The Mitch Plan

8/10/2019 The Mitch Plan

1/15

THE

MITCH

PLANL.A.s District 13 Is there a more exciting, diverse, or just-plain awesome neighborhoodin the entire United States? Its hard for us not to feel special pride about it.

Mitch does.

And hes been teaming with us for a decade to make District 13 a better place to live andwork.

From negotiating with high-level City ofcials to ensuring City services to cleaning upparks, hes been in the trenches with ushearing our needs and ghting to get us theCity services we deserve.

Mitch believes we can bring District 13 to the next level by focusing on neighborhoods,public safety, and business.

Heres Mitchs planin his own words.

www.mitchforcitycouncil.org


2/15

CHILDREN & SCHOOLSCity Government has a completely different governing structure than the Los AngelesUnied School District. Sometimes it seems as though the two governing bodies are ondifferent planets. Likewise, theres no formal relationship with the charter schools thatoperate either. And yet, schools are a vital resource in the 13th Council District. We as acommunity have a vested interest in the wellbeing of our school system.

Over the years Ive worked very closely with schools in this District. And asCouncilmember, Ill formalize a relationship with my counterpart on the LAUSD Board andmeet on a regularly-scheduled basis to discuss matters of mutual concern. Ill also havean education deputy on staff to liaison with schools, parents, and children on issues ofeducation, health, and school safety. I will have a deputy on staff that will work with theeducation community and on childrens issues for the District.

I have served on the Board of the not-for-prot arts organization, the Santa CeciliaOrchestra, for several years. We provide a classical music program in several NortheastLos Angeles public schools in underserved communitiesto teach children and theirfamilies the beauty and magic of this kind of music. Ill advocate very strongly for arts

and sports programs in all of our schools and work on creating additional joint-useprograms at our schools in the 13th City Council District. I want all of our athletic eldsmade available on weekends and after school for neighborhood kids. Thats how it waswhen I was growing up in the public school system, and our young people deserve thesame privilege as I had.

SCHOOL SAFETY

Although the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unied School District areseparate entities with different jurisdictions, theres a whole lot the City can do to makeour neighborhood schools safer.

At every public and private school, where possible Ill install trafc-safety measures onpublic rights of way. These will include speed humps, speed-feedback devices, all-way-stop intersections with ladder crosswalks, turn restrictions where necessary, and anyother trafc safety measures that are needed.

Ill also advocate strongly for direct partnerships between LAUSD school police, schoolfaculty, and the LAPD for patrols, crime suppression, emergency response, trafc safety,and school-safety plans.

NEIGHBORHOODS:OUR QUALITY OF LIFE

pgMitch OFarrell for L.A. City Council 13 | www.mitchforcitycouncil.org


3/15

Each year in Los Angeles, an average of nearly 80 people are struck and killed by motorvehicles. This is a tragic, unacceptable statistic. Guarding the areas around our schoolswill at least help reduce this number. Moving forward, its important that, as we continuereducing crime, we have more motorcycle ofcers cracking down on reckless driving.

SENIORSEach of us deserves a quality of life that offers dignity and an availability of services

that keep us engaged and active well into our mature years. I created the Glassell ParkCommunity/Senior Center and negotiated for another senior center in Echo Park aspart of a new school that was built. As Councilmember, Ill make sure the Echo ParkSenior Center becomes a reality. Ill also ensure that the citys senior programming is notforgotten and will be a tireless advocate for seniors, as Ive always been while on staff forCouncilmember Eric Garcetti.

Additional senior centers are needed in the 13th District and I will work to create themby partnering with private companies as I did in Glassell Park, or with educationalinstitutions as I did in Echo Park. We need to go after all the grant funding possible toidentify additional sources of funding for senior programs, senior services, and creating

new senior centers. Ill have a deputy on staff that will liaison with all agencies andgroups beneting seniors in the 13th District.

TRANSPORTATIONLos Angeles is known for its car cultureand its gridlock.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has control over our DASH lines andCounty Metro has jurisdiction over our subway and bus lines. Its never been moreimportant to solve our budget decit crisis so we, as a City, can create additionalneighborhood-serving DASH lines. They are a great, low-cost form of public transit

that helps ease trafc congestion. A comprehensive evaluation was completed 9 yearsago that identied up to 30 additional DASH routes. Sadly, none of them were createdbecause year after year, the City budget crisis got worse.

Every world-class city has a robust public transit system. We have a start with the Red,Blue, and Gold lines, but long-term we must do much more. I want to play an activerole in helping create a world-class system of public transit. It will take a long-termcommitment, consensus building, vision, and leadership. The Mayor appoints threemembers to the County Metro Board. I will insist on being one of those appointees so Ican play an active role in fullling this visionfor the District, the City, and the County.




