LA CLEAN SWEEP ALERT: Concerned Citizens knowledgeable about planning issues should make every effort to attend the mayor’s news conference, which is expected to be held at 10 a.m., to question him and Michael LoGrande.
Mayoral spokesman Matt Szabo recently described Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s management style this way: “He’s picked
good people and he’s empowering them to do their job.”
Obviously, Szabo thought he still works for Dick Riordan. Our current mayor’s style goes something like this: Browbeat good people into doing his bidding or put weak people into important positions so they do his bidding without being browbeaten.
That’s why there is a revolving door of department managers under the Villaraigosa Administration.
The latest departure is Planning Director Gail Goldberg who had her fans and critics but no one doubted she was qualified for the job.
Her successor, to be announced Monday, is Chief Zoning Administrator Michael LoGrande who won immediate praise from Councilman Tom LaBonge as someone who will speed approval of major projects through the planning process and from First Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner who runs plans and most everything else of significance at City Hall as well as serving as general manager of the Department of Water and Power.
“I look at Michael as someone who gets things done,” Beutner told the LA Times Friday. “That
doesn’t mean that he’s going to roll over for developers. It just means
Michael will get to a yes or a no, and I think that’s a good thing. Part of the reason for a change in leadership is to make sure we drive
all aspects of planning — including community plans — further, faster
and more aggressively than have been done,”
In other words, Beutner drove Goldberg out and is putting in place someone that her critics and supporters among planning experts and current and former Planning Department staffers regard as wholly unqualified for the job because of his willingness to side with developers, inexperience and lack of being accredited by the American Institute of Certified Planners, a prerequisite throughout the region for anyone to run even a small planning department.
Here’s what they are saying about LoGrande:
“The nominee is a nice, glad- handing, case And this: “A number of people predicted Michael LoGrande because there is “Who could do a better job than “She has to be miserable knowing this man was the architect in her removal and now holds her position. Under his Chief position the case backlog in Zoning Administration increased for which he took no responsibility…incompetence and mistakes, which will result in lawsuits multiplied and were tolerated. “He made the developers happy and no doubt, they were behind his upward mobility…Great day for them, great day for all who want to plaster the city with overdevelopment and a sad day for LA and the communities. The man knows very little about planning, but that’s means little in LA, where keeping developers happy is all that is required. “Beutner has shown his ignorance in both planning and the city by this appointment. Butt kissing rules. One thing, I can assure you is that it will be business as usual and worse in City Hall. The man is too young and has too many working years left to not do anything and everything his political masters will demand from him.” And finally: “I am just shaking my head, and shaking it and shaking it. Cannot get “He was Gail’s So there you have it: A critical department that impacts the quality of our lives in every neighborhood who has seen by those who know planning as an opportunistic yes-man lacking basic qualifications and experience for a complex and difficult job made that much harder by drastic staff cuts and a growing public for smart planning. Who better than to be in charge of planning for a ceremonial mayor who has abdicated his responsibility to a surrogate, pushed the city toward bankruptcy and mismanaged city affairs to the point good people are fleeing the sinking ship and he’s unable to attract qualified people to replace them. OMG, Michael LoGrande as Planning Director, they got to be kidding.
adjudicator with no long-range planning or management experience…he would not be considered nor hired by any other
jurisdiction in LA County, let alone another first -tier city.
things done. A “yes!” man. You can imagine what things the munchens and
Latham lawyers have in mind for Michael”
absolutely no evidence of any interest or commitment in planning among
the Department of City Planning’s managers. Their real general plan is
creating real estate speculation bubbles based on the long term and
recent whims of the elected officials.
Michael LoGrande? And won’t it be fun to watch him slowly twist in the
wind when he is called up to the witness stand for all those lawsuits?
A light weight opportunist whose sole virtue is giving developers what
they want will hopefully feel quite a lot of heat, cost the City lots
of money, and lead to many court orders to do real planning, not just
the cliches of the past four
years.”
