The Issues

Affordable Housing
Gentrification
Development
Department of Water and Power (DWP)
Streets and Sidewalks
Small Business
Gross Receipts Business Tax
Budget
Pension Reform
Minimum Wage
Homelessness
Transportation and Traffic
Parking Reform
Los Angeles Zoo
The Problem with Elephants at the Zoo
City Pipes and Sewage
The Barham Ramp
Coyotes in the District
The Greek
Biking and Walking
Film and Television
LGBT Rights
Transparency Pledge

Affordable Housing

I’m an advocate for the preservation and creation of Affordable Housing in LA. Under former state redevelopment law, the CRA was required to dedicate 20% of its property tax increment revenue towards affordable housing. These funds now go to the City’s general fund and have been used to fill budget shortfalls.

In 2008 the funding was $108m, but has fallen to $26m in 2014.
Support the plan to invest the State’s cap-and-trade revenue, providing LA 10% of the funds. This means hundreds of millions of dollars for affordable housing near public transit.
This would subsidize more than 1,300 affordable units by offsetting costs so developers can offer lower rents.
I want at least 25% of the tax money that went to Redevelopment Agencies to flow into the City’s affordable housing trust fund each year.
I’m aware the funds will not solve the problem, but it’s a start. We have to make sure that doing this doesn’t create a hole in the budget; that’s why we need more businesses to open in LA. Our budget must reflect our priorities.
I support Council member O’Farrell and the Fuentes motion that will establish affordable housing policy for the City.

Gentrification

I agree with Reuben Duarte, a Land Use Planner at Gresham, Savage, Nolan, & Tilden in Los Angeles, when he says that “gentrification is far more complicated than we are willing to discuss in casual conversation—We need to start talking more about wages and income of original residents in the context of urban development and gentrification instead of as some separate or loosely related topic. We should not separate the issue of income (and income inequality) from gentrification, nor should we blindly make development and developers the villain. Fighting over the construction of much needed new development, the required percentage of Affordable Housing units, or price controls at best sidelines a necessary and relevant conversation, and at worst completely ignores the very issue that ultimately causes the effect of neighborhood displacement.”

Statistics:

The median price of a new apartment in LA in 2013 was $1,700 which requires an annual income of $70,800 to be affordable.
The City’s median rent increased 31% from 2000 to 2010 compared to an increase in incomes of just 1.2%.
In 2011 62% of renters were considered cost burdened, while only 49% of renters were considered cost burdened in 2000.
LA’s estimated median household income in 2011: $46,148 (up from $36,687 in 2000) compared to California’s median at $57,287.

Development

I believe in smart, neighborhood oriented development. The kind of development that takes into account traffic, parking, the environment, and quality of life. And in historic neighborhoods, the kind of development that takes their historic integrity and character into account.

I’m against Mansionization, and I support neighborhoods that want to established both a Reduced Floor Area (RFA) to limit the size of new construction and remodeled homes and the creation of Historical Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZ) to protect the traditional and historical character of our neighborhoods.
I’m going to make sure the “conditions of approval” placed on Developments are actually done. We shouldn’t rely on the community to be enforcing these conditions. The Planning Department should do the enforcement.
We need to plug the loopholes in the BMO’s bonuses and exemptions that are allowing builders to construct homes far larger than 50% of lot size.
No new home construction under the ICO be allowed to exceed 50% of lot size, per the BMO amendment’s changes.

Department of Water and Power (DWP)

The DWP is the largest source of revenue for the City, it needs reform.

We need transparency and efficiency: demand full and complete disclosure of DWP’s operations and finances. Ratepayers and voters deserve nothing less. This would involve a thorough review and analysis of what the rates will be in 2020 as a result of the mandate that 33% of DWP’s power be from renewable resources and AB 32, CA 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act.
We need to establish benchmarking: techniques and analysis to determine the efficiency (or inefficiency) of DWP’s operations compared to other regional and Western Utilities.
We need independent oversight of the DWP with the possibility of putting rate increases up to a vote.

Streets and Sidewalks

The City Council needs to define the problem and devise a plan. It has not owned up to its responsibility to repair our tree damaged sidewalks.

