Villaraigosa unveils sleeker building permit process

During a press conference Tuesday at Farmers Insurance in Woodland Hills, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled details of the Strategic Development Plan, which includes staffing a single office with representatives of five separate permitting agencies.

"Their job is to make it easier for business to operate in our city," Villaraigosa said. "The red tape was really difficult to navigate."

The new Case Management Office has about 15 employees, all current city workers with the Planning, Building and Safety, Engineering, Transportation, and Water and Power departments.

Their central location on Figueroa Street will make it easier for developers to get their business taken care of in a single day, said Matthew Karatz, the deputy mayor for economics and business policy. In the past, it could take months for business owners to set up meetings with individual agencies at disparate locations.

"It's cost-effective, and it just makes sense," said Karatz, a former developer.

The streamlined permitting process should get a major workout next year, with the 1 million-square-foot Westfield Village at Topanga project that is now in the initial planning stages.