From the desk of Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA
Director of Government & Public Affairs

Design Review Sessions w/ LACP Urban Design Studio

We have 30+ design review sessions confirmed for 2021.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the program and RSVP for the dates you’re available.

HOUSING SURVEY:  To Streamline the Plan Check & Permitting Process

AIA Los Angeles has been advising a group of UCLA students who are studying the plan check / permitting process in various U.S. cities.

The goal of the study is to identify actionable opportunities for meaningful change in cities where the process is challenged, and to learn from data points in cities where survey participants report a more predictable and smooth process.

Please take a moment to complete this 5 minute survey, which we are helping to  share with developers and architects who work on multifamily projects.

SURVEY LINK

Also, please share this survey with your network.  We’re aiming to reach 4,000+ to help strengthen the research.

The 2022 Zero Code For California

As we continue to push the City of Los Angeles to pro-actively adopt the 2022 Zero Code For California, we continue to meet with other organizations in the Los Angeles area.  Last week, we had the opportunity to present the Zero Code to the Los Angeles Basin of the International Code Council during their monthly board meeting.

Our presentation was led by AIA National Gold Medal Winner Ed Mazria, FAIA with the support of Architecture 2030’s COO, Vincent Martinez, and AIALA member Simone Barth-Auster, Assoc. AIA.

The presentation from Ed Mazria, FAIA on why the Zero Code

Decarbonization Policy for New Construction

AIA CA Endorses the Zero Code and All-electric Title-24 for 2022

I was also able to share more information about additional AIALA’s advocacy initiatives and  upcoming programs, including the Practice Committee’s roundtable on The Future of Remote Working, our upcoming (Feb 25) breakfast reception with the leadership of The Associated General Contractors of California, and our March 19th breakfast reception with ICC LA Basin’s President, Ciara Barnett.

We genuinely thank the leadership of of ICC LABC for this opportunity and welcome deeper engagement with all LA-area building officials.

Ensuring a Just Transition

A week prior to our presentation to ICC LA Basin, we also had the opportunity to meet with representatives from the Natural Resources Defense Council, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), and Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles (PSR-LA) and share more information about the Zero Code. As leaders in environmental justice, these organizations shared insight about both the Repower LA and LEAP LA coalitions. They encouraged us to ‘pump the breaks’ a little and to strengthen our focus on an inclusive stakeholder engagement process that will serve as an opportunity to explore if our proposal has any unintended consequences.

LEAP LA is “a coalition of frontline community groups and environmental justice organizers” working for a just transition to zero-emissions that ensures “that workers displaced by the move away from fossil fuels are prioritized for retraining, education, assistance and job placement in positions of comparable pay in clean energy industries.” Repower LA is a coalition of “community groups, environmentalists, and small businesses anchored by LAANE, SCOPE, and IBEW Local 18 that advocates equitable environmental programs and career-path jobs at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.”

Our next steps will be to identify ways to further engage both of these environmental justice coalitions, learn about how we can be more supportive, and to share with them details about AIALA’s justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.

We will also be reaching out to schedule a series of meetings with Marta Segura, the newly appointed Director of City of Los Angeles’ Climate Emergency Mobilization Office.

If you’d like to get further involved in our community outreach, please contact Will Wright at will@aialosangeles.org.