Sdat Press Package 111909

On December 2-4, 2009, the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council will begin an intensive planning process in support of its community greening strategy with the assistance of a national team of experts. Get involved and help us meet our sustainability goals for a more livable, affordable, and efficient urban center.

community-driven change AIA Center for Communities by Design Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) Program

Our SDAT GOALS The SDAT program is a national community assistance program sponsored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) that focuses on the principles of sustainability. SDATs bring teams of volunteer professionals to work with community decision-makers and stakeholders to help them develop a vision and framework for a sustainable future. This is the first time a Neighborhood Council has been awarded a national grant for sustainability planning and is an opportunity to foster a culture of sustainability at the grassroots level. With community input, the Sustainability Committee of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council has developed the following project goals for the SDAT to address through this process: • A well-connected, balanced Downtown with physically, socially, and economically integrated nodes of activity at the neighborhood level; streetscapes that support pedestrian activity; and an adequate amount of open space that is well-maintained, and accessible. • City services to improve sustainability that are coordinated between Departments and easily understood and accessed by Downtown stakeholders. • Neighborhood Councils with the capacity and structure to be a model for for achieving sustainability goals at the grassroots level. The action plan should be transferrable across the City of Los Angeles to other Neighborhood Councils. • An actionable strategy for improving sustainability Downtown that can be implemented by the Neighborhood Council and Steering Committee members. A Steering Committee representing the public, private and non-profit sectors and diverse Downtown stakeholder groups has been invited to participate in this process and help facilitate implementation. For a complete list, please view our website at

downtownsustainability.com

Day 1: Wednesday

The SCHEDULE

December 2, 2009 9:00am 10:00am

Project Team Meeting

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Downtown Tour with scheduled stops in City West, Skid Row/ Central City East, South Park, Arts District/LA River, Broadway, Fashion and Warehouse District.

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Downtown (map to be posted online 11/25)

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Central Public Library

4:00pm

Steering Committee Meeting

6:00pm

Community Mixer

To be announced

Day 2: Thursday

December 3, 2009 8:00am

10:00am

11:30am

1:00pm

Project Team Breakfast with City Council Members Invited: Councilmember Ed Reyes (CD1), Councilmember Jan Perry (CD9), Councilmember Jose Huizar (CD14) Working Group/Stakeholder Meeting 1: Downtown Business Improvement Strategies & Redevelopment Invited: Downtown BIDs, CRA/LA, Clean Tech LA, AEG, USGBC LA Chapter, SCI-Arc/Eric Owen Moss, Bringing Back Broadway • What redevelopment has occurred in recent years; • How is new development in downtown shaping the community and changing existing neighborhoods; • How can redevelopment be harnessed to foster overall improvements in downtown outside of specific locations; • How might redevelopment be sustained in a declining economic environment; and • What can targeted redevelopment do to sustain, attract, and improve local businesses?

Working Group/Stakeholder Meeting 2: Streetscape, Open Space, Placemaking & Transportation Invited: City of Los Angeles Planning Department, City of Los Angeles Dept. of Public Works, Metro, Pershing Square, Bike Advocate Stephen Box, Los Angeles Conservation Corps, Melendrez Design Partners • What are the main issues and opportunities in Downtown’s streets and sidewalks; • What projects are underway and what projects are needed to support a pedestrian-friendly environment; • What transit services exist downtown and how these services can be sustained; and • How can local neighborhoods within downtown relate to each other physically and nodes of activity be connected?

Lunch Break

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Central Public Library

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Central Public Library

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Community welcome Media welcome SDAT/Invitation only

Day 2: Thursday (continued)

December 3, 2009

Working Group/Stakeholder Meeting 3: Housing & Neighborhood Amenities Invited: Gilmore Associates, Mayor’s Office of Commercial & Residential Development, Skid Row Housing Trust, Chrysalis, Brady Westwater, MOCA 2:00pm

• What is the current housing market like in downtown for renters, owners, and the homeless population; • What are the main issues related to affordability and how can these be addressed; • What services are available to those who live, work, or visit downtown; • How much and what quality are existing open spaces; and • What opportunities exist to improve open space, amenities, and housing?

