AIA|LA ADVOCACY REPORT
December 23, 2025
2025 END OF YEAR AIA|LA ADVOCACY REPORT
2025 was a busy year! We spent a substantial amount of time reacting to the disasters of the wildfires, as well as to numerous and ongoing initiatives related to housing affordability, city planning, development services, and the polycrisis of local fiscal challenges, chaotic changes in federal policies, and strident market uncertainties due to macroeconomic forces, etc.
As a summation of AIA|LA’s advocacy efforts throughout 2025, highlights include key achievements, ongoing initiatives, and strategic recommendations for the coming year. Our work has focused on leveraging design thinking to address Los Angeles’ most pressing challenges, organized around four primary pillars: housing production, bureaucratic reform, climate resilience and disaster recovery, and equitable infrastructure.
2025 Key Achievements & Ongoing Initiatives
1. Accelerating Housing Production
•Affordable Housing Streamlining Ordinance (Major Win): Just last Tuesday (Dec 9), City Council passed the ordinance codifying Mayor Bass’s Executive Directive 1 (ED1) into city law. This promises accelerated approvals (60-day target) for 100% affordable housing. We are now pivoting to monitoring implementation, as data shows deadlines are still often missed in practice.
•Citywide Adaptive Reuse Program: Championed “Adaptive Reuse 2.0” to facilitate the conversion of underutilized commercial buildings into residential units through citywide zoning changes.
•Missing Middle Housing: Pushed for state and local reforms, including such initiatives as Single-Stair Code Reform and SB 1123 implementation, to allow modest density in traditionally single-family zones.
•Monitoring & Input on Key Ordinances: Actively engaged in the development of the Citywide Housing Incentive Program, SB 79 implementation, and the Affordable Housing Linkage Fee update.
2. Reforming City Bureaucracy & Streamlining Processes
•Quarterly Meetings with City Departments: Maintained regular dialogue with leadership at LADBS, LADWP, and BOE to address development service challenges, permitting delays, and code interpretations.
•LACP Urban Design Studio: Coordinated in partnership with LACP 36 design review sessions for large-scale projects, providing valuable input on design quality and community impact.
•Advocating for Systemic Reforms:
◦LADBS: Proposed a Pre-Plan Check Meeting program, a public Modifications Database, and an Interdepartmental Clearance Professional-Certification process.
◦LADWP: Advocated for concurrent review by Service Planners and ESRs during the normal plan check period to avoid construction-phase delays regarding transformers and grid infrastructure.
◦LAFD & BOE: Pushed for clear bulletins clarifying building height measurements and R3 street improvement triggers, respectively.
3. Advancing Climate Resilience, Disaster Recovery & Sustainability
•AIA|LA Wildfire Recovery Task Force Action: In response to the devastating January 7, 2025 wildfires, our Wildfire Recovery Task Force was fully activated to lead immediate response and long-term policy efforts:
◦Streamlined Rebuild Pathways: Collaborated directly with LADBS leadership to establish expedited permitting protocols for fire victims, ensuring architects can help residents rebuild faster without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.
◦Policy Engagement on “Zone Zero”: Provided critical technical input to the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection regarding the implementation challenges of new “Zone Zero” (immediate structure ignition zone) regulations in dense urban-wildland interface (WUI) areas like the Palisades.
◦Member Resources & Advocacy: Developed resources to guide members through specific zoning overlays unique to disaster recovery and advocated for rebuilding policies that integrate fire-resilient design rather than just “like-for-like” replacement.
•Embodied Carbon & Water Management: Pivoted advocacy towards addressing embodied carbon through life-cycle assessments and promoting ordinances for on-site water capture and reuse.
4. Ensuring Equitable Infrastructure & Design Excellence
•Civic Center Revitalization: Called for halting the demolition of the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration for seismic reassessment and activating the Civic Center Authority for a comprehensive Master Plan update prioritizing public access.
•Healthy Community Design: Advocated for integrating principles of walkable neighborhoods and food access into community plan updates.
•LA28 Advocacy: Engaged in discussions around the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Zoning Exemption Ordinance to ensure legacy infrastructure benefits underserved communities.