And this:
.
coherent over this quite yet. It is a perfect storm of a failing
administration, the exit of a PR Planning Director and the entrance of a
new Planning Director whose primary skill is working the people best
who know him least.
number one choice for Chief Zoning Administrator; and at least a year
ago, she pretty much froze him out, disappointed in his inability to
reduce the continuing (and unprecedented) mash up in the Office of
Zoning Administration.”
How much damage can LoGrande do in the three years left in Villaraigosa’s term?
*Selling off all of downtown and other prime land to Eli Broad and cohorts for $99 over 99 years?
*A tsunami of eminent domaine thefts?
*L.A.’s version to Alaska’s ‘bridge to nowhere’ with one-way streets to nowhere?
*More granny flats?
*More illegal conversions of garages & houses?
*More ugly strip malls that lack parking?
And ‘worstest’ of all:
Devastating density that would make sardines look comfortable in their cans or morph L.A. into a real life, exagerated version of ‘Star Trek’s’ “Mark of Gideon?”
Or…or…or…?
Somehow I don’t think you all would be pleased with anyone other than a neighborhood activist as Planning Director.
4:43 what a belittling comment for neighborhood activists, whatever that means. Don’t know where you live, but would love to know your feelings after a 10-story building is placed next to your house.
The gist of the criticism implies that City Hall has, in the past, stood up to developers in favor of preserving the quality of life here.
I, however, have seen no evidence of that. On the contrary, City Hall actually SUBSIDIZES developers while granting them variances, density bonuses, tax “holidays,” etc.
Can it actually get any worse, especially in this economy?
That’s a question, by the way, not an argument.
Of course the city is going to have someone in the position who will do what they city wants done. The problem is that the city is doing what they do. You can hire and fire a million more people, and the Who already wrote a song about that.
Walter, the issue here is more than giving subsidies and variances. It is about appointing corrupt people to such positions and corrupting the whole Civil Service system. It is a great disincentive to honest and hard working people that their efforts are in vain, and the only rewards are in corruption.
Fair enough, but what difference does it make who’s in charge if the answer is always, “Yes, go ahead and build whatever you want.” We could just appoint a sock puppet if the City Planning Department isn’t actually planning, but instead merely inks the “approved” stamp and then applies it to the applications.
Not only his Michael LoGrande the Nephew of Gail Goldberg, he is the “Developer’s Man” in City Hall and the King of Density and to hell with local neighborhoods.
But then again, what else is new?
Thank you “Anonymous July 24, 2010 9:07 PM.” Many of those in planning (rank and file) are professionals such as retired Planner Dick Platkin.
But they are overridden and threatened by politicos even making a mockery of their own plans. It is very clear that Developers are in control when they give motions to the PLUM committee and the Chair, Reyes is on a first name basis with the Developers and their representatives.
Long after the current crop of politicians retire, our children will be suffering with infrastructure issues including water shortages because 15-year and 20-year entitlements were granted with sky-high buildings with fat carbon footprints.
To the comment: “Somehow I don’t think you all would be pleased with anyone other than a neighborhood activist as Planning Director. ”
No, we would want a less biased person who would follow the existing community plans, good planning guidelines, and listen to the community in real time.
LA deserves the Mayor, Beutner and Michael Logrande for paying little attention to civic affairs.
Can someone tell me where Ron Kaye is getting these quotes from? That would be helpful to explain
“Curious”, how about putting your name and email address. That would be helpful to explain—what?
Bruno, beware! The new planner might say Ron didn’t get a variance or pay all the up-front fees for your dog house and evict you.
Your Pal,
G.
At least it wont take the new General Manager 4 years to figure out how to hire PLanners. The staff loves Logrande and see him as a leader. Give him a chance.
I’m staff and don’t respect this ignorant,butt-kisser who schmoozed his way up.
Walter you mentioned doing a family tree with all the politicians and relatives listed. I think you can add this bone head to that list.
Umm… to the idiot who says the staff loves him. Speak for yourself. I, and a many more staff see him as a self-promoting mediocre, vindictive, ass-kissing planner. He scored too low on the ZA exam to be reachable! But why should that little nugget stand in the way of being in charge of all of the ZAs …hmmm?
