AIA|LA City Leaders Breakfast: Fire Chief Jaime Moore

On Thursday, May 28th, AIA|LA sat down with LAFD’s 20th Fire Chief, Jaime E. Moore — and the conversation did not disappoint.

Unanimously confirmed in November 2025 following the Palisades Fire, Chief Moore arrived with a clear mandate and four explicit priorities: operational readiness and resilience, modernizing infrastructure and equipment, strengthening public trust, and — notably — building a more collaborative partnership with the AEC community. That fourth priority is ours to meet.

AIA|LA came prepared. Our advance questions pushed on the issues that matter most to members: workforce housing on LAFD-owned sites, adaptive reuse pathways, fire code modification transparency, single-stair reform, and LAFD’s role in Mayor Bass’s Executive Directive No. 19. The Chief engaged on several of these questions directly (although we didn’t have time to cover them all). The tone was collegial, the appetite for collaboration real.

Post-wildfire reconstruction, fire-resilient design, defensible space standards, plan-check reform — these aren’t abstract policy debates. They determine what gets built, how fast, and how safely. Chief Moore is the person setting those terms, and he wants architects at the table.

Read the questions we brought — and don’t miss the next breakfast, which will be on June 19th with Trammel Crowe’s Greg Ames. RSVP HERE.

MEMBER UPDATE — JUNE 2, 2026

Measure ULA reform: where things stand and what AIA|LA is asking for

The window closes in 15 days. Per the official City Clerk ballot measure calendar, the recommended deadline for the City Council to adopt the motion directing the City Attorney to prepare ballot resolutions is June 17, 2026 — 139 days before the November 3 general election. The hard deadline for the LA City Council to adopt all final resolutions placing measures on the ballot is June 26, 2026. After that date, a ULA reform cannot appear on the November 3, 2026, ballot.

RECOMMENDED DEADLINE:  June 17, 2026 — Council directs City Attorney to draft ballot language

HARD LEGAL DEADLINE:  June 26, 2026 — Council adopts all resolutions placing measure on ballot

ELECTION DAY:  Nov. 3, 2026 — Los Angeles general municipal election

Measure ULA, the voter-approved transfer tax that has raised more than $1 billion for affordable housing and homelessness prevention since April 2023, was designed to be a mansion tax. But research from UCLA, RAND, Harvard, and UC Irvine has confirmed what the development community has experienced firsthand: as currently written, the tax is suppressing multifamily housing production by at least 1,910 units per year — working against the very goal voters intended. A March 2026 financial feasibility study by BAE Urban Economics adds critical new detail: 91% of multifamily transactions subject to the tax were in buildings built before 1977, and in 2025, newly-built units represented just 0.22% of ULA-taxed transactions. The problem is real — and it is fixable without repealing the measure.

The City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Measure ULA is working toward a November ballot measure to amend it. AIA|LA has submitted a letter in support and is urging the Committee to advance two complementary motions: Councilmember Lee’s CF 26-0782 (rate reduction, bonding reform, fund flexibility) and Councilmember Padilla’s CF 23-0038-S15 (Citizens Oversight Committee governance fixes).

SIX RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Exempt new multifamily and non-residential construction for a defined period
   A time-limited exemption modeled on the 15-year term proposed in Councilmember Raman’s January 2026 motion. BAE data confirms newly-built buildings represent just 0.22% of ULA transactions — making this essentially revenue-neutral while removing a critical deterrent to breaking ground.
2. Reduce the tax rate on multifamily and mixed-use properties to 2–3.5%
   The current 4–5.5% rate tilts the investment calculus against Los Angeles relative to every neighboring city in LA County. A reduced rate preserves revenue from true luxury sales while improving feasibility for mid-scale multifamily projects closest to viability.
3. Remove barriers to revenue bonding
   $589 million in collected ULA revenues remains undeployed. Unlocking bonding capacity allows the city to leverage those dollars at scale and build expeditiously.
4. Expand public reporting and performance measures
   Quarterly updates to Council Districts and regular COC reporting to the full Council will build accountability and public trust in the measure’s ongoing effectiveness.
5. Expand fund-use flexibility, including street homelessness response
   Allow ULA funds to be directed in coordination with local Council Districts for immediate housing and homelessness interventions.
6. Fix the Citizens Oversight Committee governance
   Remove the procedural written-findings veto and reduce the experience threshold from 5 to 2 years to end prolonged vacancies and restore the COC’s ability to function as intended.

AIA LA Support Letter REFORM: Improve Measure ULA_052726

UPDATE ON SB 79 IMPLEMENTATION IN THE CITY OF LA

Last week, in advance of the May 26th meeting for the LA City Council Planning and Land Use Committee, we submitted the following letter to encourage the City Council to treat the Low-Rise Ordinance and SB 79 Phased Implementation Ordinance not as compliance exercises, but as a genuine opportunity to lead on transit-oriented housing that is equitable, financially viable, and well-designed.

CLICK HERE to read the letter we sent to PLUM.