The City needs to develop a comprehensive plan to repair our sidewalks, ramps, and curbs, and accept responsibility for tree damaged sidewalks.
For the roads: I like the plan to use long term Bonds to finance long term capital assets that would be serviced by the increase in General Fund revenues.
For the Sidewalks: I’d like to revive a popular program (50-50) that allows homeowners to speed up repairs by paying half the cost, with the city paying the remainder.
I also like Council Member Krekorian’s plan to create a revolving loan program and assisting neighborhoods to create special taxing districts to fund sidewalk repairs. If this can’t be done then we can at least start by fixing sidewalk damage by trees.
To gain the trust and confidence of the voters, all negotiations must be conducted in an open and transparent manner rather than behind close doors.
Any plan needs also to ensure that all of our streets and alleys are in good to excellent condition at the end of the 20 year program, and that they continue to be maintained in a proper manner.
Plans need to include programs being considered by the environmental community, including Green Streets, Complete Streets, Cool Streets, and the Mobility Element.
I like the plan to use long term Bonds to finance long term capital assets that would be serviced by the increase in General Fund revenues.
I’m Ok with raising our taxes to pay for this only if we placed a Charter amendment on the ballot that mandates that the City to “Live Within Its Means.” This will require the City to develop and adhere to a Five Year Financial Plan, pass two year balanced Budgets, and over the next 20 years, fully fund the City’s two underwater pension plans and repair our streets and the rest of our deteriorating infrastructure.

Small Business

I’m advocating for comprehensive business tax reforms including:

Across-the-board tax rate reductions for all businesses, especially those in the “catch all” professions and occupations category.
A simpler and quicker process for job-creators to obtain business licenses and other necessary permits in order to begin operations.
Ensuring a fairer and more consistent process for businesses to address city tax audits or other challenges.

Support Permit & Planning Streamlining; The City of Los Angeles has a notoriously difficult permit and planning process. We need to make this system work once again. Goals include:

Reducing the number of city departments a business must interact with from 12 to just one or two. This will eliminate much of the delay and confusion when dealing with multiple offices on one matter.
Update L.A.’s zoning code to make the process more efficient and reflect the needs of a 21st century city.
Improve the expedite process for projects in order to get shovel and finance-ready projects underway as soon as possible. This will help create much-needed jobs immediately.

I’m for the 3-Year Tax Exemption for All New Businesses. I support the plan to expand L.A. City’s gross receipts tax exemption for new businesses. In July 2010, the City Council approved a new three-year exemption for every new business regardless of annual income. Then over the next 15 year phase it out 50%.

I support the creation of the LA City Office of Economic Analysis (OEA). This office will help us better evaluate the potential economic impacts of new legislation. Staffed by non-partisan economists, the OEA will analyze a proposed policy’s effects on private sector job creation, the City’s business competitiveness and the overall economy. The City Council unanimously approved initial funding to establish the office in July 2010.

Gross Receipts Business Tax

Los Angeles as stands is very unfriendly to business. We must make LA the business friendly City it needs to be. The gross receipts tax brings in about 10% of the city’s revenue, yet it is often cited as a deterrent to bringing new companies to Los Angeles.

Reforming the city’s gross-receipts business tax will lead to job growth, economic expansion, and an increased sales tax base.
Reform will also facilitate increases in property values and taxes, increase city revenue from permits, licenses and fees, and encourage business location within the City of Los Angeles.
I support phasing out the tax until it is eliminated. We can start by reducing the tax by $15 million per year over a three-year period. Then phase it out 50% over the next 15 years.
I will also work to lower taxes and eliminate it in strategic industries, such as digital media companies that have fled Los Angeles for lower-tax cities.

The entire process of starting a small business in Los Angeles should be simplified. “We must support [small business owners] by building connections, removing obstacles, and making the process for opening a business less confusing, time-consuming, and expensive. Specifically, some of my ideas include possibly creating new kinds of finance tools, doing more intensive outreach, streamlining permit processes, and providing business owners with incentives for expansion,” among others. But success will come through improved customer service. “I, like the Mayor, want a customer service driven city hall where calls are returned within 24 hours and service requests can be tracked like a package.”

Budget

There is a projected budget deficit of $165 million for the next fiscal year and a cumulative deficit of $425 million over the next three years. The City is also burdened with over $30 billion in long term debt and unfunded pension liabilities.

