News & Publications

Community input and engagement are a vital part of land use planning. Getting the community, including adjacent and nearby landowners involved in a positive way, however, can be challenging. Doing so often requires a concerted effort by community groups, developers, individual stakeholders, and planning practitioners. A well-thought-out and organized approach using the following best practices for engaging with the community is advisable: Identify Your Audience: Know the Community To productively engage with a community, it [...]

The City of Los Angeles's Planning Department is proposing an expansion to the City's innovative adaptive reuse policies. Specifically, the City is proposing to amend Sections 12.03, 12.22 A.26, 12.24 X and 16.05 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) and Adaptive Reuse Incentive Areas Specific Plan (Ordinance No. 175,038) in an attempt to reshape the Los Angeles cityscape from 2023 to 2025 by converting vacant commercial spaces into dwelling units, guest rooms or joint [...]

Many property owners aren't aware of the potential risks associated with the booming short-term rental industry. First things first for financial advisors with clients who are renting out their second homes: Make sure they get paid for the entire season upfront, not month-to-month. Americans are getting out of town in droves this summer, with 64% planning to rent vacation properties. Unfortunately, many first-time rental property owners aren't aware of the potential risks associated with the [...]