The Skyline
Think
back to a time when you’ve travelled across the country, or around the world,
to a different city – any city that was particularly memorable to you. Toss
away the awful plane ride, the painful line through security, the crazy cab
driver that almost killed you on the way to the hotel, and think about how that
city looked to you. When you looked out the window of wherever you were
staying, what did the skyline look like?
My View
Right
now, the view outside my Los Angeles apartment is quickly being consumed by the
construction of the Frank and Jill Fertitta Hall on the corner of Figueroa and
Exposition. The LA skyline is already very built up, but the main reason my
fears of massive, overdeveloped, disgusting urban sprawl are placated is
because the space is truly functional. USC is an institution of education, and
I believe in education. The building serves a useful purpose. Later I will discuss the opposite
situation, where a building does not serve a function.
Real Estate
My
biggest business related obsession is real estate. In particular, I am
fascinated by the place where the business of real estate and the government
policy surrounding real estate intersect. I plan on becoming an expert in
navigating the project approval process. Many people I talked to who aren’t as
interested in real estate as I am are not aware of the project approval process,
so the goal of this article is to 1) educate you on the process by examples and
reliable research and 2) help you formulate an opinion on some of the most
important people and laws regulating real estate development in the city of Los
Angeles and 3) to provide a brief international comparison to give you a more
global perspective on real estate development regulation.
Rancho Palos Verdes
My first real exposure to the real estate project approval process was in my hometown of Rancho Palos Verdes. The best large scale examples of real estate projects that dissected and eventually approved by the City of Rancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission (the government entity in every US City that is in charge of approving real estate projects within their jurisdiction) are Trump National Golf Course and Terranea Resort (http://www.terranea.com/). I live right next door to Terranea Resort and have interviewed at the company, Lowe Enterprises, responsible for the development of that particular project.
Lowe
Enterprises first approached the City of Rancho Palos Verdes with its plans to
develop a massive, 5 star resort right smack dab on one of the last untouched
cliffs in PV about 10 years before the project was actually completed.
The City took many different factors into consideration when approving the project – impact on the environment, dissent from neighbors, revenue for the city only being a few factors in a very detailed and purposefully constraining process in analyzing the project a well-funded company wants to complete.
The City took many different factors into consideration when approving the project – impact on the environment, dissent from neighbors, revenue for the city only being a few factors in a very detailed and purposefully constraining process in analyzing the project a well-funded company wants to complete.
Development Hurdles Rancho Palos Verdes and Los Angeles
Politics & Environment
One of the biggest reasons why it took Lowe Enterprises 10 years to have Terranea approved by the City of Rancho Palos Verdes is the California Coastal Commission (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/). Distinct from land locked locations, but similar to the regulations regarding nature preserves, the CCC prohibits the development of new buildings generally "within 300 feet of a beach, mean high tide or bluff edge; within 100 feet of a wetland or stream; or on tidelands, submerged lands, or public trust lands" (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/cdp/appeals-faq.pdf)
"The California Coastal Act protects California’s coast through state and local government implementation of policies that safeguard state interests in coastal resources, including the provision of maximum public access and recreational opportunities to and along the shoreline." (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/cdp/appeals-faq.pdf)
CCC and incorporation of the city
Money
Trump golf course is just down the road from Terranea, and Mr. Trump, in addition to his current public relations nightmares, has had plenty of fights with the city politicians. Lawyers are rampant in the project approval process, simply because there is so much money tied up in whether a project is approved or not. Time is money in the development business, and more approval time means more money out of the developer's pocket.