AIA LA Letter Low-Rise Ordinance and SB 79 Phased Implementation Ordinance

AIA CALIFORNIA ADVOCACY UPDATE

Advocacy in Action (Part 2): Rebalancing Risk, Strengthening Practice, and Supporting Delivery

//by Scott Terrell – Director of Government Relations, AIA California

05.27.26

In Part 1, we explored how AIA California is advancing legislation to unlock housing production and improve project feasibility. Part 2 focuses on another critical dimension of practice: risk, liability, contracts, professional regulation, and system performance—issues that directly shape how architects operate and deliver projects.

You can find the full list of bills AIA CA took positions on here.

Professional Practice and Regulatory Frameworks
AB 1796 (Jackson) — Interior Design Licensure Framework (Oppose)
AIA California opposes AB 1796 due to concerns about the structure and implementation of the proposed licensure framework and the potential unintended consequences for California’s built environment regulatory system.

While architects deeply value the important role interior designers play in shaping functional and user-centered spaces, AIA California believes the bill creates a confusing and overlapping regulatory structure by establishing new titles and oversight entities for a very small segment of the industry while simultaneously maintaining the existing certification system under the California Council for Interior Design Certification (CCIDC). Under this framework, both CCIDC-certified interior designers and newly licensed interior designers would retain the ability to submit plans on many of the same projects, creating potential confusion for consumers, jurisdictions, and project teams regarding authority, responsibility, and accountability.

AIA California is also concerned that the bill has not demonstrated a clear public health, safety, or welfare issue necessitating a major expansion of California’s professional licensure framework. Significant questions remain regarding liability, responsible control, project coordination, insurability, and alignment with California’s uniquely rigorous seismic and building code environment.

Given the complexity and long-term implications of these issues, AIA California believes any changes of this magnitude should emerge from a broader, more collaborative stakeholder process involving all affected professions, regulators, and industry groups. AIA California has participated extensively in discussions on this issue over several years and remains open to continued collaboration to identify thoughtful solutions that protect public safety while supporting all members of the design community.

You can read AIA California’s full opposition letter here.

Rebalancing Risk in the Built Environment
AB 1903 (Wicks) — Construction Defect Reform (Support)
AB 1903 addresses one of the most significant barriers to for-sale housing: construction defect litigation.

The bill restores balance to California’s Right to Repair framework by shifting the system back toward a repair-first approach. It requires completion of the pre-litigation repair process before a lawsuit can be filed, ensuring project teams have a meaningful opportunity to address issues early. It also strengthens notice requirements so claims clearly identify the location and observable evidence of alleged defects, enabling more effective evaluation and response.

Importantly, AB 1903 requires that claims demonstrate actual, nonspeculative damage, rather than allowing lawsuits based solely on technical violations. It limits speculative claims by restricting recovery of investigative costs where no damage is proven, and encourages higher construction quality by allowing developers to utilize third-party inspections during construction. For projects that receive third-party certification and where repairs are completed, the bill provides a pathway for builders to obtain a release from further claims—bringing greater certainty to the process. The bill also increases transparency by requiring HOA member awareness and approval before litigation is initiated.

For architects, the stakes are high.

Architects across California consistently report that on condominium projects, insurance requirements can reach tens of millions of dollars relative to total construction costs, with an expectation that litigation is highly likely regardless of project quality.

This environment has significantly constrained condo development—one of the most important pathways to homeownership in California. A recent Terner Center report suggests that the number of new condominium units in both the Bay Area and Southern California has dropped by approximately 90 percent from peak production levels in 2005–2006. Condominiums were once foundational to workforce and “missing middle” housing, and their decline has had a significant impact on these critical market segments.

Importantly, the framework proposed in AB 1903 is not theoretical. It draws on lessons learned from similar systems successfully implemented in jurisdictions such as Canada and the state of New Jersey, demonstrating that a more balanced, repair-focused system can both protect homeowners and support housing production.

By reducing unnecessary litigation and creating a more predictable, repair-focused system, AB 1903 helps improve project feasibility, stabilize risk, and support the delivery of much-needed for-sale housing.

AB 2106 (Patel) — Certificate of Merit Reform (Support)
AB 2106 strengthens protections for design professionals by ensuring claims are reviewed by qualified, California-licensed experts in the same discipline.

For architects, this:

• Reduces exposure to speculative or uninformed claims
• Aligns legal review with professional standards
• Promotes fairness and consistency

Modernizing Retention Practices
SB 1205 (Valladares) — Retention Reform for Design Professionals (Sponsor)

Sponsored by AIA California, SB 1205 addresses the misuse of retention in design services contracts—particularly in design-bid-build public projects, where these practices are most prevalent.

As amended, the bill:

• Applies a 5% cap on retention for design professionals; and
• Requires retention to be released within 60 days of completion of services, regardless of overall project completion

For architects, this:

• Improves cash flow and predictability
• Reduces disproportionate withholding
• Aligns payment practices with professional services

While not a full elimination of retention, it represents a significant step toward fairness.

AB 1885 (Carrillo) — Public Works Retention Reduction (Support)
AB 1885 reduces retention on certain public projects to 3.5%, and importantly, applies throughout the project delivery chain—including architects.