I like the LA 2020 Commission’s plan to create an independent “Office of Transparency and Accountability” that would review and analyze the City’s budget and finances and also analyze proposed legislation and its impact on jobs and the City’s budget.
We need to limit workers’ compensation costs, improving the City’s purchasing process and increasing productivity through technology.
I’m adding my voice and calling for no cost-of-living increases for the City’s workers and pushing for employees to pay 10% of their health insurance premiums.
We must identify and eliminate wasteful spending, and make City Hall more transparent, with the possibility of hiring a “City Manager.”
We need Pension Reform.
We need to make LA more business friendly. I’m originally from Mexico City, and I know many businesses that would like to do business in Los Angeles and create job for local residents.

Pension Reform

The City needs to develop a 20 year plan to eliminate the unfunded pension liability of LACERS and the Fire & Police pension plans. This debt like liability is north of $15 billion based on the investment rate assumption of 6%, a rate that is higher than the one used in corporate pension plans.

We need to follow the recommendation of Mickey Kantor’s LA 2020 Commission to establish a “Commission for Retirement Security” that would be “tasked with making concrete recommendations on how to achieve equilibrium on retirement costs by 2020” within 120 days of its formation.

Minimum Wage

I support the Mayor’s minimum wage increase to $13.25 by 2017. But we also need to make Los Angeles a more business friendly City.

Homelessness

There are over 10,000 homeless people in the City of LA and over 60,000 in LA County. We need a solution to this problem now. I’d like to start with Homeless Veterans.

Los Angeles has the largest Homeless Veteran population in the Nation. Paradoxically, LA also has the largest VA Veterans’ Home property in the Nation.

Mayor Garcetti has pledged to end Veteran Homelessness in Los Angeles by the end of 2015. I’d like to help him. We need to use the 400 acres of land at the West LA VA property as a solution, this is the only location with enough space and an existing VA Hospital.

I’m going to work with the Veterans Administration to unify and open a large scale Crisis Humanitarian Relief Project on that land to house and care for the 20,000 of disable homeless Veterans in the City of Los Angeles.

This proposal doesn’t affect the City’s Budget. It’s Federal Money.

To help other homeless Angelenos:

Reorganize the “homeless outreach” efforts in which the County (Sheriff and Departmental staff like DMH), City LAPD, Council offices, and providers like PATH and LAHSA will come together to help folks into vital services and housing rather than arresting them.

We need a person that coordinates with the city, the county, and law enforcement to tackle the challenge and make it their only priority.

Seek grants to provide housing for more homeless people.

Transportation and Traffic

The Los Angeles area has the most severe traffic congestion in the United States. Trends in many of the underlying causal factors suggest that congestion will continue to worsen in the coming years, absent significant policy intervention. Excessive traffic congestion detracts from quality of life, is economically wasteful and environmentally damaging, and exacerbates social-justice concerns. Finding efficient and equitable strategies for mitigating congestion will therefore serve many social goals.

Improve signal control and timing.
Restrict curb parking on busy thoroughfares.
Implement paired one-way streets.
Promote ride-sharing, telecommuting, and flexible work schedules.
Develop a high-occupancy toll-lane network.
Promote deep-discount transit passes and expand bus rapid transit and bus-only lanes.
Implement a regionally connected bicycle network.
Support companies like Lyft, Sidecar and Uber, and work with city taxi companies to modernize their operations.

I support the current plan of the Purple Line. I like the idea that Metro is pursuing opportunities to accelerate construction of the subway through the America Fast Forward Initiative. I also support a plan to invest the state’s cap-and-trade revenue in mass transit. The proposed investment plan is intended to keep greenhouse gas emissions down by using the money from the cap-and-trade program to grow the state’s mass transit system, including funding for high-speed rail. By increasing public transit and building affordable housing near public transit, I hope fewer people will use cars. We need the ability to travel to LAX using public transportation.

Parking Reform

I will work on a plan to resolve the abusive parking fees, fines, and regulations. Parking enforcement must be exercised as a necessary and vital service rendered in the public interest, not as a business opportunity to be exploited by the City for profit.

Establish a Parking Fund, supported by a percentage of parking fees, to fund tree trimming, fix roads, and street lights.
Use technology to simplify the feeding of meters.
Establish a citywide yearly parking pass.
Make it easier to dispute a parking ticket.
Lower parking fees.
Simplify parking signs.
If reform can’t be made, look at the possibility of ballot measure.

