this is a main goal of my plan to recentralize LA. Regional centralization must occur as the primary concern of this city. Communities must be designed to look inward so that they can constantly improve and re-evaluate their rate of progress.

Part 4 (Community gardens?)
Community gardens are an important part of the new urban experience I envision. As people spend more time in somewhat higher density architecture, it becomes necessary that more communal open space be made available.

Park Space/Recreation space (Major expansion?)
When designing urban architecture we look for mixed use design proposals. Mixed use design and application should also be applied to the design for open and green space. Our opportunity for idealistic garden landscaping came and went sometime in the 1930s. A combination vegetable garden/playground could be more valuable in an area where access to fresh vegetables is limited. Replacing brown fields with green areas in less affluent areas will increase access to green space. Wherever possible far thinking, dynamic, culturally sensitive landscape architectural designs should be used.

Part 2 (Lack of access where park poor?)
Our existing and successful parks are vital green spaces for people who have limited personal land resources. The land along the River is the first and best choice. All available brownfields and vacant lots must be considered, as well as improving mass transit to city wide open space destinations.
History tells us that parks are essential. Ebenezer Howard's Garden City Concept was first proposed in 1898, this concept stressed the absolute necessity of enough green space. In 1882 Arturo Soria Y Mata published a concept of the Linear City that to a large extent we have manifested by our obsession with the Automobile. Mata understood the need to include "farmland" or green space as an essential part of the equation. The Olmsted Bartholomew Plan of 1930 clearly included a strategy to incorporate major landscaping elements.

Wetlands (Undertake an inventory?)
As Mayor I will take an inventory of the existing wetland sites within the city boundaries as well as potential sites for restoration and preservation of wetlands.

Part 2 (City wetlands policy?)
There should be a wetlands policy, and it should include a commitment to exhaust all other options before consideration of development on current wetlands. Biofiltration as designed by John Todd and Living Technologies would also be a way to manufacture simulated wetlands. These simulated wetlands could be used to repair some of the lost natural resources.

Green buildings/sustainable building practices (Ordinance?)
This administration would absolutely support a green building ordinance for municipal buildings, and would offer strong incentives for private developments to follow suit.

Part 2 (Mandate specific sustainable building practices?)
I favor strong incentives over mandates in the private sector, as different developments will naturally have different needs.
I feel a strong urgency in using and creating industries to develop recycled materials within the city of Los Angeles. If industries were created to convert curb side waste into usable goods, we could easily reduce our dependence on raw materials. An eventual goal is to phase out and then eliminate the use of any materials that are not produced from recycled resources.
A clear example by the City of Los Angeles to use sustainable building practices and recycled materials is long overdue. Any demolition of existing buildings in the city on L.A. most include a salvage assessment. Too many usable items are hauled off to the dump. Technology has long been available to close the loop on wasteful building practices. Solar panels on roof tops, double plumbing in new construction to utilize gray water, and landscaping that compliments this coastal desert region are very feasible ways to maximize our use of resources.

Street Trees (Urban Forester)
I would designate the street trees program as being part of the Sustainable City Plan, and would not establish the position of Urban Forester. Establishing an Urban Forester is not as imperative as giving full support to existing organizations such as Northeast Trees and Tree People.

Part 2 (Other support of urban forestry)
Street trees not only beautify but also lower the temperature of city streets. This in turn reduces our energy demand on hot summer days. One of the major byproducts of biofiltration and manufactured wetlands is the ability to grow edible vegetables and landscape materials. As part of a comprehensive biofiltration program, the city will be able to use water from the sanitation system to produce all necessary landscape materials. Biofiltration not only reduces our dependency on chemical treatment methods, it also allows us to produce an abundant tree crop. We could grow and use all landscape materials produced by the city for the city.

Brownfields Redevelopment (Establish criteria?)
There must be city wide criteria.

Part 2 (Community participation?)
WatchTheMayor.com encourages community participation in the design of all programs, and a brownfields program is no exception.

Part 3 (Goal of such a process)
Appropriate and sustainable development is always the goal. Brownfields and vacant underutilized land should be examined for its direct potential benefit as a park, garden, recycling center, or other public and beneficial use. We invite our citizens to use the internet and WatchTheMayor.com to have direct access to the Mayor's office. I am running precisely to get people more involved with their government.

Waste and Hazards: Detoxifying the Urban Environment

Toxics: (Subsidize clean production?)
I would emphasize tax and fee incentives for Green industries and those that don't pollute. I would offer even bigger incentives for startups in the fields of alternative energy and transportation.

Part 2 (Other strategies to support clean production)
A carrot and stick approach of license fee breaks for improvements and stiff fines for excesses should be enacted for gross polluters.

Urban pesticide use (Integrated pest management for all City facilities?)
The City should have an integrated pest management program.

Part 2 (How best implemented?)
The plan would best be implemented as guidelines, listing possible treatments in order of preference. The use of chemical pesticides is the most common short term solution. But a longer term, safer strategy using organic elements to encourage bio diversity is without doubt the safest way to prevent both pests and chemical contamination. Our children should be taught by demonstration to use alternative methods in pest abatement.