For architects, this means:

• Less revenue withheld over the life of a project
• Improved cash flow across multiple projects
• Greater alignment with broader retention reform efforts

Designing for a Clean and Reliable Future
AB 2464 (Wicks) — Firm Zero-Carbon Energy (Support)

AB 2464 evaluates how California will integrate firm, reliable zero-carbon energy into the grid.

For architects, this is foundational:

• Supports all-electric building design
• Enables true zero-carbon performance
• Reduces reliance on fossil backup systems

Why This Matters
These bills reflect a broader truth:

Architectural practice is shaped not just by design—but by policy, risk, regulation, and systems.

AIA California’s advocates to ensure architects can:

• Operate in a more predictable and fair environment
• Deliver projects efficiently
• Contribute meaningfully to housing and climate solutions

Looking Ahead
As the legislative session continues, AIA California remains committed to advancing policies that support housing, climate action, and the architectural profession—ensuring architects are not just participants in change, but leaders shaping California’s future.

JOIN US AT THE 11TH ANNUAL DESIGN FOR DIGNITY CONFERENCE

For more than a decade, Design for Dignity has become one of the most important civic conversations emerging from the architecture community in Los Angeles — a forum where architects, policymakers, developers, advocates, financiers, and community leaders come together to confront the urgent realities of housing, homelessness, and social equity through the lens of design.

At the center of this evolving platform has been Will Wright, the steward of Design for Dignity and the driving force behind the conference since its inception 11 years ago. What began as a bold conversation about dignity and housing has evolved into a powerful call for coordinated action and systemic change.

Ahead of this year’s conference, themed “From Crisis to Construction: Building a City of Yes,” we asked Will to reflect on the evolution of Design for Dignity, the role architects must play in addressing Los Angeles’ housing crisis, and why this year’s conversations may be more urgent — and more actionable — than ever.

We posed the following questions to him:

1. Over the past 11 years, Design for Dignity has evolved from a conversation about homelessness and housing into a broader platform connecting design, policy, finance, and community advocacy. Looking back at the conference’s evolution, what do you believe architecture and the design community can uniquely contribute to solving Los Angeles’ housing crisis today?

When we held the first Design for Dignity, I thought of it as a conversation — a chance to get architects in a room and ask an uncomfortable question: what is our responsibility to the people our city has failed to house?  We organized the conference in direct response to the launch of the CAO’s Homelessness Report in 2016.  The report offered the City Council and the Mayor’s Office with nearly 50 policy and funding recommendations, and a legislative implementation strategy to deliver achievable results.  Design For Dignity was a direct response to helping the City of LA expedite those implementation strategies.

Eleven years later, it’s become a platform, and the most meaningful change I’ve watched isn’t in the policy landscape — it’s in our own profession. We’ve moved from treating homelessness and housing as someone else’s problem to recognizing it as central to what we do. Michael Lehrer, FAIA put it best in one of our early conferences: “Making ‘home’ is the primal act of architecture and of being an architect.” That line has stayed with me, because it reframes the crisis not as a detour from our discipline but as its very center.

What architecture uniquely contributes is imagination disciplined by reality. Designers can take an abstract policy or a line in a capital stack and translate it into a place a person actually wants to live — one with dignity, light, and belonging built in, not value-engineered out. We’re also natural translators: fluent in regulation, construction, finance, and human experience all at once, which means we can sit between the silos and make them legible to each other. And we can de-risk experimentation — model the “missing middle,” show what’s possible — so the city can be the design laboratory it should be.

2. This year’s theme, “From Crisis to Construction: Building a City of Yes,” suggests a shift from diagnosing problems to implementing solutions. What does a true “City of Yes” look like to you, and what are the biggest barriers — cultural, political, financial, or institutional — preventing Los Angeles from getting there?

A true City of Yes is one whose default answer to a well-designed, dignified home is yes — where the system is built to enable housing rather than to interrogate it. One of the most clarifying things we ever heard at Design for Dignity came from Natasha Hicks: the housing system isn’t broken; it’s working exactly as it was designed. That’s a hard truth, but also a hopeful one, because anything designed can be redesigned. A City of Yes means predictable, streamlined entitlements; design guidelines across funding sources that align rather than contradict; and — at the deepest level — a shared belief that access to safe, dignified housing is a civil right, not a privilege we ration.

The barriers are real at every level: institutional inertia in our zoning and land-use legacy, financial friction that spikes the cost and time of every project, and political will that’s still too anemic for the scale of the need. But if I’m honest, the deepest barrier is cultural — a scarcity mindset and a fear of change that makes “no” feel safe. We have to make it safer to fail, to experiment, to try a new typology or lot configuration, and learn from it. A City of Yes isn’t naïve optimism; it’s the discipline of removing, one by one, the reasons we’ve taught ourselves to say no.

3.  One of the most compelling aspects of Design for Dignity is that it brings together voices that do not always share the same room: architects, developers, elected officials, advocates, financiers, and community leaders. Why is this kind of cross-disciplinary dialogue essential right now, and what do you hope attendees walk away with after this year’s conference?