People
Additionally, the city politicians have a duty to those citizens that elected them to take into consideration possible public dissent for the approval of the project. has to take into consideration
Politics & Environment
One of the biggest reasons why it took Lowe Enterprises 10 years to have Terranea approved by the City of Rancho Palos Verdes is the California Coastal Commission (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/). Distinct from land locked locations, but similar to the regulations regarding nature preserves, the CCC prohibits the development of new buildings generally "within 300 feet of a beach, mean high tide or bluff edge; within 100 feet of a wetland or stream; or on tidelands, submerged lands, or public trust lands" (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/cdp/appeals-faq.pdf)
"The California Coastal Act protects California’s coast through state and local government implementation of policies that safeguard state interests in coastal resources, including the provision of maximum public access and recreational opportunities to and along the shoreline." (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/cdp/appeals-faq.pdf)
CCC and incorporation of the city
Money
Trump golf course is just down the road from Terranea, and Mr. Trump, in addition to his current public relations nightmares, has had plenty of fights with the city politicians. Lawyers are rampant in the project approval process, simply because there is so much money tied up in whether a project is approved or not. Time is money in the development business, and more approval time means more money out of the developer's pocket.
People
Additionally, the city politicians have a duty to those citizens that elected them to take into consideration possible public dissent for the approval of the project. has to take into consideration
General Development Hurdles, Los Angeles
City of Los Angeles
More hurdles research all of them
Ceqa-
Los Angeles
Political positioning
Elizabeth Peterson Group - Difficulty in Los Angeles http://epgla.com/
To give you a better scope of the complexity and difficulty of project approval, : ....There
are consulting companies that specialize in the navigation of city politics,
and these companies are paid commission by large and small development
companies to expedite the real estate project approval process.
"is a land-use consulting and lobbying firm headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, specializing in hospitality, mixed-use, and adaptive reuse developments located in historic and urban communities."
"is a land-use consulting and lobbying firm headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, specializing in hospitality, mixed-use, and adaptive reuse developments located in historic and urban communities."
Significance of that difficulty - Why is this important
The question then is, is it right to stifle the development process through tight city policy There is a reason for all this regulation....
Urban Land Institute
"At the Urban Land Institute, our mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide." (http://la.uli.org/about-us/)
The negative Alternative - Ghost Cities in China
The question then is, is it right to stifle the development process through tight city policy There is a reason for all this regulation....
Urban Land Institute
"At the Urban Land Institute, our mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide." (http://la.uli.org/about-us/)
The negative Alternative - Ghost Cities in China
http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-ghost-cities-in-2014-2014-6
occupation vs empty
occupation vs empty
economic
implications of the ghost cities in china – Australia and china
shanghai
stock market
No
functional purpose
-research list:
1- reliable source on major players in government in the City of Los Angeles: Urban Land Institute:
2- reliable source on the major regulations City of LA & RPV imposes on companies who want to get a project approved
3- reliable source on Terranea Resort:
4- reliable source on the ghost cities in china
5- epg http://epgla.com/
5- personal research from the interviews I’ve conducted with people who work in the real estate industry and in the city of RPV, as well as experience working with my parents
random
notes
Unincorporated county –
less stringent planning
Cities are incorporated
Incorporated so that
there was more stringent regulation
Rpv incorporated
Urban
planning institute**
Uli
Naiop
Livia -
ReplyDeleteI do think that your topic could be a little too broad right now. How about choosing one particular project and describing all the aspects of its completion? Like the Terrena Resort? You could speak as the developer. Also, the introduction is a little bit long - maybe combine The Skyline and The View paragraphs into one. Otherwise, I love how you have a topic that you love so much... you want to talk about it all!
Thanks Corinne!
DeleteI concur with Corinne's last comment -- your passion and interest make it a joy to help you get where you want to go with this assignment. Because I was just skimming, didn't get why you went to "ghost cities," so other than a brief mention of them as "worst case scenario" type of things, I'd go more toward what Corinne is advocating -- take us through an actual "case study" scenario. Was this helpful? Oh -- your question to me was about sources. Your notes for 1, 2, and 5 under research list look good -- basically, anywhere you went to get information is a valid source. If you want, you and I can look at your sources on Wednesday before you turn the final draft in.
ReplyDeleteYes, very helpful. I'll go through the sources with you on Wednesday. Thanks!
Delete