4/15

WALKING & BIKING

We need to encourage more of both, and Ive worked extensively on these issues inthe 13th District.

I created bike trails and implemented streetscape designs that make walking saferand more enjoyable for pedestrians, and Ill do much more as Councilmember. I willwork with the bicycle community and our neighborhoods on implementing the bicyclemaster plan across the District and the city. Theres much more we can do now, withexisting limited resources, such as creating Sharrow lanes. That basically meansplacing a bicycle icon image on the street pavement so motorized vehicles and bicycleriders know to share the street.

ARTS & CULTURELos Angeles is the entertainment capital of the world. We have some of the countrysbest arts organizations, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, opera, dance companies,museums, and one of the most vibrant art scenes in the world.

And yet, our Cultural Affairs Department is perpetually underfunded and understaffed.The 1% arts fee the city assesses for new development projects has been in placefor some time. This fee is a good, dependable source of income for helping some ofour struggling nonprot arts organizations across the City. Its time to introduce anincrease in this fee. Im suggesting we develop a fee structure that increases slightlydepending on the cost of the development project. For example, a developmentproject that costs up to $5 million could maintain the 1% arts fee. That fee could goup incrementally for projects costing more than $5 millionperhaps increasing 1/10of 1% for every $1 million increase in cost of the development project. The fee couldbe capped at no more than 2% no matter the cost of any development project. Thismeans that if AEG builds the new $1 billion dollar NFL stadium and Convention Center

project, the arts will receive $20 million as opposed to $10 million. This will be onesignicant step forward to creating more art for Los Angelessomething we should beknown for.

We can and should have great public sculptures, world-class visuals, andperformance-art experiences for Angelenos across the City on an ongoing basis.




5/15

AFFORDABLE HOUSINGThe need for affordable housing in Los Angeles continues to far exceed the supply.

In my rst 30 days in Ofce, Ill meet with for-prot, nonprot, and subsidized-housingexperts, community leaders, and City ofcials to outline an ordinance ensuring anaffordable-housing component to all new multi-family housing developments in L.A.Well take into consideration federal guidelines, and industry standards adopted in other

municipalities, in relation to: the threshold of median-income levels, number of units builtthat trigger the requirement, and the required percentage of affordable units that aremade available for rent or purchase.

In my rst 60 days in Ofce, well nalize the draft proposal and Ill bring it to mycolleagues on the City Council.

In my rst 90 days in Ofce, Ill have introduced an ordinance thats being vetted throughthe legislative process on the way to becoming law in the City of Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES RIVER/ENVIRONMENTALFrom 2002 to 2012 I worked on Policy and Improvements at the Los Angeles River. Thead hoc Committee on the L.A. River must continue, and I would like to chair it.

Ill lead the way in continuing implementing improvements outlined in the Los AngelesRiver Revitalization Master Plan.

I led the way to receiving $3 million in funding for a new multi-modal bridge across theRiver, connecting Silver Lake with Atwater Village at Red Car Park. Construction shouldbegin next year. Ill make sure this bridge gets built on-time and on-budget, providing asafe crossing alternative for Marshall High School kids and community members who

currently have to walk across the noisy, dangerous Hyperion Bridge.

While on staff with Councilmember Eric Garcetti, I set in motion the plan to create aTax Increment Financing District (TIF) for capital improvements at the River. A study iscurrently under way in the Community Development Department to evaluate this plan.Ill see that its adopted and becomes a long term revenue source for the revitalizationat the River. Its time we work on keeping some of our increased tax revenues here,working for us.




6/15

Ill have an environmental deputy on staff that will reconvene the River Management &Maintenance Taskforce at the River. This is the taskforce I started in 2005 and facilitateduntil I left the ofce in 2012. The work we did resulted in making the River safer, cleaner,and more inviting to people. We stopped gang crime and narcotics sales, and we madesure homeless encampments didnt return, saving lives during the rainy season. TheTaskforce unfortunately disbanded when I left the ofce.

Ill work aggressively with my colleague in the 1st Council District, and City/Countyleadership, to construct the ambitious multimillion-dollar demonstration projectat Taylor Yard/Rio de Los Angeles. This visionary project will modify the channel forenvironmental and recreational purposes for the rst time since it was built in the1930sand it will set the tone for all future work at the River.