The honest reason I built Design for Dignity the way I did is that the housing crisis has never been a design problem, or a finance problem, or a policy problem — it’s all of them at once, and for too long each discipline has been solving its own slice in isolation. The room itself is the intervention. When an architect, a developer, an elected official, a community advocate, and a financier actually have to listen to each other for two days, the silos start to thin, and people stop talking past one another. Some of the most durable work to come out of this conference — efforts like the Open Source Homeless Initiative, or our collaborations with people like Rochelle Mills and the broader advocacy community — exists because relationships formed in that room and outlasted it.

This year’s theme, “From Crisis to Construction: Building a City of Yes,” is a deliberate push from diagnosis to action. We’ve spent years naming the problem well; now I want people to leave with a hammer in hand. My hope is that every attendee walks away with two things: a relationship they didn’t have before, and one concrete commitment — a single issue they’ll prioritize and actually move forward. If the conference ends and nothing gets built, we’ve only had a very articulate conversation. The point is to build.

JOIN US – REGISTER HERE.

What Would You Like to Say Yes To?

Seven minutes by air, an hour on foot, and a city still being invented

On gondolas, kite festivals, a river being reclaimed, and what Los Angeles could become.

CLICK HERE to read an editorial by Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA

YOUR SEAT AT THE TABLE THAT SHAPES LA.

Five high-access events. Six decision-makers. One moment for architects to be in the room where it happens — as Los Angeles rebuilds, reshapes, and reimagines itself.

RSVP & Full Calendar 

WHY NOW?

LA is navigating wildfire recovery, a mayoral race, the FIFA World Cup, the 2028 Olympics, a housing crisis, and a clean-energy transition — all at once. The decisions being made today will define this city for a generation.

Architects belong in every one of these conversations.

A MESSAGE TO THE AEC COMMUNITY

The 2026 AIA|LA City Leaders Breakfast Series and annual Design for Dignity Conference represent a rare opportunity: direct, roundtable access to the city officials, elected leaders, and infrastructure stewards making decisions that directly impact your work, your clients, and your communities.

These are not passive lecture events. They are intimate conversations — held over breakfast, held in roundtable format — designed specifically for architects and designers to engage, question, and influence. Seats are limited, and they fill fast.

================================================================================
UPCOMING EVENTS | May – June 2026
================================================================================

The 11th ANNUAL DESIGN FOR DIGNITY CONFERENCE 
——————————————————————————–
DATES: Friday, May 29, 2026 AND Friday, June 5, 2026
TIME: 8:30 am – 1:30 pm (both days)
LOCATION: AIA|LA Center for Communities
4450 West Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016
COST: $175 AIA Member (2-day pass) | $235 Non-Member (2-day pass)
$100 AIA Member (single day) | $160 Non-Member (single day)
$80 Student (2-day pass) | $50 Student (single day)
REGISTER HERE

From Crisis to Construction — Building a “City of Yes”

Now in its 11th year, Design for Dignity is AIA|LA’s premier exploration of how architects and designers can address housing inequity, displacement, and inclusive community building in Los Angeles. The 2026 edition continues a tradition of bringing together practitioners, policymakers, nonprofit leaders, and community advocates in substantive, action-oriented sessions.

This year the conference spans two consecutive Friday mornings, expanding access for more members of the AEC community to participate.

AIA CES learning units are available. Come both days — the conversation builds.

The only major architecture conference in LA exclusively dedicated to housing equity and design justice.

CITY LEADERS BREAKFAST SERIES
——————————————————————————–
SPEAKER: ALLAN T. MARKS – President, LADWP Board of Commissioners
Lawyer & Strategic Advisor | International Energy & Infrastructure Finance

DATE: Wednesday, June 24, 2026
TIME: 8:00 am
LOCATION: AUX Architecture
COST: $10 AIA Member | $15 Non-Member
RSVP HERE

Unanimously elected LADWP Board President in January 2026, Allan Marks brings decades of experience in international energy finance, infrastructure, and sustainability — having overseen transactions valued at over $100 billion globally. He oversees the nation’s largest municipal utility, serving more than 4 million Angelenos. His focus is clean-energy transition, climate resilience, and equitable infrastructure investment — topics with enormous implications for how LA’s built environment is designed and powered.

WHY IT MATTERS FOR ARCHITECTS:
Electrification mandates, all-electric building codes, grid reliability, and energy resilience in post-wildfire rebuilding are all under LADWP’s purview. Designers shaping the next generation of LA buildings need to understand what is coming from the utility side.

================================================================================
FOUR REASONS THE AEC COMMUNITY SHOWS UP
================================================================================

01 / ROUNDTABLE FORMAT
These are not panels or lectures. You sit across from city leaders and ask the questions that matter to your practice, your projects, and your community.

02 / RARE ACCESS
A fire chief, a mayoral candidate, a state assemblymember, an energy board president — these are the decision-makers whose policies shape every permit, code, and project in Los Angeles.

03 / AFFORDABLE ENTRY
Breakfasts are just $10 for AIA members and students. The access-to-cost ratio here is extraordinary.

04 / ADVOCACY IN ACTION
Your presence sends a message: architects are engaged, invested, and indispensable to Los Angeles’s future. Show up and make that case in the room.

