City Council (D4): Joan Pelico

Development

Is City Hall doing a good job handling development projects? If so, why? If not, how would change it?

My thoughts on development are the same from Hollywood to Miracle Mile, from Sherman Oaks to the Hillside communities, and every other part of the District. No more, in CD4. No more out of compliance and out of character development. We need to bring the community to the table with development to create an open and transparent discussion to achieve a project that successfully fits in our community. Concerns with development have been long standing and all share similar concerns and impacts, namely traffic. I believe we need to begin coordinating development and looking at the larger picture versus patchwork approvals. I believe in smart development, which also means smart construction. I will ensure coordination to the best of our ability with City Departments so city maintenance and private construction respects each other and residents to help minimize traffic impacts. We need to all open up your calendars for transparent coordination. This includes coordinating the Westside Subway extension with other projects along transit corridors. I will also look into funding to turn the Orange Line into light rail. If this option is not viable, we will need to look into increasing frequency of our major public transit lines to optimize use. We also need to work closely with ATSAC to ensure light timing is optimized in our highly traveled neighborhoods. I also vow to take public transportation once a week. I will also call upon my colleagues and neighborhood leaders and residents to join me if they work downtown.

City Hall power

Do you believe any particular interest – labor, business, or something else — has too much power at City Hall? If so, how would you counteract that power?

There is a serious trust gap that we need to bridge. We need to sit down with every department general manager and have an honest and open discussion about staffing, efficiency and transparency. We need to work together so the Unions trust the City, and the people can once again trust both the city staff and its elected officials.

Underserved neighborhoods

Council District 4 includes an unusual array of neighborhoods, from Sherman Oaks to Los Feliz to Hancock Park. Do you believe any parts of the district have been underserved, and if so, how would you rectify that?

I am the real community oriented candidate. One of my major pushes from the start will be improving the delivery of services to our constituents. As mentioned above, on day one every resident and business in the 4th District will get fantastic, friendly, responsive and effective service from my office and staff. I know what is more important and what I want to change is how Department staff treat the public. Public service is exactly that but, somehow that message has been largely lost within the City bureaucracy. I believe part of implementing Mayor Garcetti’s “back to basics” approach to government is assuring that every City employee has been trained in customer service, that every call to City Hall is returned within 24-hours if not within the same day, and that every service from pothole repair to bulky item pick-up has specific performance goals based on data, that performance is tracked and reported and that Department leadership is held responsible for that performance. We need a system in place that supports the good City employees and can handle the staff that is not.

District issues

What do you see as the three biggest issues facing CD4, and what concrete proposals would you make to address those issues?

The 4th District is made up of amazing neighborhoods, parks, landmarks, businesses and most of all diverse, hard-working, passionate residents. Far too often City Hall has been an obstacle rather than partner to neighborhood revitalization, building new parks, bringing life to our historic buildings, attracting and retaining jobs and making good use of taxpayer funds.

As I am sure every candidate has said, there are more than three issues facing a new Councilmember, especially in the 4th Council District. To me, the issues facing the 4th Council District starts and ends with Constituents Services. A few issues I will take up on day one are below-

Responsiveness- a Council Office must be responsive. I will bring real customer service to City Hall. On day one every resident and business in the 4th District will get fantastic, friendly, responsive and effective service from my office and staff. I know what is important and what needs to change about how Department staff treats the public. Public service is exactly that but somehow this message has been largely been lost within the City bureaucracy. I know part of implementing Mayor Garcetti’s “back to basics” approach to government is assuring that every City employee has been trained in customer service, that every call to City Hall is returned within 24-hours if not within the same day, and that every service from pothole repair to bulky item pick-up has specific performance goals based on data, that performance is tracked and reported and that Department leadership is held responsible for that performance.

We need to find realistic solutions to fix our infrastructure – Streets, sidewalks, trees, water pipes, power lines, sewer pipes: these are the backbone of City and they are broken, crumbling, exploding and leaking. The good news is there are solutions. My passion is Public Works and I will continue the work I have already done to restore services like tree-trimming, expand street resurfacing through efficiency, partnership and partnering with the County and private-sector to acquire more asphalt and aggregate for less. I will expand ongoing efforts to bring transparency to DWP and will establish a goal and implementation plan to upgrade our water and power infrastructure. I have too much experience helping residents and businesses recover after DWP water pipes, over one-hundred years in age, exploded and spilled water and damage in all directions. Fixing our infrastructure is not just about cost-avoidance, liability and reliability, it is about creating a world-class city that has a solid, stable background where families and businesses can take roots, grow and flourish.