FEED IN TARIFF PROGRAM AT LADWP

We must exceed the current goal of 300 megawatts and the 2016 goal of 600megawatts. Thats still only 6% renewable energy at most, with the City continuing tooutsource our pollution by purchasing energy from out-of-state, coal-burning plants.Thats not right. The State goal is 1200-megawatt power by 2020. That gets us to about

20%.

We as a City are ready. Renewable-industry entrepreneurs are ready. However LosAngeles is not on track to meet the 2020 goal, and the LADWP must do more. Illdo everything in my power to push LADWP much harder on this initiative, includinglegislative directives, if thats what it takes.

I want to help Los Angeles become a leader on the environment. We have moresunshine than almost any other state. We can place photovoltaic panels on mostrooftops. The technology has improved by leaps and bounds. Ill make sure Im seatedon the Energy and Environment Committee so I can lead on this initiative.

WATER SUSTAINABILITY

I will lead the way in creating a water-retention and sustainability master plan for theCity of Los Angeles.We must capture water during the rainy season, rather than sending almost 100% ofit into the ocean. Our master plan will identify locations for creating water-retentionbasins, enacting policies that divert rainwater from gutters into cisterns, rather thansending water from rooftops directly to the storm-drain system (as is currently requiredby the L.A. Department of Building and Safety). The master plan will also utilize our




7/15

well-known watershed hydrology system for environmentally-sound initiatives thatwill benet all of our communities. This will also provide a fact-based approach tosustainability well into the futureand create jobs. We need this visionary plan nowmore than ever.

OUR LAST-REMAINING HILLSIDES, OPEN SPACES, & WILDLIFE CORRIDORS

Los Angeles has the unique distinction of having a vast urban wildlife community. The

Los Angeles ecosystem once teemed with every type of wildlife found in the state,including grizzly bearsand even today, the occasional mountain lion can be seen inGrifth Park.

We still have a loose network of rustic canyon and hillside corridors that accommodatepredator and prey. We need to amend the hillside ordinance to require conservationeasements wherever wildlife can be documented. Theres no reason we cant continuea healthy coexistence with our urban wildlife, and city policy must reect this.

NEIGHBORHOODS, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT,

& DELIVERY OF SERVICESI came up through volunteering in my community of Glassell Park to make it cleaner,safer, and more livable.

At times I felt like I was in the wilderness, and that my City wasnt responsive to mycommunitys needs. I was a founder of our Neighborhood Council, and I becamethe leader of our Improvement Association. When I began working on behalf of EricGarcetti in 2002, I made a commitment to demonstrate that city government could beresponsive to the needs of the community. Every project I ever worked on and everysuccess I ever delivered was due to community involvement and volunteerism fromstakeholders in the 13th District.

I have a background in customer service and bring that perspective to constituentservice. My philosophy in this race and as Councilmember is that well do greatthings to move this District forwardtogether. Expertise is in the community, and notnecessarily at City Hall.Ill form a Design Review Committee made up of volunteers and design experts fromacross the District who will advise me on all large-scale development-project proposals.




8/15

Its my experience that new development projects always turn out better with directcommunity input. Theres nothing that affects the way we feel in an urban area morethan our built environment. If were to become a world-class city, our architecture andour public spaces must have a look and feel that inspire us where we live and work.

As Councilmember, Ill always bring the neighborhood perspective to decision-makingat City Hall. Thats exactly what this District and this City need at this time. Its my

responsibility to report to the community on a regular basis and Ill continue doing thatwith the help of a deeply-engaged staff that cares about public service as much as I do.Anyone who volunteers their valuable time to make their neighborhood betterwhetherits on a Neighborhood Council, a Chamber of Commerce, a Neighborhood Watchgroup, an Improvement Association, or even unafliatedis a treasured asset to ourcommunity.




9/15

CRIMEThe LAPD is the nest force in the nation. I am rm on keeping our City safe, and I willnot support any reduction in public-safety services under any circumstance.

We had 10 years in a row of crime reduction while I was on Eric Garcettis staff. Ill makesure we dont let the progress we have made slip away. Without adequate public safety,our quality of life is greatly diminished, and I dont want to see a return to the Wild West,

high-crime days of the 1980s and 90s.

And once we solve our budget decit crisis, Ill champion the continued hiring of morepolice ofcers.

FIRE PROTECTIONThe Los Angeles Fire Department resource-reduction plan was uneven: it resulted in7 re stations absorbing most of 25% of all reductions in the City-wide, 106-stationsystem. These reductions were put in place in 2011 and especially compromised ourhigh-re-danger, hillside neighborhoods from El Sereno all the way to Silver Lake.