Eight Policy Recommendations to Improve ED #19 (Invite us to the table next time. We’re nice!)

1: Establish a Single Point of Executive Authority

Issue: ED #19 directs coordination across twelve departments but designates no individual or office with binding authority to compel compliance, resolve conflicts, or escalate missed deadlines. Without enforcement authority, interdepartmental coordination frameworks have historically collapsed when departmental priorities diverge. AIA|LA’s September 2024 LADBS Roadmap and the “Seventeen Reforms” white paper both identify this as the single most consequential structural gap in Los Angeles’ development services system.

Solution: Add a section establishing a Deputy Mayor for Development Services — or designating an existing senior mayoral office position — with explicit authority to: (a) convene binding joint review sessions among all clearance departments; (b) compel resolution of interdepartmental code conflicts within 10 business days; and (c) escalate missed ED #19 reporting deadlines to the Mayor’s Chief of Staff for immediate corrective action. Codify this position in the City Charter through the current Charter Reform proceeding (Council File 26-0489).

Benefit: Creates enforceable accountability for the coordination architecture that the rest of ED #19 depends on. Without it, the directive’s 30-, 45-, and 60-day reporting deadlines are aspirational rather than operational.

2: Require AIA|LA and Licensed Design Professionals in the AI RFP Process

Issue: Section 1(a) directs LADBS and ITA to initiate an AI pre-plan check procurement within 60 days, but the RFP process as written, does not require input from licensed architects or engineers — the practitioners who understand where plan check corrections actually originate, and what an AI tool would need to reduce them meaningfully. AI tools designed without practitioner involvement risk automating the wrong workflows or creating new correction categories that increase rather than reduce cycle times.

Solution: Amend Section 1(a)(ii) to add a requirement that the RFP process include a formal practitioner advisory panel composed of licensed architects and structural engineers, convened by LADBS before the RFP is issued, with findings incorporated into the RFP scope. AIA|LA formally offers to organize and participate in this panel. Additionally, require that any AI tool procured undergo a 90-day pilot with practitioner feedback before full deployment.

Benefit: Grounds the technology procurement in actual practitioner workflow realities, reducing the risk of procuring a tool that addresses symptoms rather than causes — and creates a formal channel for ongoing AIA|LA input into the city’s digital permitting infrastructure.

3: Guarantee Departmental Clearance Exemption for Self-Certification Projects

Issue: Section 2(e)’s Citywide Self-Certification Pilot for commercial tenant improvements is a reform AIA|LA has advocated for explicitly since the prior LADBS pilot failed. However, the directive’s current language does not guarantee that qualifying self-certification projects will receive exemption from the full slate of departmental clearances — only from LADBS plan check review. If qualifying projects still require individual clearances from LAFD, LADWP, BOE, LASAN, and other departments, the time savings will be negligible, repeating the failure mode of the prior pilot.

Solution: Amend Section 2(e) to add explicit language: “Qualifying projects under the Citywide Self-Certification Pilot shall be exempt from individual clearance requirements from all City departments except LAFD life-safety review, unless LADBS determines a specific clearance is required by state law or federal regulation.” Additionally, replace the ICC testing requirement for program eligibility with a professional licensure affidavit of responsibility, consistent with the LA County Self-Certification Pilot model.

Benefit: Transforms the pilot from a marginal improvement in LADBS processing into a genuine time-saving tool — the difference between weeks of delay reduction and months. This directly addresses the dysfunctionality AIA|LA identified in its September 2024 LADBS Roadmap.

4: Co-Design the Standard Plans Program with Licensed Architects

Issue: Section 2(d) directs LADBS to consolidate Standard Plans into a unified portal and expand plan types within 30 days. However, the directive contains no requirement that licensed design professionals participate in the program’s design architecture. AIA|LA’s September 2024 Roadmap documented that the prior Standard Plan pilot was not viable because it was “designed in a vacuum without practitioner input” — producing plan sets that did not reflect how architects actually customize projects for site-specific conditions.

Solution: Amend Section 2(d)(iii) to add a requirement that LADBS convene a co-design working group with AIA|LA and structural engineering representatives before finalizing the expanded Standard Plans program scope. Specifically, direct LADBS to adopt a ‘halfway mark’ architecture: pre-approved structural and engineering cores that licensed architects can customize for foundations, site conditions, and aesthetic elements without triggering full re-review. Establish a clear contractual framework governing licensing, liability, and professional responsibility for plans in the catalog.

Benefit: Produces a Standard Plans program that architects will actually use — because it reflects how design and permitting actually interact — rather than one that sits underutilized because it cannot accommodate real-world project variability.

5: Add Performance Metrics and Public Accountability Reporting

Issue: ED #19 establishes reporting deadlines for each reform area but contains no requirement that the resulting reports include quantitative performance baselines, improvement targets, or public disclosure obligations. Without baseline metrics and public reporting, there is no mechanism for external stakeholders — including AIA|LA, the development community, and the public — to evaluate whether the directive’s reforms are producing measurable improvements in permitting timelines and project feasibility.