The Hollywood Sign- The current situation is not acceptable. Fire risk, vandalism, congestion on service roads never meant for tourist traffic and very real impacts on neighbors have led to most access to the sign being blocked off. I don’t think this is a yes or no question. I support carefully controlled and limited access to the sign. One of my first actions in office will be to bring all sides together and see what we can work out in terms of respectful controlled pedestrian access to the area.

This issue is not unique to the Hollywood sign, whether it is Runyon Canyon or portions of Griffith Park, we cannot allow our public spaces to become victims of their own success. We have to find a way to protect these resources, respect the neighbors that live around them and allow visitors who want to visit in a respectful and low-impact manner to do so.

And the obvious issue that Council District 4 must address- Out of scale and out of character development. The Council Office must have the ability to bring stakeholders together. I have worked every day and will work every day to find solutions all sides can support but in the real world you often have controversy and passionate disagreement. Whether it is the Planning Department working on the Hollywood Community Plan Update, the Sign Ordinance fiasco, development of a new hotel, a small restaurant asking for an alcohol license, or the finding the right permit parking solution, I have a track record of bringing folks together, easing tension and finding solutions. My ability to roll-up my sleeves, mediate disputes, and find solutions means projects will move forward fasters, it will mean less expensive litigation and it will mean a more business-friendly District 4.

Budget

What three steps would you take to help balance the city budget?

I will always be honest with you and I think our City budget should reflect that same honesty. I feel it would be dishonest to say we can simply strip away existing pension benefits and liabilities for today’s employees. I support the second tier for new employees. I support negotiating greater contributions by employees to their own healthcare costs. I also think that if we are honest we have to acknowledge that despite that pension costs for legacy employees will be an enormous cost and we just have to deal with it – there is no magic solution to make it go away.

To address the structural deficit we have to limit future liabilities, both in terms of pension and healthcare but also trying to reduce the lawsuit buffet that is sidewalk slip and fall, LAPD and LAFD legal settlements. Most of all however we have to deliver services efficiently and we have to grow. Growth in employment and investment will do much more for improving our budget than yet another round of cuts to public services.

1. Challenging existing service delivery to do more with less – as I mentioned my passion is Public Works. The problem with our streets for example is not just an issue of funding. It is an issue of the equipment used, how the asphalt is purchased, inefficient labor rules and practices, and targeting individual problems rather than systematically upgrading our entire system. We can correct these issues and be able to do more with less.

2. Concentrating on core service delivery – when the economic downfall first hit, the City’s response was largely to cut everything, roughly similar amounts and still continue trying to do everything and doing almost everything poorly. Our priorities should be public safety and infrastructure. Given the choice between paving another street or funding a well-intentioned but ephemeral special program the choice is clear, my choice will always be the core service.

3. Invest in and facilitate growth – This means marketing Los Angeles as a place to start a business. This means a permitting system that is rational, predictable and efficient. Changes such as electronic plans a records will save the City and applicants both time and money.

4. Implement the BTAC recommendations –The City is not business friendly today, we have to completely change our approach not just tweak it to be “more” business friendly. I expect to see consolidation of classes and reduction of top rates to be in any budget I support. Reductions in business tax revenue will be more than offset by increases in sales and property taxes from increased business activity. An effective roadmap for business tax reform has existed since 2012 and the need has existed since far before then. The fact that Los Angeles has lost jobs since 1980 while it has gained roughly a million residents is not acceptable and in reality is a public policy problem with consequences far beyond jobs, draining the City’s fiscal position, challenging efforts to eradicate gangs and poverty, and challenging our image of Los Angeles as a place of innovation and opportunity.