Fire Station 20 in Echo Park was among the hardest hit, leaving the hillside communitiesof Echo Park and Silver Lake especially vulnerable and reliant on outside crewsonesnot familiar with our streets, travelling greater distances to ght res and respondto emergencies. This has put additional stress on our reghters and has put ourneighborhoods in the 13th District at greater risk for reduced response times.

Ill make sure these services are restored with a reduction plan thats more equitablydistributed across the Citywhile working hard to get back to the full deployment andresources we had before the plan was recklessly imposed.

Again, solving our chronic City budget crisis is essential to making sure this canhappen.

HOUSING OUR HOMELESSWe must build supportive housing with wrap-around services on site that includemental-health and substance-abuse counseling, as well as job training. We need tens ofthousands of units to house our population in the City alone.

PUBLIC

SAFETY



10/15

A high percentage of our homeless are veterans of foreign wars, and that number willclimb. It is a national disgrace and we must act.

There are hundreds of boarded-up, empty buildings across this City, as well assurface lots that have been fallow for decades. These are opportunity sites that weneed to evaluate. We need to develop a plan to house our homeless and providethem services, and put it into action.

Ill work closely with Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, the Mayor, theCounty, the Veterans Administration, and the State on taking real action to reuseexisting structures to house our homeless, and build new housing where it makessense to. For the better part of the last 30 years weve had some successes inhousing our homelessbut only marginal. We need a sound, comprehensiveresponse that involves every level of government, the nonprot sector, and homelessadvocates who have experience in the trenches and understand the issues at a deeplevel.

GANG INTERVENTIONWhile volunteering in my community, Glassell Park, I got involved with public safetyby working with the LAPD and gang-intervention specialists.

When I began serving the public on behalf of Eric Garcetti in 2002, I cultivated theserelationships further and helped the Councilmember reduce gang crime across the13th City Council District.

Crime fell every year for ten years.

This happened for several reasons, including our constant efforts to get people out of

gangs while also preventing young people from joining them in the rst place.

But we must do more. As Councilmember, I wont be satised until we achieve asustainable budget for gang-reduction effortsalong with a verication system thatproves this work makes a difference.

Nothing is more important than making our neighborhoods safer. And investing in thelives of young peoplewho sometimes feel they have no alternative to gang lifecreates a public-safety foundation for the future. Everyone matters in our society.

PUBLIC

SAFETY



11/15

Its time the City started doing some heavy lifting to radically reform the way City Halldeals with our small-business communityfrom the time an application is made tothe granting of the Certicate of Occupancy.In my rst 30 days in Ofce, Ill convene a roundtable discussion with small-businessoperators from across the 13th District, business leaders, City ofcials, and GeneralManagers from City Planning, Building & Safety, Department of Transportation,County Health, LAFD, Ofce of Finance, Community Leaders, and our Chambers of

Commerce, to create an outline proposal for business reform.

In my rst 60 days in Ofce, Ill produce a proposal for reform and introduce apackage of small-business reform measures to my colleagues on the City Council.

In my rst 90 days in Ofce, Im committed to making sure the process is underwayfor small-business reform to become a reality in Los Angeles. And Ill lead the way inensuring our business-reform proposals are adopted and become standard operatingprocedure for all City departments.

Once this heavy lifting is done to create real, tangible, effective business reform, Ill

lead the way on a reduction of our gross-receipts taxbut reform must come rst.

RUNAWAY PRODUCTION: OUR ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRYThe Los Angeles entertainment industry has been losing jobsto other statesthat provide tax incentives and to other countries that make location lming lessexpensive.

Hollywood is known the world over as the lm capital of the worldyet weve beenbleeding jobs for years.

We must act nowat the local level, doing everything we canto put a stop to this.This is our world-famous branda signature industry that employs over a half-millionpeople countywide and brings millions of tourists here every year.

As your Councilmember, I will tirelessly push Sacramento lawmakers to extendand increase our state subsidy. Equally important, I want to establish a structurewithin City Hall that relentlessly promotes, advocates for, stabilizes, and grows thisindustryin the 13th District, the City, and the County.

BUSINESS



12/15

Im calling for the creation of an ad hoc committee on the L.A. City Council toaddress this issue in a long-term, sustained way.

Can such committees bring real change? Absolutely.

Weve made them work before. In 2002, the City created the ad hoc committeeon the Los Angeles River. Over a decade, it brought tens of millions of dollars

of investment to the River. How? By harnessing the power and resources of thecommunity, the political establishment, major donors, the environmental community,and grant writers. Together, we brought a visionand positive change. The future ofthe River has never been brighter.

