LID Ordinance Approved by Public Works Committee

Permeable pavement sidewalk at L.A. Eco-Village. When LID passes we should see more of these kinds of rainwater infiltration practices thoughout Los Angeles.

Last Friday January 15th 2010, the Low Impact Development (or “LID”) ordinance was approved unanimously by the city of Los Angeles’ Board of Public Works. I recommend reading Spouting Off’s excellent coverage. 

First off, big props to Public Works Commissioner Paula Daniels who has spearheaded L.A.’s work on LID.  There are certainly lots of other commissioners, city staff, non-profit folks (and even bloggers on the sidelines) who’ve done some worthwhile work on this LID effort, but Commissioner Daniels has really been the driving force on this one. She’s an articulate and committed environmentalist, a valued friend, and a true creek freak! Kudos to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for appointing such a great leader to serve on the board that oversees the city’s public works.  

After the jump below, L.A. Creek Freak links you to LID background, posts Green L.A. Coalition’s announcement, and highlights LID’s next steps.

If you don’t already speak jargonese and you’ve never heard of Low Impact Development, you could start with Wikipedia’s introductory article. Creek Freak’s memorious readers no doubt recall our past LID articles here1 and here2. We’ve also linked to background by TreePeople’s Andy Lipkis and Heal the Bay’s Mark Gold. The ordinance was expected to be approved by public works in November, but was delayed, due to organized opposition from development and building industry interests. 

 The Green L.A. Coalition‘s Urban Ecosystems Work Group has played an important role in bringing various stakeholders together to push for LID approval. GLAUEWG (not sure if they actually use that acronym?) made a smart move in bringing on Nidia Garcia (formerly of North East Trees) to staff the LID campaign. Below is Friday’s email announcement from Green Los Angeles Coalition director Stephanie Taylor. I’ve run it verbatim, but linkified it plenty:

Congratulations to the Green LA Urban Ecosystems work group!  We had an impressive showing at the hearing today and moving and elegant testimonies.  The hearing demonstrated the power of our coalition and our effectiveness working together.  About 30 people testified in support.  Many thanks to all who attended and testified, including: AIA/Los Angeles Chapter, Green LA, G3/The Green Gardens Group, Heal the Bay,  Mia Lehrer, North East Trees, Ron Milam, SEIU Local 721, Surfrider Foundation, TreePeople, Sierra Club Angeles Chapter, and The River Project.
 
Others who testified in support, include:  Environment LA, Fran Diamond, DWP, Planning Department, NRDC, Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, Mar Vista Community Council, Green Gardeners Collective, Mott Smith, LA Chamber of Commerce, Association of Professional Landscape Designers.
 
We congratulate Commissioner Daniels, President Ruiz and the Bureau of Sanitation staff for their leadership and hard work to create a balanced ordinance that addresses both our environmental, clean water and water supply goals and the concerns of developers and homeowners.  This ordinance places the City of LA in the forefront of sustainable development.

 The ordinance still needs to be approved by to the full Los Angeles City Council… and you can bet that developers have already started talking with them… so L.A. residents might want to start emailing  our councilmembers and let her/him know that we want LID.  The next vote should be within the next month or so – at the city council’s Energy and Environment Committee. There’s actually a very useful online way to track council motions (including subscribing to individual motions via RSS feed) using the Los Angeles City Clerk website where LID has been assigned council file number 09-1554. Follow that link to subscribe and receive notice of future developments.

And, of course, stay tuned to L.A. Creek Freak.