The ‘Game of Zones’ in the City of Angels

Time for Youth Sports to Play the ‘Game of Zones’ in Los Angeles

It is the urban version of ‘Game Of Thrones’: neighborhoods win, or they die.

Just ask any community which has had a freeway slammed through it, or a project spot zoned in it.

Furthermore, youth sports MUST care about how this game is played in the halls of civic power across Southern California with regard to desperately needed playable field space. That is, space suited to team sports requiring an acre or more to be safely played.

Los Angeles’ future transit stations will come with ginormous density baked into the one half mile planning radius which surrounds them--LA Times article on LA traffic battle plan and this density will come completely without critical field space recreation infrastructure to accommodate accelerated growth unless youth sports organizations unite and stand up to be counted.

And, how about this op-ed: massive upzoning for a 'sustainable city'.

In Los Angeles, an update [OurLA2040] to the city’s guiding planning document, the General Plan Framework Element, has begun.

TAKE the survey: ourla2040.org https://ourla2040.org/get-involved/ and specify multipurpose field space.

The 35 individual Community Plans are to be updated separately.

Community planners are already working to create a point based rewards system to incorporate various density bonuses for developers who include public benefits in their projects: community facilities, transit amenities, streetscape improvements and the like. From the January 2015 Draft Exposition Corridor Transit Neighborhood Plan | 3-3: “Projects in the Plan area are allowed additional development rights in exchange for providing public benefits in the form of on-site project features or off-site improvements. These public benefits are intended to be proportional to the intensity of the project”.

This planning process is where efforts must be targeted.

Time to get multipurpose playable field space recognized in the City’s General Plan Framework Element Goals, Objectives, and Policies: Chapter 9, Infrastructure and Public Services as a core public value.

Time to get rewards for multipurpose playable field space written into Community Plans.

There is a powerful constituency in youth baseball, soccer, football, lacrosse, field hockey and all other large field sports [BTW, if all youth sports unite, that’s enough voters to get any politician’s attention].

It’s the Game of Zones in Los Angeles and its game time: where will YOUR children play?