Strategic Recommendations for 2026
Building on our 2025 momentum, we recommend the following strategic actions for the coming year:
•Formalize Disaster Response Protocols: Convert the lessons learned from the 2025 Wildfire Recovery Task Force into permanent City protocols for accelerated post-disaster permitting. For instance, to have AIA National sign a formal MOU with FEMA that states in the event of a natural disaster, FEMA will immediately reach out to a local or state AIA component for leadership resources.
•Formalize Joint Task Forces: Create dedicated, member-led task forces to work directly with city departments on implementing key reforms like the Pre-Plan Check Meeting and Public Modifications Database.
•Implement Systemic Data Collection: Gather real-time data from members on project delays (specifically tracking the new ED1 ordinance timelines) to hold the City accountable.
•Continue Pushing for Structural Reforms: Advocate for a permanent “Expedited Review Unit,” a Citywide “Zoning Certainty” Program, and Architect Professional-Certification for low-risk projects.
•Intensify Focus on Civic Center & 2028 Legacy: Prioritize the revitalization of the Civic Center and ensure that 2028 Olympic infrastructure investments leave a lasting, equitable legacy.
If you’d like to get more involved in helping directly shape and inform our advocacy initiatives, please consider joining the AIA|LA Government Outreach Committee. Contact me at will@aialosangeles.org, and I’ll keep you posted on our upcoming meetings.
Call for Entries: Innovate with the Santa Monica Mass Timber Accelerator
AIA|LA is delighted to officially partner with the City of Santa Monica on an exciting new initiative: The Santa Monica Mass Timber Accelerator.
As architects and designers, we constantly seek methods that marry aesthetic beauty with environmental responsibility. Santa Monica has long held a reputation as a regional leader in sustainability and innovation. Now, through the Mass Timber Accelerator, we have a unique opportunity to advance the City’s built environment by exploring the potential of high-strength, prefabricated wood products.
Why Participate? Southern California is poised to become a significant market for mass timber, yet widespread adoption requires pioneers willing to demonstrate its feasibility. This program creates a structured pathway for design teams to lead that charge. Mass timber offers tangible benefits to the building sector, including:
- Speed & Efficiency: Faster on-site assembly compared to traditional concrete and steel, leading to potential cost savings.
- Sustainability: A significant reduction in embodied carbon emissions, aligning with our urgent climate goals.
- Design Excellence: The creation of warm, biophilic environments featuring beautiful, exposed wood aesthetics.
Program Details & Support Part of the broader Accelerator Cities Program—co-funded by the Softwood Lumber Board and the USDA Forest Service—this initiative is designed to de-risk the adoption of new systems.
The program will competitively select up to five private development projects to receive funding and technical assistance. Selected teams will not be working alone; participants will receive expert guidance from WoodWorks regarding structural design, fire resistance, code compliance, and detailing. This is a rare opportunity to receive financial backing and high-level technical consulting to bring a mass timber project to life.
How to Apply: We invite all eligible design and development teams to apply. Whether you are looking to assess workforce capacity, explore Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) feasibility, or simply create the next landmark sustainable project in Santa Monica, we want to see your vision.
Key Deadline: Applications are due to the Office of Sustainability & the Environment by February 27th, 2026, at 11:59 PM.
Selected teams will be notified by mid-March 2026. Join us in shaping a more sustainable, efficient, and beautiful future for Santa Monica.
Download the Santa Monica Mass Timber Accelerator Application Guide Here
The AIA LA & LACP Professional Volunteer Program (PVP)
Architects & designers passionate about improving the design quality of newly proposed projects throughout the City of Los Angeles are encouraged to participate in the Professional Volunteer Program (PVP), which is a collaborative design review program organized by AIA LA & Los Angeles City Planning (LACP)’s Urban Design Studio.
This year, we will be coordinating thirty-one virtual design review sessions, which will serve as opportunities for architects and designers to help the Los Angeles City Planning’s Urban Design Studio critically review upcoming projects throughout our City.
Nov 18 (10am)
Dec 2 (10am)
Dec 9 (10am)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA
Director, Government & Public Affairs
t: 213.639.0764
e: will@aialosangeles.org
www.aialosangeles.org
*Disclaimer: The advice and perspectives shared here belong to the author and should not be considered official recommendations from AIA Los Angeles.