We can do the same for the entertainment industryand we must act now. Wemust harness the power of the creative class, entertainment-industry leaders andemployees, government ofcials, the California Film Commission, lm and televisionstudios, and production companiesso we can speak with one, powerful voiceto nd real solutions to local issues while ghting to protect this vitally importantindustry. Ill lead the way in making this happen.

L.A.s entertainment-industry crisis isnt going to magically disappear. This is one areawhere City government can helpand we will.

BUSINESS



13/15

CITY BUDGET DEFICITA key component to solving the Citys structural budget decit is small-businessreform. When we cut the red tape to help businesses open, expand, and improvefaster, we reduce unemployment and grow our tax revenue. Given there are 322,000small businesses in this city, the potential for growing our economyonce truereform is in placeis enormous.

But we need to do much more. Theres still more fat to trim.

We need to nally eliminate the Board of Public Works Commission (BPW). Thiswill save about $2 million annually. The ve Commissioners each are paid $130,000a year. Their work is duplicative and can be done by one General Manager and avolunteer commission, and other duties can be transferred to General Services. TheBPW is an old-fashioned patronage system and oftentimes, members are appointedbecause they worked on (or donated to) a political campaign, or are relatives of anelected ofcial. This is wasteful and unethical. Also, elected ofcials in the City of Los

Angeles are paid too much. Ill put forth a proposal to reduce the pay of all electedofcials in the city of Los Angeles.

In my rst 30 days in Ofce, Ill work with the City Administrative Ofce to explorethe elimination of the Board of Public Works and a pay reduction for elected ofcialsin the City of Los Angeles. This will likely require charter reform and a vote of thepeople, but I believe its time has come.

In the next scal year (2014/2015) and beyond, the City Council will have its handsfull. Unless the -cent sales tax is approved, well remain about $216 million in debt.But Mayor Villaraigosa and the City Council have added up to another $100 million indebt because of deferred overtime that was approved a few years ago. Add to thatthe growing percentage of pension costs, and we may be looking at around $300

million in debt in the next scal year alone.

Several candidates for public ofcefrom the Mayor to City Councilare runningon eliminating the gross-receipts tax, too. This is clearly a campaign slogan divorcedfrom scal reality. This tax generates $439 million annually. City leadership has kickedthe can down the road and theres nowhere else it can go. We must not compromisethe Citys ability to deliver its core servicesincluding police, re, street resurfacing,and tree-trimming, and keeping our public facilities open and staffed.

MORE



14/15

While very serious, the outlook isnt all doom and gloom. For example, the Statebudget outlook is very good for the rst time in over a decade, and the economy isslowly recovering. Well likely have increasing revenues related to that, but well stillneed to make tough decisions.

Ill work with the Mayor and my colleagues on the City Council to pass a city budgetin scal year 2014/2015 that is balanced, and this very well may include additionalpension reform and an increase in healthcare contributions from City employees.The alternative could be bankruptcy, and that would be devastating to the City, oureconomy, and all City workers. In a bankruptcy scenario, all City contracts and pensionobligations would be suspended and renegotiated by a judge. Ill make sure that doesnot happen.

ANIMAL WELFAREWithin my rst 90 days as a new Councilmember, I will work to make sure the Citybecomes truly no-kill, with an aggressive approach to spay-neuter programs, leadingthe way for the City to adopt the 12-step, spay-neuter taskforce recommendationsfrom 2009. This 16-member panel was made up of animal-welfare experts from across

the City and beyond. This group produced a thoughtful, 230-page book of sensible,inexpensive proposals to make the City more humane, but the initiatives were neveradopted.

Ill lead the way on mandatory micro-chipping of all animals at point of sale or adoption.Ill then organize citywide micro-chipping events, bringing together the animal-welfarecommunity and Los Angeles Animal Services (LAAS), focusing on the Citys mostdisadvantaged animal keepers and economically-challenged communities.

Ill make sure animal abusers are prosecuted, and Ill take a hard line whenever any

animal abuse occurs anywhere in the City.

Ill help form a Friends of LAAS nonprot to augment the vital work and services theCity provides. Its what I did at the Los Angeles River, and the River Corporation issuccessfully raising money and working on projects there.

As Los Angeles City Councilmember, Ill work closely withand report tothe animalwelfare community on a regular basis to enact policies that make Los Angeles morehumane, and Ill lead the way on an enlightened approach to the care and wellbeing ofour domestic-animal and wildlife community.

MORE



15/15

I support legalizing beekeeping in the City of Los Angeles with very stringent, provenguidelines that work in urban areas such as New York. We must do our part to slowColony Collapse Disorder thats harming our environment and endangering the healthof everyone.

MORE

Documents

The Mitch Plan