Committee holds Livable Communities Initiative pilot; asks departments to report back on integrating housing and street investments

City planning and transportation staff presented a multi-department proposal for a Livable Communities Initiative pilot intended to align housing incentives with public-realm street improvements and make commercial corridors more walkable and transit-supportive.

Michelle Levy, a senior city planner, summarized a recommended two-year pilot that would identify 10 to 15 corridor segments, develop objective design standards and public-realm plans in year two, and prepare cost estimates and grant-ready deliverables to pursue construction funding in years three to five. The pilot would build on existing work including the citywide Housing Incentive Program (CHIP), community plan updates and transit neighborhood plans.

"The big idea behind LCI is to align new housing opportunities and safer multimodal streets," Levy said in presenting the interdepartmental report. Department staff said the work would involve City Planning, the Department of Transportation, Bureau of Street Services and the Economic and Workforce Development Department, and would leverage grant programs such as the Active Transportation Program and potential infrastructure financing mechanisms.

Public comment included multiple speakers urging the committee to adopt or accelerate the pilot. "I am here to voice my support for the LCI initiative and broadly to speak for the urgency behind this type of work," said Will Beyer, a resident who described unsafe sidewalks and empty commercial lots in his neighborhood. Lindsey Sturman, a co-founder of the LCI advocacy group, said the proposal would create "gentle density and street changes" that improve walkability and climate resilience. Additional supporters included representatives of Abundant Housing LA and other advocates.

Committee members commended the goals but pressed staff on specifics and resources. Councilmember Raman sought clarification about how the LCI pilot differs from or overlaps with CHIP, recently adopted community plans and state housing measures and asked what the pilot would produce that is not already underway. Planning staff responded that much of the land-use work has progressed but the pilots distinguishing feature would be a focused effort to align zoning incentives with public-realm and mobility investments in selected geographic corridors.

Members also questioned the staffing assumptions. The report recommended additional staff (the departments listed a combined estimate of roughly 22 positions across agencies) to manage an intensive program; council members said the current fiscal environment made that level of new hiring unlikely. The committee recorded concern that an unfunded, stand-alone pilot could be sidelined and asked staff to return with options for integrating LCI principles into active community-plan updates, Measure HLA implementation, grant programs and resurfacing/mobility priorities.

After discussion the committee voted unanimously to hold the item in committee and directed City Planning, the Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Street Services to prepare a report back to this committee that outlines options to integrate LCI concepts with existing programs, accounts for recent state and city policy changes and identifies achievable near-term actions and funding pathways. Roll call was unanimous (5-0).