So he ass-kissed Goldberg to get the chief ZA’s job, barely knowing the zoning code. (He gave her a fruit basket the first day she arrived on the job…gotta get your ass-kissing in early!)Now that’s boot-licking on steroids. And like a good mercenary he is, he took her job!
Souless LoGrande cares not about the quality of life in Los Angeles, such as how to meet the demands of parking or improve infrastructure/traffic, or keep density at a more reasonable scale. He doesnt give a wooden nickel for anything resembling planned, conscientious growth. Heck, that’s just plain trite when you need to get promoted. There is not an original planning bone in LoGrande’s body and he’s proud of that. He has a notorious record for avoiding neighborhood activists and concerned citizens for years.
Since LoGrande doesn’t even remedially understand the zoning code, as a Planning Director he will increase his large coterie of enablers to continue to do all the heavy lifting for him and make sure the mean neighbors and activists won’t get near him. Developers, OTOH….I doubt he’ll even compose one email unless it’s under a sentence. Instead he’ll continue his days prostrate for the city council and mayor and collect his paycheck for the privilege.
So it’s established his record was not about doing real planning, or competency. Since during his 13 years of meteoric promotions most of us witnessed from the inside, we can safely say LoGrande is a socialpathic agrandizer. Hmmm, just like the mayor! I guess you could say they are like twins in the low-achieving-but-high-job-seeking positions, don’t you think?!
Lookout neighborhoods– you are on the radar! Be prepared for fast-track rubber-stamped entitlements in your area soon.
I also predict the remaining deputy director to be gone soon. He was mean to LoGrande and that won’t do.
To add to 8:33 p.m., I’ve rarely seen Logrande in his office doing any work. He can be found schmoozing around with developers in places where he has no business. He demeaned this noble job of Chief ZA to that of a used car salesman. His picture in Curbed LA at the opening of a hotel (no need for Chief ZA to attend it) getting an autograph of a real estate agent whom he mistook for Jonas Brothers says it all.
The real question is not about the new planning director’s history and style, but why the Mayor and his consigliere, Austin Beutner, discharged Gail Goldberg, a highly regarded city planner, and replaced her with a City Hall player?
Perhaps the answer is that as the local, regional, and national economies continue to decline, the pols and the investors they enable increasingly turn to short-term real estate speculation as their business model. The economic desperation which lead to the bank meltdowns in 2008-9 is still alive and well in Los Angeles.
Why go through the pretense of a glib planning director who can talk the profession’s talk, when you can bring someone in who can walk their walk: quick entitlements for quick bucks by flipping commercial real estate?
Ron, you may want to ask this question of the Mayor tomorrow. How did Logrande become a Director (not interim, as it should have been) with no advertisement of the job and no competetion. There are many qualified people who’d have applied. It is a taxpayer funded position and not one of Beutner’s private companies where he rewards his favorite greaser. Even Beutner is an Interim General Manager of DWP, and not permanent.
Gail Goldberg may be highly regarded by her APA circuit, but got promoted to a position beyond her level of competence. Her ignorance of the Planning department and Los Angeles and reliance on Logrande as her go to man sealed her fate and messed up the department. She is history. We are now concerned about the future.
Well the fox was put in-charge of the chicken coop. The idiot Mayor approved a co-idiot in violation of city rules and regulations.
How did Michael LoGrande become Chief ZA? Why, Gail Goldberg appointed him, of course. Ironic.
That foolish woman thought the senior employees were her enemy and got rid of most of them. Logrande was going to be her loyal flag bearer. She got what she deserved. But the department does not deserve him.
The developer, Chuck Francoeur of Montage Development must be ecstatic. Michael can now waive more required Fire Department fees for his projects.
“Michael Lo Grande is a problem solver who I look forward to working with to expedite and complete our community plans,” said Councilmember Ed P. Reyes, Chair of the Planning Land Use and Management Committee. “Promoting a business friendly policy for our community plans makes our projects that much more efficient in creating safer and healthier neighborhoods to best serve the people of Los Angeles.”
First, Councilman, I work in the same department where your new Director has been MIA for years. Share with us the problems he has solved other than to rubberstamp every development project. Your second statement, however clarifys your intentions – business friendly Community Plans. In other words, increase densities to the allowable maximum and then some.