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Central Public Library

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Central Public Library

Working Group/Stakeholder Meeting 4: Neighborhood Governance & Community Leadership Invited: City of Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, CD1, CD9, CD14, Central City Association, Rotary Club of Los Angeles, Board of Neighborhood Commissioners 3:30pm

• How are local residents, workers, elected officials, and other community stakeholders engaged with one another and service providers around issues of sustainability; • What programs or structures exist that can be used to improve grassroots involvement in support of sustainability; • What services are currently available to improve sustainability and what gaps in services or access to services exist; and • How can other Neighborhood Councils get more involved with issues of sustainability?

5:00pm

Dinner Break

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7:00pm

SDAT Working Session Invited: Public is welcome to view this working session by the SDAT. A question period will be scheduled.

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To be announced

Day 3: Friday

December 4, 2009 All Day

SDAT works on report for public presentation

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6:00pm

Presentation of SDAT Preliminary Report Invited: Steering Committee Members, community members and other neighborhood councils are encouraged to attend.

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LAPD Headquarters Auditorium

8:00pm

Closing Reception

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To be announced

Community welcome Media welcome SDAT/Invitation only We are still looking for community partners to help us host and support the SDAT process Downtown. If you are interested in getting involved, please email us at

[email protected] This is an interim schedule and the final SDAT schedule will be posted online by November 25, 2009

The SDAT TEAM The AIA SDAT grant provides $15,000 to bring a team of professionals to our community to help us address issues of sustainability as outlined in our project goals. The following team members have been confirmed as participants (more to follow):

Walter Sedovic, AIA LEED AP

SDAT Project Lead

Mr. Sedovic is Principal & CEO of Walter Sedovic Architects, established in 1986. Following his 10-year tenure with the National Park Service in Boston and New York, working with historical sites of national significance, he formed a highly specialized office — dedicated to historic preservation and sustainable design — that provides the skill and resourcefulness gained through his NPS experience to cultural, institutional, commercial and private sites. The success of his firm’s approach is revealed in the consistent quality of its work since 1986; client satisfaction is demonstrated in the level of repeat business that the firm enjoys, particularly at sites where projects developed tend to be more comprehensive and complex. The firm’s numerous awards and media attention further attest to the respect and interest of its peers and the general population at large. Mr. Sedovic received his professional degree at the University of Kansas and was selected as the U.S. representative for the Architectural Conservation program at the International Centre for Conservation in Rome, Italy (ICCROM). He holds multiple licenses and is NCARB-certified to practice in all 50 states. A LEEDAccredited Professional, Mr. Sedovic, who has been selected as guest editor for the APTI Bulletin Special Issue on Sustainability and Preservation scheduled for 2009, has lectured and published widely on the subject of sustainability and its symbiotic relationship with historic preservation. His paper, “History’s Green Genes,” first presented at the Second International Conference on Sustainability (Greenbuild ® 2003), explored the genesis of sustainable design found in traditional building practices and opened avenues for preservation professionals to become better acquainted with sustainability advocates, and vice versa. In the vanguard of incorporating sustainable design technologies into virtually every one of his

firm’s preservation projects, the benefits of his vision and dedication are proving to have tangible and farreaching effects.

Jane Jenkins

Downtown Business Improvement Districts Jane Jenkins is the new President and CEO of Downtown Oklahoma City, Incorporated. Previously, Jane was Executive Director of the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District in Boulder, CO. With over 23 years experience in downtown revitalization and management, Jane is an internationally recognized speaker and expert on urban issues. She currently serves as Chairman for the International Downtown Association Board of Directors. As a former high school educator, Jane was named Teacher of the Year at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ms. Jenkins was born in Virginia and grew up in Charleston, SC. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts Education from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Texas in Denton. She taught secondary school in Chandler and Tulsa before beginning her downtown management career in Wagoner, OK as the Main Street Manager. After serving in the same capacity in Pawhuska, Jane moved to Denton, Texas where she managed the downtown development program there for eight years before joining the staff of the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the Regional Director of the Southwest Office in Fort Worth, TX. She accepted the position as the first director of the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District in 2000. Working through the National Main Street Center, Ms. Jenkins consults with many downtown programs across the US and Canada. She has also served on R/UDAT and SDAT teams for the AIA and been a member of IDA and ULI advisory panels.