5. Use real data to program services and evaluate progress – The City has amazing parks and should provide programs that communities want and need in those parks. Unfortunately we parks programming based not on what surveys reflect or demonstrated need – we deliver programming based on what we did last year and what staff prefers. This is true in every single department. The world has undergone a big data revolution but inside the walls of City Hall decisions are still made based on inertia and oral tradition not hard facts. I expect departments to explain the cost per foot of new sewer pipe in our City versus others and the private sector, I expect us to set goals, meet them and improve year over year.

Bad decisions

Are there any major decisions in CD4 over the past three years that you would have opposed?

The decision to open up the Hollywood Sign. The current situation is not acceptable. Fire risk, vandalism, congestion on service roads never meant for tourist traffic and very real impacts on neighbors have led to most access to the sign being blocked off. I don’t think this is a yes or no question. I support carefully controlled and limited access to the sign. One of my first actions in office will be to bring all sides together and see what we can work out in terms of respectful controlled pedestrian access to the area.

This issue is not just unique to the Hollywood sign, whether it is Runyon Canyon or portions of Griffith Park, we cannot allow our public spaces to become victims of their own success. We have to find a way to protect these resources, respect the neighbors that live around them and allow visitors who want to visit in a respectful and low-impact manner to do so.

Standing out

In such a crowded race, what makes you different?

The 4th District is made up of amazing neighborhoods, parks, landmarks, businesses and most of all diverse, hard working, passionate residents. Far too often City Hall has been an obstacle rather than partner to neighborhood revitalization, building new parks, bringing life to our historic buildings, attracting and retaining jobs and making good use of taxpayer funds. I am running because the taxpayers deserve better City services, deserve a more efficient City Hall and prioritizes customer service and job creation.

I have enough experience within City Hall to know what works and what doesn’t, where the waste is and where the realistic opportunities for improvement lie. I am also a mother, a homeowner and I’ve run a business and a vocational school, in this City. When I put this experience together I see real problems and real solutions. These solutions require change and require embracing technology, they require private sector partnerships and they require major changes to how public employees do business. They also are absolutely necessary because the residents and businesses of Los Angeles deserve nothing less than an efficient and effective local government.

The community has a lot of choices in this particular election but I feel there are several factors that set me apart:

Ability to Bring Stakeholders Together – I have worked every day and will work every day to find solutions all sides can support but in the real world you often have controversy and passionate disagreement. Whether it is the development of a new hotel, a small restaurant asking for an alcohol license, or the finding the right permit parking solution, I have a track record of bringing folks together, easing tension and finding solutions. My ability to roll-up my sleeves, mediate disputes, and find solutions means projects will move forward fasters, it will mean less expensive litigation and it will mean a more business-friendly Hollywood.

Finding Realistic Solutions to Fix Our Infrastructure – Streets, sidewalks, trees, water pipes, power lines, sewer pipes: these are the backbone of City and they are broken, crumbling, exploding and leaking. The good news is there are solutions. My passion is Public Works and I will continue the work I have already done to restore services like tree-trimming, expand street resurfacing through efficiency, partnership and partnering with the County and private-sector to acquire more asphalt and aggregate for less. I will expand ongoing efforts to bring transparency to DWP and will establish a goal and implementation plan to upgrade our water and power infrastructure. I have too much experience helping residents and businesses recover after DWP water pipes, over one-hundred years in age, exploded and spilled water and damage in all directions. Fixing our infrastructure is not just about cost-avoidance, liability and reliability, it is about creating a world-class city that has a solid, stable background where families and businesses can take roots, grow and flourish.

Bringing Real Customer Service to City Hall – On day one every resident and business in the 4th District will get fantastic, friendly, responsive and effective service from my office and staff. I think what is more important is what I want to change about how Department staff treat the public. Public service is exactly that but somehow that message has been largely been lost within the City bureaucracy. I believe part of implementing Mayor Garcetti’s “back to basics” approach to government is assuring that every City employee has been trained in customer service, that every call to City Hall is returned within 24-hours if not within the same day, and that every service from pothole repair to bulky item pick-up has specific performance goals based on data, that performance is tracked and reported and that Department leadership is held responsible for that performance.