Sorry Councilman, you lost the little grey matter you had long time, and your post-City Hall future depends on developer monies. You are a disgrace to our planning profession with no moral compass worth talking about.
Mayor Beutner nominated Mr. LoGrande. But he is subject to confirmation by City Council. Will any of the councilmembers have the guts to say “no” to this appointment? And what does it take to get them there?
Why will they. They have a puppet who’ll do anything the masters demand.
Though Villaraigosa said that the department conducted a national search –
Ron this is BS. We need to know what national search they did in 4 days since Goldberg left. The job was never advertised.
I hope that Logrande kicks some ass in that department. Too many people working there are in the business of saying no and delaying construction. Los Angeles is going to petrify if things are not redeveloped. Get over it people. LA is going to building grand projects and that is the right thing for LA. To all of you who want this city to remain in 1965 you are dillusional. That ship sailed during the Bradley era.
Logrande’s ass will be quicked out sooner, you fool.
Michael LoGrande is an embarrassment, pure and simple. No qualifications. No moral compass. No management experience. No shame in his ass-kissing ways.
Rendering City Planning It looks good on paper. But in reality the City is Planning around developers, if I understand everyone?
“Michael is frank with us, and talks to our residents in a way we understand. He is fair and always listens to our concerns,” said Lisa Sarkin, Studio City Neighborhood Council Board Member.
What a foolish woman. It is one thing to have developers support him, but a Neighborhood Council person. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Is it any wonder noone in the Planning Department takes them seriously.
To Bye Bye Gail: Explain how LoGrande will see through “grand projects” by simply rubber-stamping any application a developer submits? Is it “grand” because LoGrande will create a climate to make it easier for developers to submit whatever out of scale monstrosity in size and density he wants? Where’s the evidence he has any real planning creds? We’re all waiting for some facts…
Unless your definition of the word “grand” is not what most of us understand it to be.
So far the people who support LoGrande are either discredited by their own history or are pro development people (Hi Councilman LaBonge and Reyes!)
To Lisa Sarkin: Google is Not Your Friend.
L.A. Times reported Gail Goldber said “She knows little about the the lay of the land in L.A. but a great deal about working with communities.
“My interaction with him [Beutner] has always been pleasant and productive, and I never detected any kind of tension,” Goldberg said. “The decision for my retirement is my decision.”
Hey NIMBYs!! A city NEEDS development, growth, density! If you don’t want to live in an urban area, move to Alaska, or Riverside! LA has suffered for decades because of sprawl, but when an apparently pro density person is put in you shriek and whine and cry that he is a ‘developers’ planner! What?? Mass transit has to have density to be efficient. Walkable communities need density to work. I agree that it needs to be planned well, but so far it hasn’t, so why not try a ‘pro density’ planner? Oh, wait, not in MY backyard, right?
Ignorant comment expected from a money grubbing, neighborhood destroying shark developer.
Is this where city employees come to hate on each other? Am I in the right place? WOW!
You people are pathetic. I’ve known Mike for years! He’s good for LA and good for business. He cares about neighborhoods, the environment AND growth. It is possible to have a balance! Mike’s a leader and looks out for his team as well as the citizens of LA. (That’s why he attends the openings of local businesses!!)
Sorry all of you are so jealous that you can’t appreciate a hardworking family man trying to make life a little nicer for all of us. Too bad.
I’m sure Mike has made you tons of money. Thank you for enlightening us. And no, we are not jealous, just people with integrity who don’t want our city sold to people like you.
Los Angeles is pathetic. A cross between Tijuana and Kansas City, with a bit of Cleveland thrown in for good measure. Plenty of graffiti, lots of poverty, ugly streets all over the place.
Some of the western LA neighborhoods are ok to nice, but much of the central portion is a toilet. There are a few hundred acres of a revived downtown, some token signs of health around USC, but that’s about it.
A lot of the San Fernando Valley is like a congested, somewhat better version of Fresno. Some of it is ok, but too much of it is on par with loser-ville.
No wonder mainly poor folk from south of the border have become the mainstay of the city’s population.