Eve Picker

Urban Revitalization Eve Picker’s expertise in inner city regeneration, specifically downtowns, has earned her much recognition in the Pittsburgh community at large, and nationally as well. Pittsburghers have called her their ‘folk hero’. Her professional interests lie in the redevelopment and revitalization of the inner City

and its neighborhoods. Ms. Picker has led a varied professional career, as architect, city planner, urban designer, non-profit development specialist, real estate developer, publisher, event coordinator and economic development strategist. All of these have provided her with a rich understanding of how cities work, how deals get done, how downtowns can be revitalized, what policy needs to be in place, and the type of marketing that creates the buzz necessary for regeneration. After relocating to Pittsburgh, Ms. Picker became a senior urban designer at the City of Pittsburgh Planning Department at the same time launching a non-profit Community Development Corporation where she developed their first residential project and has continued to focus on the restoration of blighted buildings. In 1997 Ms. Picker launched no wall productions, inc. She built an entrepreneurial real estate company focused on downtown and urban neighborhoods that others have ignored, transforming neglected buildings into highly desirable loft-style residences and offices, and using that experience to provide innovative consulting and marketing within her agenda of “all things urban”. In 2001 Ms. Picker launched we do property management, inc., to manage her portfolio, and to provide 3rd party management and brokerage services as well. In early 2006, tired of waiting for others to trumpet the many good things happening in Pittsburgh, Ms. Picker launched an e-publication, Pop City, aimed at breaking the bad news cycle so typical of rust belt cities. Readership during her year and a half long tenure grew from 20,000 to 175,000. In September 2007, she launched the cityLIVE! event series. Now heading into its third year, the purpose of the monthly series is to change the conversation about Pittsburgh and the region, and to expose creative and intellectual talent that the city owns, speak to its transformation and create a community of people interested in all things Pittsburgh.

Paula Reeves

Bike/Pedestrian Planning Paula Reeves has been developing transportation projects for the State, cities, counties, and transit agencies for seventeen years. She currently manages the Community Design Assistance Branch at Washington State Department of Transportation

and serves on the Board of Directors for the American Planning Association Washington Chapter. In both these roles she provides a range of transportation planning and engineering services to cities, counties and transit agencies including: expert advise regarding transportation and livable communities, pedestrian and bicycle facility design expertise, safe routes to schools, scenic byways, and transportation planning support relative to Washington’s Growth Management Act. She has a broad transportation background that includes urban design, engineering, environmental experience, and is a trained mediator. She serves on the National Transportation Research Board’s Pedestrian Committee and the AASHTO committee responsible for developing national bicycle and pedestrian design guidance. She earned her master’s degree with engineering and law school course work in urban and regional planning from the University of Florida.

Robert Yakas, AIA

Urban Design & Sustainability With over 30 years in urban design, architecture, planning and transportation planning, in both the public and private sectors, Robert Yakas has led teams in all scales of community design projects. From individual site design to master planned residential communities utilizing Transit Oriented and Traditional Neighborhood Development strategies, He has worked successfully in the public and private sectors in short and long range planning, and on projects from concept through implementation. His international experience includes work in Mexico, Canada, Turkey, France, Japan and most recently in Johannesburg, South Africa. As a leader of and key member of design teams Mr. Yakas has been involved in major development projects for towns and cities from Alaska to Florida; transportation projects in Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado and Utah, and has lectured and presented at forums for the American Planning Association and the National Light Rail Transit Conference. He was an adjunct professor in the department of Urban and Regional Planning at Portland State University for 12 years teaching all the core urban design and site design courses offered in the graduate curriculum.

For the most current list of SDAT members, visit to our website: downtownsustainability.com

2009 American Planning Association - CA Chapter Award of Merit for Grassroots Initiative 2009 American Planning Association - LA Chapter Planning Excellence Award for Grassroots Initiative 2009 First Annual Neighborhood Council Peer Award for Environment

downtownsustainability.com Ashley Zarella Hand, LEED AP, Assoc. AIA Chair - Sustainability Committee Director, Area-Wide Workforce Private Sector (AECOM) Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Tel: 917-974-1891 Veronica Siranosian, AICP SDAT Project Lead - Sustainability Committee Tel: 562-896-0620 [email protected]