A Cheerleader and Champion for the District WITH SUBSTANCE – The 4th District has always had enthusiastic representation. I cannot think of a better City booster than Tom LaBonge and I have big shoes to fill. I will be a champion for the City, for the 4th District and for Hollywood. While booster is certainly part of the Councilmember job, I offer so much more, in a word, substance. I will not only be accessible to the Chamber and stakeholders throughout the District, I will be engrossed in the issues. When it comes to attracting a new employer to Hollywood, I will be in the meetings, I will put together the deal points, I will bring the players together. Like all Councilmembers, I will have a staff but I promise to remain fiercely independent, accessible and dedicated bringing solutions to the District.

Infrastructure

What steps would you take to address L.A.’s failing pipes and other aging infrastructure, and how would you fund those steps?

I know Public Works. I have had to respond to water main blow outs, and I have seen the impacts these water main blow outs have had on our residents, our traffic, and how our city is viewed by its tax payers. I was there to respond to the Sunset Water Main Blowout that greatly impacted UCLA and Pauley Pavilion. When Coldwater Canyon had its blowout, I was the voice that demanded action from the DWP and made sure that vital artery was opened promptly for residents and businesses. I held the hand of many who were affected by the blow out and challenged some of the reimbursements offered to the constituents so that at least the residents could feel whole again. We need real leadership to expedite responses to these major issues and move forward on work that has been approved by cutting bureaucratic red tape and identify new streams of funding that will help make our departments more self-sustaining and efficient.

One of the many informational and transparent ideas whose status will be provided on my website to show my honest and transparent approach to policy that our taxpayers deserve. We need our constituent to always be informed on ideas and projects that I, as their representative, am working on. I promise to work with Public Works to turn our aging Concrete Plants into a self-sustaining, self-efficient and beneficial to the City of Los Angeles. The City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services has operated asphalt plant 1 since 1915 and the current facility has been in operation since 1947. I have been discussion with the Bureau, proposals to reconstruct the facility with new more efficient mix technology. Right now the plant is capable of producing 180 tons of asphalt. The new asphalt plant would be capable of producing 400 tons, therefore the enhanced production capacity provides an opportunity to sell, not for profit, asphalt to other governmental agencies such as the County and other surrounding cities. Savings generated for having other agencies pay for direct and indirect costs can be reinvested to fund more miles of pavement preservation in the City of LA. This means, more streets are being resurfaced or fixed.

Minimum wage

Do you support increasing the citywide minimum wage, and if so, to what amount and by what year?

The Mayor’s office claims there are currently 567,000 wage earners in L.A. whose annual incomes will rise under the proposed law. Will this raise be enough to lift these workers out of poverty? Why should the Sierra Club even ask about raising the minimum wage? I support raising the minimum wage, but we need to ensure this is done carefully and with the input of all business interests, including local mom and pops.

Business tax

Do you think the city should reduce or eliminate its gross receipts tax on businesses? If so, how quickly should it do so, and how can the city replace the revenue it provides?

The City is not business friendly today, we have to completely change our approach not just tweak it to be “more” business friendly. My three priorities are straightforward: 1) implement business tax reform consistent with the BTAC recommendations; 2) provide a rational, predictable and efficient permit system; and 3) improve partnerships between schools, business and city hall. To add a fourth and fifth item effectively marketing Los Angeles to the world and remembering all job sectors in our economic programs are priorities for me.

An effective roadmap for business tax reform has existed since 2012 and the need has existed since far before then. The fact that Los Angeles has lost jobs since 1980 while it has gained roughly a million residents is not acceptable and in reality is a public policy problem with consequences far beyond jobs, draining the City’s fiscal position, challenging efforts to eradicate gangs and poverty, and challenging our image of Los Angeles as a place of innovation and opportunity. None of this is news to the Chamber.

I was pleased that the Mayor included business tax reform in his budget although disappointed that is really was only discussed, not implemented. The Mayor did set a goal of the first cut occurring on January 1, 2016. This decision has been left to Council and will be one of the most important actions the new Councilmember will take. I support implementing the plan in the 2012 BTAC report, I do not see value in re-engineering that plan or picking winners or losers among lobbying industries and special interests.