Los Angeles Zoo

I support the efforts of the City Council to turn over marketing and promotion of the Los Angeles zoo to its private support foundation. This action will improve advertising, bring in more visitors, and reduce costs. This comes with the promise of a $2.5 million budget, much more than it’s current allocation of $800,000, and will reduce the amount it gives the zoo from the general fund. The zoo is now generating enough revenue to operate on its own. I’d like to seriously study the idea of privatizing the zoo completely, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History are two county facilities operated by nonprofit organizations.

All current staff would remain employees of the city, but those who do not hold zoo-specific jobs might be transferred to other city departments. Future hires would be employees of the new operator.

A report Miguel Santana, L.A.’s chief administrative officer commissioned said that under private management, the zoo would be able to reap up to $3.8 million more each year in revenue, thanks to new opportunities for corporate sponsorship, fundraising, and special events.

The Problem with Elephants at the Zoo

The California Superior Court found in 2012 that the Zoo keeps animals, specifically the elephants, in abusive conditions.

In a 56-page ruling, the presiding judge in the matter, “Judge Segal, called the elephants’ lives ‘empty, boring, purposeless, and sometimes painful,’” and he expressed concern that the animals are “controlled by employees who are delusional and remarkably uninformed about elephants.”

After an enormous amount of expert research and testimony on the subject, I support the transfer of these animals to sanctuary and the closing of the elephant exhibit.

I will also make sure that all creatures in captivity at the ZOO are being cared for humanely.

City Pipes and Sewage

We need to repair our pipes and sewers more quickly, and we should prepare for before they burst. I will work to revive an old program that tests pipes by isolating long stretches of water lines and pressurizing them under controlled conditions to check their soundness. The City is replacing its water mains roughly once every 300 years. Much of the funding to fix the pipes would need to come from ratepayers (DWP).

Because replacing pipes means tearing up streets, it would take roughly 20 years for the utility to bring its pipe replacement cycle down to 100 years without excessive disruption for residents.

DWP officials have said they plan to seek a rate increase next year. Utility head Marcie Edwards suggested that a rate hike could have a component devoted specifically to fixing its aging infrastructure. The department probably would seek an additional $500 million to $600 million for the task — amounting to a roughly 2% rate increase per year, she estimated.

When elected I will work hard to balance the City’s Budget and to bring more revenue by making Los Angeles a business friendly City again so that we can fix our pipes more quickly.

The Barham Ramp

The southbound 101 Freeway offramp at Barham Boulevard will be shut down — probably in the coming year — as part of NBC Universal’s $1.6-billion project that includes the building of a Harry Potter-themed attraction.

I support Universal Studios expansion. This expansion will bring much needed jobs, tourism, and revenue to the City. However, I support a group of concern residents (Keep The Barham Ramp) who want to find a way to keep this Ramp from closing.

More than 2,000 residents have signed an online petition protesting the offramp’s closure: http://www.keepthebarhamramp.com/ I encourage you to do so as well.

This decision was made seven years ago, and the City Council office didn’t do its due diligence to inform ALL THE RESIDENTS OF THE AREA. They only notified the HOA’s and NC’s in the area. But the problem is that the residents involved in these groups (I’m one of them) are just a handful of people and do not represent the entirety of CD4.

This is why people don’t vote and don’t trust City government, because they don’t feel like their government works for them and looks after their interests.

When elected I will do all I can to keep the Ramp open, or figure out a solution that satisfies the needs of the residents of that area.

And as a Councilmember I promise you that if something as important as the closing of a ramp comes to my attention, I will do all I can do inform all the residents about what’s happening, and what can we do to solve the problem.

Coyotes in the District

Resident Mark Steinberg from Los Feliz’s letter about the problems with Coyotes prompted me to add this to my agenda.

We are suffering an infestation of aggressive, threatening coyotes. Our pets have been killed and mauled; we are regularly confronted in the streets by these animals in both daytime and nighttime; and various techniques for scaring them off have been ineffective.

We are not the only ones suffering from this problem. The Animal Control officer whose job it is to deal with this threat said that the number of coyote sightings has gone up throughout the City, leaving him presently “overwhelmed.”

