Judge: LA Planners Used Cryptic, Confusing Codes

An average person on the street has no idea what ENV-2007-2939-MND means and why should they? Highlighting some of the apparent shadiness that goes on in the city, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge has found that the city repeatedly violated the Brown Act by using "internal city codes to disguise key environmental matters," a ruling that'll ultimately change how environmental and land use information is announced to the public, reports the Daily Journal's Peter B. Matuszak. The case emerged when members of the La Mirada Avenue neighborhood sued over the Paseo Plaza project, a 437-unit development planned for Santa Monica Boulevard and Western Avenue More via the judge's ruling (DJ story not online): "The judge pointed out that all other items on at least six Planning Commission agendas were spelled out in simple understandable terms but that environmental matters to be taken up under CEQA were only mentioned in, "a cryptic reference like the following 'CEQA: ENV-2005-7720-EIR." Additionally, former Daily News editor Ron Kaye covers the ruling over at CityWatch.
· Judge Puts a Crack in City Hall’s ‘Circle of Deceit’—Demands Transparency in Agendas [City Watch]For more stories from Curbed LA, go to la.curbed.com.

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