Solution: Add a new Section 4 titled “Performance Accountability,” directing the Mayor’s Office to: (a) establish baseline metrics for average permitting timelines, correction cycle counts, and clearance processing times within 45 days; (b) require each affected department to publish quarterly progress reports against these baselines on the City’s open data portal; and (c) designate a public dashboard — integrated with BuildLA when operational — displaying real-time performance against ED #19 targets. The CAO should be designated as the independent reviewer of departmental self-reported metrics.

Benefit: Creates the external accountability infrastructure necessary to sustain reform momentum past the initial reporting wave, and provides AIA|LA and other stakeholders with objective data to assess progress and identify where additional intervention is needed.

6: Mandate Concurrent — Not Sequential — LADWP Reviews from Project Inception

Issue: Section 3(b) directs LADWP to convene a New Business Task Force and improve its energization customer service portal, but does not require LADWP service planner and ESR field team reviews to occur concurrently with the standard plan check period. As documented in AIA|LA’s “Seventeen Reforms” white paper, LADWP infrastructure reviews conducted after project approval — rather than during it — routinely trigger late-stage conflicts that delay final construction completion by months, generating carrying costs that can make marginal projects financially unviable.

Solution: Amend Section 3(b) to add: “Within 60 days of this directive, LADWP shall implement a concurrent service planning workflow in which Service Planner review, ESR field review, and transformer placement assessment are initiated no later than the date of LADBS plan check submission for multi-family residential projects of five or more units. LADWP’s 45-day report to the Mayor’s Office shall include a phased implementation timeline for achieving this concurrency requirement.” Additionally, amend Rules Governing Water and Electric Service to reflect this requirement.

Benefit: Eliminates the most common and most costly late-stage construction bottleneck identified by AIA|LA members, potentially compressing final delivery timelines by six to twelve weeks on qualifying projects — a change that directly affects project financial feasibility for smaller affordable housing developments.

7: Extend Expedited Review Pathways to Missing Middle and Density Bonus Projects

Issue: ED #19’s expedited permitting provisions (Section 2(b)) apply exclusively to 100% affordable housing projects and shelters. Projects utilizing California’s Density Bonus Law — which in 2024 was used to approve 47% of all homes in multifamily projects statewide, ten times more than every other state streamlining law combined — are not included. Similarly, missing middle typologies (duplexes, triplexes, courtyard apartments) that AIA|LA’s “Seventeen Reforms” white paper identifies as the fastest path to neighborhood-scale housing capacity receive no expedited review pathway.

Solution: Amend Section 2(b) to create a tiered expedited review structure: Tier 1 (current 60-day / 5-business-day standard) for 100% affordable projects and shelters; Tier 2 (90-day outer boundary, 10-business-day clearances) for projects utilizing Density Bonus Law with at least 15% very-low-income units; and Tier 3 (120-day outer boundary) for qualifying missing middle typologies of 2–12 units with objective design standard compliance. Direct LADBS and City Planning to assign all Density Bonus Law applications to the Expedited Review Unit green lane by default.

Benefit: Aligns ED #19 with the most powerful housing production tools currently on the books in California, creating a permitting environment that actively incentivizes Density Bonus Law utilization and missing middle development — the two categories with the highest near-term production potential at accessible price points.

8: Address Adaptive Reuse Code and Financing Barriers

Issue: ED #19 does not address adaptive reuse, despite the city’s expanded Adaptive Reuse Ordinance (ARO) representing one of its highest-profile housing policy commitments, and despite Downtown LA office vacancy exceeding 33%. AIA|LA’s March 2023 open letter to Mayor Bass — “Dear Mayor Bass: Recommendations to Improve & Advance Adaptive Reuse Citywide” — identified two specific barriers that continue to block conversions regardless of ARO eligibility: (1) the “full building change of use” code interpretation that treats partial-floor conversions as complete structural overhauls, and (2) the absence of city-deployed gap financing tools comparable to those New York, Chicago, and Calgary have deployed to bridge adaptive reuse pro-forma gaps.

Solution: Add a new Section 2(k) titled “Adaptive Reuse Implementation,” directing: (a) LADBS to formally adopt Chapter 13 of the California Existing Building Code for performance compliance methods within 45 days, treating partial conversions as tenant improvements rather than full change-of-use reconstructions; (b) the CAO to report within 45 days on financial mechanisms — including property tax abatement, transfer tax exemptions, and Tax Increment Financing — to support conversion feasibility; and (c) LADBS and City Planning to designate adaptive reuse conversion applications for concurrent departmental review under the Section 1(b) ePlan framework as a priority project type.

Benefit: Closes the gap between the city’s ARO policy intent and its permitting and financing reality, unlocking the estimated 43,000+ new homes the expanded ARO is designed to produce — while simultaneously addressing the Downtown LA office vacancy crisis that threatens billions in assessed property value.