Nearly 20 years ago, the City adopted a “no kill” policy for dealing with problems such as ours. Other municipalities and counties have adopted programs of mass, indiscriminate killing.

The magnitude of the threat has obviously grown, and there needs to be a reexamination of City policy in light of that change. There is solid science, as well as precedent in our own City, suggesting that the removal of a few coyotes from a pack can re-instill fear of humans in the remainder of the pack. I will advocate for the formation of a committee of objective scientists and citizens to determine whether there is a middle path between these extremes.

The Greek Theatre

Only 3 candidates, including myself, spoke at The Greek management hearings in October.

Over 30,000 people signed a petition asking the city to back Nederlander/AEG because they’ve seen how responsive they are to the community. That is why the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council has voted unanimously to support Nederlander/AEG and that is why I’m supporting them as well.

http://www.losfelizledger.com/article/editorial-the-best-choice-for-the-greek-nederlanderaeg/

Biking and Walking

We live in a car-centric City, but Los Angeles will not become the 21st century City we all want it to be unless we learn to share the road with residents who want to bike and walk.

Approximately 200 people are killed in traffic collisions in the City of Los Angeles every year, about half while walking or biking.  I will work to improve safety for people who walk and bike.
I support reducing the roadway to three lanes for the Glendale Hyperion Bridge in order to add bike lanes and keep sidewalks on both sides of the bridge.
Currently less than 1% of transportation funding in Los Angeles County is spent on pedestrian and bicycle projects. I do support allocating more funding of any future transportation tax measure to walking, biking, and safe routes to school.

Film and Television

I originally came to Los Angeles for a career in the Entertainment Industry. I deeply care about the future of the film industry in our City and I earned a degree from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic arts.

I support the City Council measures approved last December aimed at curbing runaway film production. They include a five-year extension on a waiver of fees charged for filming at city-owned or city-controlled properties, such as libraries, airports, police department facilities, and City Hall.

I know how important is this industry to Los Angeles, and I will work with the community, the City, and State on measures that will maintain Hollywood’s place in movie and television history.

LGBT Rights

As a Council Member, I will make sure that the City Hall fosters respect, dignity, and equality for all LGBT people. I will also make sure that my staff is as diverse as our City is. I will make sure that I have members of the LGBT community working in my office.

Seniors

I will work to ensure the rights of LGBT seniors, protecting them from discrimination in retirement communities, ensuring their access to important City services, programs, and access to affordable housing.

Transgender Rights

I have been working with the Transgender community to prevent discrimination, and advancing their rights since my days at HRC. Transgender Angelenos often face prejudices based on their actual or perceived gender identity.
I will make sure that workplace and employment protections for the Transgender community in the City of Los Angeles are always enforced; and that they have equal access to health care, housing, and safe school environments.
I will also establish a program to help this community find jobs that pay a living wage.

Youth

I will work with local organizations including the LGBT Center to make sure that LGBT youth in Los Angeles can grow and learn in an environment that is free from harassment, bullying, and discrimination.
I will also work to end LGBT youth Homelessness in the City, and help them get back on their feet. I will work on a program to help them find jobs and an education so that they can become productive members of society.

Transparency Pledge

I was the 2nd candidate to sign the Transparency Pledge.

I FRED MARISCAL, candidate for the office of Councilmember for Council District 4, pledge to:

Immediately disclose whenever my office is approached about a development project in CD 4, whether by the developer or any person or group representing the developer. This information will be posted on my Council office website. Neighborhood Councils and other groups (homeowners/residential/business) in the area of the project will be promptly notified to check for information on this website.
Follow up meetings with me or any of my staff regarding the project will also be posted.
Immediately post any changes contemplated in CD 4 by any City Department that would make changes to the Community Plans, i.e. Bike Plan, Mobility Element, and Recode LA. Too often the majority of stakeholders receive no advanced notice of these changes.
Faithfully follow the policies for decision makers as outlined in each Community Plan in CD 4, as well as Policy 3.3.2 of the Framework Element.
Require the City to officially document and demonstrate that the infrastructure in the area of any contemplated project (requiring discretionary approval) will not be threatened in relation to user needs. This would include particularly critical services, such as water and sewerage, as well as public schools, police and fire services, and transportation infrastructure.