Q&A with Bill Roschen

Interviewer: Aden Kun

Bill Roschen was one of the founding principals of Roschen Van Cleve Architects in 1987 with the intention of establishing a community-oriented, urban architectural practice. Reflective of Roschen's commitment to the public realm, the firm has a portfolio of mixed use, adaptive reuse, transit-oriented design, housing, urban campus design, affordability in "green" design, and historic preservation. He has served as a California State Commissioner and is currently the president of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission.

What new or encouraging initiatives do you see coming forth over the next 12-24 months?
Our city’s reality is being dramatically reshaped by budget cuts including furloughs and early retirement. The planning department is being especially hard hit. One third of our planning staff is eligible for early retirement.

Gail Goldberg, Planning’s Director, has focused her department and our commission on these harsh conditions. She has done an exceptional job defining the impacts on each work program to be able to prepare and reorganize the department. This means that any new work programs are highly unlikely. A high priority for the department and the commission is the Mayor’s 12-to-2 department streamlining, and Gail has highlighted the efficiencies the planning department can create through this new program. These efficiencies may be one of the few opportunities to keep some of our core priorities moving. The commission has recognized the unprecedented staffing compromises facing our planning department and we are focused to help in Gail’s efforts to save as many work programs as she can continue, but certainly not to make matters worse by adding to an already unachievable workload.

Within these boundaries,  one of the commission’s priorities continues to be how to encourage and support development during these bleak economic times. Flexibility for entitlements is a key issue. The commission has been discussing the options with staff and reaching out to the development community for ideas on how best to achieve this, and we always welcome input.

How can government policy help stimulate or promote sustainable affordable housing?
Recognizing the need for affordable housing has been a high priority for this commission from the start four years ago. The ability for a neighborhood to provide affordable housing to its workers is key to a sustainable city. Living where you work may very well be the most important move to support Los Angeles as a livable city. Affordable housing is also traffic mitigation housing.

From a planning perspective, a livable affordable city is the goal. Our commission continues to encourage affordability in every neighborhood especially where substantial development could change the equation for living where you work.

Given that there is a lack of supply of affordable housing, why focus on green? Isn’t it more costly to build? If energy bills are 30% cheaper, how long would it take to recapture additional expenses?
Green design and affordable housing go hand in hand. Both provide for a sustainable city which is not just a goal but a vivid necessity if Los Angeles is to thrive as a livable city.

The cost of green building has been discussed over the years as increasing construction costs by 5% or less. As more projects, manufacturers, contractors and design professionals increase their commitment to green building that premium is dropping dramatically. The payback is very real but the increase in upfront cost has traditionally slowed the industry’s ability to accept it. At our Commission we are seeing more and more developers embrace a green building strategy. I have been especially impressed by the number of developers who have become champions for green building and are leading the change in the building industry.

Green building is about energy costs but also about healthy environments. Providing sustainable affordable healthy housing must become an priority for all cities. In LA we have seen political leadership and private champions that are helping to define and transform our city through these policies but we will need many more of these leaders to complete this vision.

What are the benefits of a Sign District? What is your take on the emergence of digital billboards dotting the City?
Sign districts should be considered as a promising way to rid over 95% of the city from billboards and digital billboards. The proposed sign ordinance the CPC recommended to city council required taking down signs from large areas surrounding the sign districts in exchange for the new signs within the districts. It is a good balance for both pro-signs and anti-visual blight and a good urban design strategy. First, it provides incentives to remove billboards that exist from neighborhoods that are inappropriate for signs, which is one of the only ways to rid the city of grandfathered billboards. Second, the sign districts are defined to shape and articulate urban neighborhood districts that can benefit from the visual energy of billboards combining with the urban energy of commercial streets to help craft neighborhood place making and identity.

Sign districts need to be well considered, well defined and continually reviewed during implementation for an urban community to receive the optimal benefits. However, this is true for good urban design in general. The advantage of a successful sign district can include a community identity, and when appropriate, vibrant visual urban language and neighborhood specific design innovation or “place making.” Our commission’s recommendation is still being considered by city council as the basis for the new ordinance.

Neighborhoods that want to attract development can also benefit from the sign district as a development tool. But for me the bottom line is the question: can we create better urban neighborhoods through sign districts? I think in select, unique locations the answer is yes we can, and we can better the rest of the city at the same time. 

What is the City’s role on Signage?
Two major things: First is a successful policy that balances appropriate sign locations with visual blight reduction. I believe the proposed ordinance maintains this as the first mission. Second, enforcement must be key. The proposed ordinance has greatly increased penalties and increased liabilities for illegal signage. Historically this has been a problem for the city, and the city council now has the opportunity to change that.

Would you like to add anything in conclusion?
A priority for me on the commission has been raising the bar on urban design and architectural design, and I believe that LA is ready for this next step. Mayor Antonio Villaragosa has been a champion for good design. Councilman Eric Garcetti and others on the city council have been as well. Fundamentally, good design means a collective vision for our city involving engaged citizens, city professionals and departments; design professionals, and city leadership. It is vital for our many diverse neighborhoods to carefully consider our environments. Development should improve our communities, not compromise them.

My experience as an architect on the commission tells me we can and must achieve this. With the improved focus of many city departments, continued enthusiasm of the design profession, and with the many neighborhood voices now contributing to the discussion, we are a city taking stock of where we are. We are ready to dramatically improve our environments.

Gail’s enthusiasm for the many new community plans that the planning department is working on speaks to this defining change. The urban design studio which is a recent addition to the planning department under Gail’s direction and our commission’s encouragement is another significant improvement. Leadership in the arena of environmental and urban design will benefit and transform our city. As a city volunteer and LA enthusiast, I am encouraged about a renewed focus on our environments through community involvement and great design. I reach out to all who share this optimism and are currently working towards this goal.

Aden W. Kun is a principal with Silver Ridge Capital, a UDMUC Council member and a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School. He can be reached at akun@silverridgecap.com.