Los Angeles is pathetic. A cross between Tijuana and Kansas City, with a bit of Cleveland thrown in for good measure. Plenty of graffiti, lots of poverty, ugly streets all over the place.
Some of the western LA neighborhoods are ok to nice, but much of the central portion is a toilet. There are a few hundred acres of a revived downtown, some token signs of health around USC, but that’s about it.
A lot of the San Fernando Valley is like a congested, somewhat better version of Fresno. Some of it is ok, but too much of it is on par with loser-ville.
No wonder mainly poor folk from south of the border have become the mainstay of the city’s population.
Good post, thanks
One of the posts indicates the Mr. LoGrande scored so low on the ZA exam that he wasn’t reachable: what was his score?
How were cases rubber stamped? Provide an example. Perhaps provide a case that was approved and give a summary on how it was rubberstamped. What was the zoning, plan designation, and so on. Explain by providing some evidence? Maybe cite some section of the Code and provide your understanding of the Code and policies of the applicable Community Plan.
How were Fire Department Fees waived. What case are you referring to?
To the moron who seems to be surprised logrande “rubberstamps” projects and wants to know his actual score on his ZA exam.
1) since you don’t understand the nuance of English, let me enlightened you: “rubber stamp” is a euphemism which essentially means Michael logrande makes sure the ZAs approved projects that are out of scale, or he will push highly connected projects forward and give them special treatment. The biggest tool of all is the fate he waives projects that should’n't be waive to avoid the hearing and noticing process. If you want to know the individual cases, why don’t you do go search them out? Obviously you don’t know how to google or read the papers, or in serious denial, or just a moron.
2) You want to know LoGrande’s score on the ZA exam? He was #28 out of 30 people on the list. Why don’t you do a FOIA to find out for yourself?
Obviously you must be living in a cave if you haven’t realized years ago that Logrande is a developer’s wet dream.
To the moron who seems to be surprised logrande “rubberstamps” projects and wants to know his actual score on his ZA exam.
1) since you don’t understand the nuance of English, let me enlightened you: “rubber stamp” is a euphemism which essentially means Michael logrande makes sure the ZAs approved projects that are out of scale, or he will push highly connected projects forward and give them special treatment. The biggest tool of all is the face he waives projects that should’n't be waive to avoid the hearing and noticing process. If you want to know the individual cases, why don’t you do go search them out? Obviously you don’t know how to google or read the papers, or in serious denial, or just a moron.
2) You want to know LoGrande’s score on the ZA exam? He was #28 out of 30 people on the list. Why don’t you do a FOIA to find out for yourself?
Obviously you must be living in a cave if you haven’t realized years ago that Logrande is a developer’s wet dream.
To 7:49 p.m, read this: Done by Michael Logrande’s Office of Zoning Administration under his watch. Shows malfeasance and complicity between the Office and the developer.
To give a good example of the reality, get a copy of the staff report ZA 2009-0534 ZV-SPR, for a property located at 2600 Riverside Drive in CD4. Space does not permit an in-depth analysis other than the highlights. This site was restricted by the Silver Lake-Echo Park-Elysian Valley Community Plan, adopted as recently as 2004, to a total of 210 dwelling units. There is nothing unpredicatable or confusing here, other than that the developer wants more units than allowed. Typical scenario in LA. The only way this can be done is to get a Plan Amendment and a concurrent Zone Change. This legislative process, however, is costly and time consuming.
It instead is accomplished through a Zoning Administrator Variance, a quasi-judicial action, an illegal tool to amend a Community Plan, and the developer gets the requested 277 units or 67 units more than allowed. Meanwhile, the horse trails depicted on the Community Plan that should have been required in a discretionary action, were ignored. La Bonge is on record, as quoted in LA Times, that a “Community Plan” is not an ordinance, and as such they were not required. It should be easy to beat this fool, who does not understand the ABCs of planning. To cut a long story short, the way the variance was done was illegal, and if the Santa Monica Conservancy that appealed it on non-provision of the trails and lost, or the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council that opposed the project were to take legal action, this entitlement would be tossed out.
Thank you for a great post