Cutting the business tax is the right thing to do, it will however be very difficult. In the coming months we will continue to see economic recovery, improving City revenues and some improvement in employment. Some will seek this time to spend every dollar of new revenue and then some on services or pet projects, labor will seek aggressive raises and opponents of tax reform will misuse the improvements in employment to argue against the need for reform.

The bottom line is I had a successful business in Los Angeles but between the taxes and the permitting process, I would probably locate in an adjacent jurisdiction instead. I am amazed every day at the hard work entrepreneurs do in this City, often with new obstacles every day from City Hall rather thanks and encouragement. I have worked to assist restaurants, boutiques and other businesses to open in this City but we cannot expect them to be successful and we as a City cannot be successful if we remain the most expensive and one of the most complicated places in the state to open a business.

Business tax is not the only reason the City lags in job creation, next on that list is the City’s permitting process. This is not a new issue and many have tried to solve it: Richard Riordan only partially succeeded with “One-Stop” centers, Jim Hahn expanded adaptive reuse but could not tackle the growing building and safety (LADBS) as well as planning (DCP) bureaucracies, and Villaraigosa tried and failed with 10 to 2, then development reform, then a LADBS/DCP merger. I have no intention of offering yet another grand plan that in reality has little or no chance of being successfully implemented. What I can offer is reasonable improvement each year toward a goal of a rational, predictable and efficient process, and an advocate in my office to resolve permitting disputes and speed up the process.

What I believe we can accomplish is making sure all permitting services are truly available in one location, that project managers are assigned to projects so applicants have a single point of contact who can be held accountable for the entire project. I know we can join the 21st century and allow electronic submittal of plans and an ability to work through plan-check corrections remotely and quickly. I know we can complete the rewrite of the City’s ancient zoning code and I know we can use technology to explain the City process and make it understandable from the home remodel to the new hotel high-rise. Essential to development reform is changing the approach of our City staff and Departments. My goals for customer service discussed in the introduction cut straight to this issue. When someone is trying to invest in our City and create jobs, staff should be working to find solutions not problems and phone calls should never go unanswered or ignored.

To add a third reason the City lags in job growth it is our schools. This cuts several ways, employers do not want to move to Los Angeles due to the quality of schools for their children, employers worry that the workforce in Los Angeles does not have the skills needed for their business, and less discussed Los Angeles simply does a poor job of connecting schools at all levels to the business community. I believe my role is to make those connections and then stay out of the way. As a staff member and a parent I have worked with school to open, expand, fundraise and succeed. I want to make sure businesses are connected to colleges, that students have a reason to stay in Los Angeles after graduation. The City’s summer jobs program is fantastic but those types of connections should be happening all year long with all levels of education and all sorts of businesses. I have no allusions of fixing LAUSD from City Hall but I do feel there is a lot we can do to work better together and forge partnerships.

In closing I want to mention that we have to market Los Angeles not only as a tourist destination but also as a place to do business with access to amazing markets and resources. Many candidates will talk about retaining entertainment industry jobs and production (myself included) but I wanted to mention that I understand all jobs matter, high-tech jobs are not all that matter and our economic approach needs to reflect building a base of employment from the waiter to the brick-layer to the graphic designer and up to the studio executive. I look forward to working with you on all of these initiatives.

Ontario airport

Do you support returning control of LA/Ontario International Airport to the city of Ontario? Why or why not? Should the airport be sold or simply be transferred back? If you support a sale, what do you think is an appropriate price?

I am a big believer in local control and I believe Ontario should control their airport. I am however also a champion of the taxpayer and the City cannot simply give a valuable asset away. I support a sale at a price that is reasonable in terms of appraisal and reasonable compared to what private operators or other bidders may offer.

Greek Theatre

Which company do you believe should be awarded the Greek Theatre contract – Nederlander-AEG or Live Nation? Why?

It would be unfair for me to chime in on this decision, knowing Councilmember LaBonge has been working closely with the Department of Recreation and Parks and the community. It would also be unfair for me to make a conclusion without having all the details to properly discuss and make the best, community oriented, decision. I understand there are a lot of residents who support the current operator and have been involved in the public hearing process, which I strongly support. I also understand Rec and Parks has made a recommendation for Live Nation. This decision will be made by Councilmember LaBonge and I respect what he and the community, through an open and transparent public hearing process, comes to.