Environmental Justice (Commit to alternative fuels?)
We must increase the use of alternative fuels in the City's vehicle fleet. We are a city that prides itself on state of the art innovation Detailed schematics have been available for the last two decades outlining designs for highly fuel efficient vehicles. Within this region are some of the most advanced design schools in the nation. Santa Monica has already implemented the use of electric vehicles. Hydrogen cell engines have already been designed and are available for use. It is for us to simply decide to use this technology. Los Angeles should be the alternative fuel and transportation leader.

Part 2 (Diesel phase out?)
The time for phasing out diesel vehicles is here. Regional agencies should be encouraged to follow suit. Alternative systems sometimes seem like costly measures in the short term, but pay for themselves over time.

Solid Waste/Composting (50% reduction in waste?)
I am committed to at least a 50% reduction in waste.

Part 2 (New opportunities and programs)
My administration will work tirelessly to close the loop on recycling in this city. The goal of this decade is to move toward zero discharge manufacturing systems. Use what we make and make what we use, and that includes the waste by-products. They too have a function. We must begin to realize that waste is a resource that we cannot afford to just throw away.

Resource Issues: Water, Energy and Food

Water Supply Issues (How to reduce reliance on imported water?)
To reduce imported water reliance, we must retain what we have, and use it to its fullest potential. Strategies include retaining floodwaters, implementing biofiltration, and manufacturing wetlands. A program of tree propagation and food production would greatly reduce the amount of imported water needed for city and private landscaping. Water is this area's most precious and valuable resource. Technology must be used to harness it to its greatest potential.

Part 2 (Increase opportunities for recycling and re-irrigation?)
All available sites and methods for reclamation and re-irrigation should be utilized.

Stormwater/Water Retention (Continue the court challenge?)
The court challenge, to not limit runoff, is foolhardy and should be stopped.

Part 2 (Building Code changes?)
I favor changes that would allow for retaining storm water, and double plumbing, on site.

Part 3 (Multi-media strategy?)
As in so many areas, Tree People is leading the way with its multi-media strategy, and the City would do well to follow.

Energy Sources and Uses (How to increase Green Power users?)
To encourage more participation in Green Power, it must be made easier and cheaper than not participating. Solar panels should be installed for free, and the customer given credit for energy provided to the grid. For the last two decades, Sacramento has been experimenting with individual solar panels, solar roof tiles and alternative energy production. We should and will be leading the way in alternative technologies.

Part 2 (Commit the City to Green Power?)
My administration believes that we must lead by example. We must use all forms of clean, green energy and technologies. How else can we expect our citizens to comply?

Organic and Genetically Modified Food Issues (Adopt Minneapolis approach?)
The Minneapolis approach seems sound. I would like to foster a more organic oriented approach to growing fruits and vegetables. I would like to encourage neighborhood production and proliferation of organic gardening. I would also work to encourage growers markets wherever possible but especially wherever needed.
Keep the production of food in the hands of the people. Genetically modified food is very controversial and does not seem to be the right way to foster sustainable, local, individual, food production. Using time tested and age old methods of growing seems to be the most logical direction to pursue.

Farmers (Growers) Markets
As stated farmers, or growers (the term we prefer because you do not have to be a farmer to grow and sell produce) markets should be encouraged and actually placed where fresh fruits and vegetables are needed. The city could go a long way in making this resource available to our residents. This is a small gesture and would improve the lives of our citizens greatly. At first the markets could be put into any parking lot or vacant lot. Later we would integrate space for these markets in new mixed use developments. The most natural choices seem to be near or in newly built parks and gardens.
I would like to keep it easy and inexpensive for growers to participate. But the first priority is to get this healthy inexpensive food supply to the people who want it.

Transportation and Land Use

Transportation - Needs of the Transit Dependent: (How to address their needs?)
The first thing I'll do is to make sure there are transit dependent people sitting on the MTA board. We'd never see another strike if that were the case. WatchTheMayor.com regularly rides the buses (when they're running) and asks the riders what their real needs are.

Part 2 (Increased public transit?)
I will advocate for more public transit, period.

Part 3 (Para-transit?)
Para-transit should be encouraged, where currently needed.

Alternatives to Car Use (More and better public transit, & Part 2 alternatives to autos?)
What's most important is that we begin to engage in new, long term, regional thinking where transportation is involved. Los Angeles must retool our dormant aerospace industry and position ourselves as the alternative transportation capital. Offer incentives for the next wave of transit development to be researched and produced here. That includes clean cars, buses, and forms of transport now only imagined.

Part 3 (MTA as public transit advocate?)
Yes, the MTA must reinvent itself as a public transit advocate. That will involve reinvigorating its buses, adopting a regional approach, and putting an end to sweetheart deals for rail contractors.

Pedestrian Issues (Address pedestrian safety)
As we increase mixed-use development, walking becomes more commonplace. We become more aware of pedestrians as we get people out of their cars. Producing a walking friendly city reduces the incidents of pedestrian versus car. We must stop building practices that favor the automobile over the pedestrian. The continuing bus strike is a perfect example of the utter disregard our so-called leaders have for our non-driving public. My administration will work tirelessly to include all of its citizens in the decision making process.

Part 2 (27% on pedestrian safety?)
Though more safety-related funding should go toward pedestrian safety, picking 27% because it corresponds to the percentage of pedestrian fatalities seems arbitrary, and may not be the best use of that amount of money.