References and Source Documents

The following source documents were used in the preparation of this analysis:

• Executive Directive No. 19 — Development Services Streamlining and Modernization. Mayor Karen Bass, City of Los Angeles. April 27, 2026.
• No, Actually, Yes: Seventeen Reforms to Build the Los Angeles We Love. Will Wright, Hon. AIA|LA. AIA Los Angeles, April 2026.
• AIA|LA & LADBS: A Roadmap for Improving Los Angeles Development Services. AIA Los Angeles Government & Public Affairs. September 2024.
• Dear Mayor Bass: Recommendations to Improve & Advance Adaptive Reuse Citywide. AIA Los Angeles. March 2023.
• The Advocacy Report. AIA Los Angeles. March 2026, November 2025, October 2025, September 2025, April 2025, January 2025 editions.
• Win-Win Bonus: Density Bonus Law Utilization in California. Circulate Planning & Policy. April 2026.
• Potential Pathways to Scale Innovative Construction Methods in California. Terner Center for Housing Innovation, UC Berkeley. March 2026.
• Enterprise Community Partners Los Angeles Pipeline Analysis. Enterprise Community Partners. March 2026.
• Santa Monica Missing Middle Housing Realignment Plan. Santa Monica Planning Commission. April 2026.
• AB 2345 (2020) and AB 1287 (2023) — California Density Bonus Law amendments.
• Senate Bill 79 (2025) — Transit-Oriented Development zoning.
• California Office of the State Fire Marshal Single-Stair Building Report. March 2026.

Recommendations from the Architecture & Design Community

ON HOW TO IMPROVE THE PROPOSED BUDGET TO ENSURE HEALTHIER & MORE FUNCTIONAL OUTCOMES

The following 11 recommendations are offered by the architecture and design community to improve the effectiveness, beauty, and livability of outcomes produced by the proposed 2026–27 City Budget. They are grounded in the budget’s own stated priorities and are intended to be practical, actionable, and fiscally responsible.

1. Establish a City Design Office and Fund a Design Excellence Program

Modeled on precedents in New York, Boston, and Chicago, a Design Office embedded within the Mayor’s Office or General Services would provide design leadership across public projects. The budget should allocate seed funding (est. $2–5M) to establish design standards, create peer review panels for public commissions, and develop guidelines that elevate the quality of city-funded buildings, parks, and streetscapes. Improved design quality on public projects generates long-term value far exceeding its upfront cost.

2. Increase City Planning Staffing to Reduce Permitting Delays

The chronic understaffing of the Department of City Planning is one of the most significant impediments to housing production and economic investment in Los Angeles. The budget should fund a net increase of at least 50 to 100 new planning positions, prioritizing housing entitlement and design review staff. Faster permitting directly reduces carrying costs for developers and supports the Mayor’s housing production goals.

3. Fund a Building & Safety Modernization and Digital Permitting Initiative

The budget should include a dedicated allocation for the complete digitization of plan check and permit workflows in the Department of Building and Safety. A fully electronic, trackable, and predictable permitting system would reduce errors, decrease review times, improve transparency, and lower costs for applicants—benefiting architects, contractors, and clients alike. Many cities have accomplished this; LA should make it a budget priority.

4. Adopt a 1% for Art and Design Standard on All Public Capital Projects

The CTIEP Municipal Facilities and Physical Plant accounts fund dozens of capital projects each year. The budget should formalize a requirement that 1% of the construction budget of each project be allocated to public art and high-quality design features—consistent with national best practice. The Department of Cultural Affairs should administer the public art component in coordination with the design teams for each project.

5. Require Community Design Standards in Interim Housing Procurements

The $700 million homelessness budget, including Inside Safe and interim housing beds, funds physical environments that house thousands of Angelenos. The budget should direct Housing and the Mayor’s Office of Homelessness to develop and enforce minimum design standards for interim housing facilities—including daylighting, outdoor space, dignity-affirming interiors, and ADA compliance. Well-designed interim housing improves health outcomes and resident success rates.

6. Elevate Streetscape Design Standards for the 700-Mile Street Repair Program

The budget’s investment in 700 lane miles of street repair presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redesign public rights-of-way for all users. The Bureau of Street Services should be directed to apply Complete Streets principles to all street resurfacing and reconstruction projects over a minimum threshold, incorporating bicycle lanes, pedestrian improvements, tree canopy, and stormwater management. A modest supplement to the Bureau of Engineering budget could fund streetscape design support for high-priority corridors.

7. Create an Urban Greening and Tree Canopy Budget Line

Los Angeles has a profound urban heat island problem, and tree canopy has a documented relationship with heat mitigation, stormwater, air quality, and property values. The budget should establish a dedicated Urban Greening line item—distinct from standard parks maintenance—to fund tree planting, canopy maintenance, and green infrastructure on public rights-of-way, prioritizing low-income neighborhoods with the greatest heat exposure.

8. Fund a Post-Wildfire Resilient Design and Reconstruction Program

In the aftermath of the January 2025 wildfires, thousands of properties in Los Angeles require reconstruction. The budget should fund a dedicated office or task force within the Department of Building and Safety and City Planning to streamline fire rebuild permits, develop community design frameworks for affected neighborhoods, and provide design assistance resources for homeowners who cannot afford architectural services. This office should also develop wildfire-resilient design standards applicable to new construction in high-risk zones.

