The Human Teardown
Audit levels Andrew Adelman and his chaotic reign at L.A.’s building department
Meanwhile, Velasquez granted Beglari’s opponents “leeway” last week to act as prosecutors in the quasi-criminal contempt trial of Adelman. They will be issuing subpoenas for communications between Beglari and building department inspectors and officials, and internal correspondence regarding the matter. Their subpoena power extends to the department’s computer hard drives. With respect to Beglari and his lenders, Velasquez stated, “Quite possibly, notice to the lender is in order at this point. There’s a lot of fine print involved. Maybe someone needs a good lawyer.” Of the case in general, Velasquez observed, “The parties may want to consider how to resolve this matter. Before anyone starts chopping down trees, you don’t want to forget the forest.”
SCRUTINY OF THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT has been under way for some time. City Administrative Officer Bill Fujioka recently advised the mayor that revenue from building permits, which are paid for in advance of inspection services, has increased from $74 million to $112 million in recent years. The CAO recommended hiring more than 70 new inspectors to deal with staff burnout, backlogs in inspections and increased liability risks. Chick’s audit states that the city has lost out on more than $6 million as a result of backlogged inspections and failure to collect noncompliance fees. She found 150,000 permits that expired last year without final approval, more than 13,600 unresolved code violations and 45 percent of inspectors reviewed who failed to meet state law training requirements.
Chick’s findings, which point to poor management, come at a critical time of growth with developer controversies escalating across the city. None of this is lost on city officials, who are climbing over each other to appear to be addressing the problem. Councilman Tom LaBonge has introduced an initiative to check the “mansionization” of Los Angeles, and Councilwoman Wendy Greuel is pushing one regarding slope density, which refers to infrastructure and environmental concerns related to increased development in hillside areas. On Tuesday, the Planning and Land Use Management Committee approved an interim control ordinance that would authorize the study of environmental effects of development in the northeast hillside communities. A full year into his mayoral term, Villaraigosa is just now installing planning commissioners that share his “green vision” for Los Angeles. Otherwise, the city has been wide open for business.
Area residents who have seen what the building department — and City Hall — are made of remain skeptical. “It’s like a window display at Macy’s,” said one Laurel Canyon resident on Tuesday, after the flurry of corrective activity.
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