9. Invest in Public Space Activation and Maintenance in Underserved Neighborhoods

The Department of Cultural Affairs and Recreation and Parks should receive increased allocations tied specifically to the design, activation, and maintenance of public spaces in historically underserved communities. Budgeted funding should support community-led design processes, temporary activations, permanent placemaking installations, and the ongoing maintenance budgets necessary to sustain these investments over time.

10. Develop a Citywide Adaptive Reuse and Building Conversion Strategy

With commercial vacancy rates elevated following the post-pandemic shift in office use, the budget should fund a study and policy initiative within City Planning and Economic and Workforce Development to identify conversion opportunities for vacant commercial and institutional buildings—into housing, community facilities, arts spaces, and mixed-use development. Architects are uniquely positioned to lead this work, and budget support for feasibility studies and streamlined entitlement pathways would unlock significant private investment.

11. Commission an Annual State of the Built Environment Report

Los Angeles has no mechanism to track the design quality, sustainability, or livability of its built environment over time. The Mayor’s Office, in collaboration with the Departments of City Planning, Cultural Affairs, and General Services, should commission an annual State of the Built Environment report—modeled on similar efforts in London and Copenhagen—that measures indicators such as tree canopy coverage, public space access, housing quality, ADA compliance, and civic building condition. This report would inform future budget priorities and enable evidence-based investment.

Don’t Let Policy ‘Happen’ to Your Practice: Join the 2026 AIA|LA Agency Roundtables and ‘Design’ It!

Navigating the regulatory landscape of Los Angeles is often one of the most complex, time-consuming, and expensive challenges in architecture today. Projects stall, budgets inflate, and timelines stretch—often due to processes that feel out of our control.

But you do have control.

The AIA|LA Government Outreach (GO!) Committee has organized a comprehensive series of quarterly roundtables with the leadership of the three agencies that dictate the flow of your projects: Los Angeles City Planning (LACP), the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS), and the Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

These sessions are not standard webinars; they are working forums designed to break down silos, modernize standards, and establish a shared culture of trust between the private sector and city personnel.

Why You Need to Be in the Virtual Room

Gain Immediate Clarity: Get ahead of major operational shifts (like Zoning Plan Check moving to LACP) before they disrupt your current workflow.

Direct Access to Leadership: Cut through the red tape and hear firsthand updates on emerging initiatives directly from General Managers and Department Heads.

Solve Specific Roadblocks: Have a project stalled by 14′ ground floor minimums or late-stage LADWP transformer placements? This is where we advocate for specific, technical code clean-ups.

Shape the Agenda: Your boots-on-the-ground experience directly informs AIA|LA’s advocacy efforts, turning your daily frustrations into actionable policy reforms.

Below is the 2026 schedule for each agency. Please RSVP via the links provided to secure your spot and ensure your voice is heard.

1. Meetings w/ Los Angeles City Planning (LACP) Leadership

Focus: The Regulatory Shift & Code Clean-Up

Our upcoming April session will dive deep into the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the Development Services Bureau, focusing extensively on the critical transition of the zoning plan check process, shifting from LADBS to LACP. Future sessions will tackle statewide housing initiatives (SB 79, AB 130), the impact of AI on compliance, and navigating the Missing Middle and Livable Communities Initiative.

2026 Schedule (Virtual via Zoom, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm)

• Tuesday, January 27 | 9:00 am – 10:30 am (in-person at LA City Hall)
• Wednesday, April 22 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – RSVP HERE.
• Tuesday, August 18 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – RSVP HERE.
• Wednesday, November 18 | 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – RSVP HERE.

2. Meetings w/ LA Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) Leadership

Focus: Building Codes, Streamlining, & Resilience

Connect directly with Osama Younan, P.E., General Manager of LADBS. This is the forum for architects and design professionals to clarify building code interpretations, push for permit streamlining, and discuss the implementation of sustainable building practices.

2026 Schedule (Virtual, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm)

• Monday, March 16 (1 pm – 2 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Monday, June 15 (1 pm – 2 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Monday, September 21 (1 pm – 2 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Monday, December 7 (1 pm – 2 pm) – RSVP HERE.

3. Meetings w/ LA Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Leadership

Focus: Powering Progress & Streamlining Infrastructure

Since 2021, we have secured critical wins with LADWP, including faster processing for ED1 affordable housing and smarter financial solutions for line extensions. Our Prime 2026 Advocacy Priority is pushing LADWP to require review and approval by the Service Planner and ESR (Field Team) during the normal Plan Check Period—avoiding the costly delays that occur when the ESR first sees a project late in the construction phase.

2026 Schedule (Virtual via LADWP’s MS Teams, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm)

• Thursday, March 5 (11:30 am – 12:30 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Thursday, June 18 (11:00 am – 12:00 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Thursday, August 13 (11:30 am – 12:30 pm) – RSVP HERE.
• Thursday, November 5 (11:30 am – 12:30 pm) – RSVP HERE.

Have a specific item for the agenda? We want to hear about the specific issues, challenges, and recommendations you are facing in the field. Please email Will@aialosangeles.org to have your item added to the docket for upcoming meetings.

Advocate. Innovate. Streamline. We look forward to seeing you there.

Very truly yours,

AIA Los Angeles GO! Committee

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.