Finance and Economics Discussion Series: Accessible versions of figures for 2016-020

# Does Zoning Help or Hinder Transit-Oriented (Re)Development?

## Accessible version of figures

#### Figure 1: Rail stations and employment centers in Los Angeles County

Figure 1 is a map of Los Angeles County, showing the location of Metro rail lines and employment centers, overlaid on city boundaries. The map illustrates both the considerable dispersion of employment across the county (a polycentric rather than monocentric pattern) and the relatively long distances and sparse coverage of the Metro rail system. Metro lines begin in Downtown Los Angeles (near the center of the map) and run northeast to Pasadena, south to Long Beach, west to Culver City, and northwest to North Hollywood. Stars mark the locations of the six case study stations: Civic Center and Pershing Square are in the map center in Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood/Vine and Vermont/Santa Monica are northwest of Downtown, Highland Park and Del Mar are northeast of Downtown. Gray shaded areas indicate the location of employment centers (as defined in Giuliano 2015). The largest employment center in LA County begins slightly east of Downtown LA and continues west along the Wilshire Corridor to Santa Monica on the Pacific Ocean. Four of the case study stations – Civic Center, Pershing Square, Vermont/Santa Monica, and Hollywood/Vine – are located within this largest employment center.

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#### Figure 2: Zoning around Downtown LA stations: Civic Center and Pershing Square

Figure 2 has two panels, mapping the zoning categories of land parcels around the Civic Center (top) and Pershing Square (bottom) stations. Roughly 60 percent of the land area within one-quarter mile of the Civic Center station is shaded dark green, indicating the parcels are zoned for “Public Facilities”. About 25 percent of the land is shaded bright pink, for “Commercial” zoning, and the remaining 15 percent is shaded orange, for “Multi-family residential”. The top panel also shows the location of three landmarks near the Civic Center station: Grand Avenue Park is located half a block north of the station, extending four blocks east-west, Los Angeles City Hall is located two blocks east of the station, and Disney Hall is two blocks west of the station. The lower panel shows that approximately 90 percent of the land within one-quarter mile of the Pershing Square Station is zoned for “Commercial”, with small amounts for “Multi-family Residential” and “Open Space”. The station is located immediately adjacent to the Pershing Square park, which is open space, and one block east of the Millenium Biltmore Hotel.

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#### Figure 3: Downtown LA rail stations: Civic Center and Pershing Square

Figure 3 consists of two photographs of the stations, illustrating the height and density of buildings surrounding each station. The top panel, Civic Center, shows the station entrance located in the midst of Grand Avenue Park, with the ziggurat-style Los Angeles City Hall in the distance and a high-rise office building (a county courthouse) in between. The bottom panel shows the Pershing Square station entrance, with the Square itself directly across the street, backed by the 19th century Biltmore Hotel (roughly 12 stories high) and much taller office buildings in the background.

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#### Figure 4: Zoning around Hollywood stations: Hollywood/Vine and Vermont/Santa Monica

Figure 4 has two panels, mapping the zoning categories of land parcels around the Hollywood/Vine (top) and Vermont/Santa Monica (bottom) stations. Roughly 90 percent of the land area within one-quarter mile of the Hollywood/Vine station is shaded bright pink, for “Commercial” zoning, and most of the remainder is shaded orange, for “Multi-family residential”, with a few scattered parcels of “Public Facilities”. The Hollywood/Vine station is directly beneath the W Hollywood Hotel, across the street from the Pantages Theater and on the same block as a Trader Joe’s grocery store. The lower panel shows that the parcels immediately facing the two major streets of the Vermont/Santa Monica station (Santa Monica Boulevard runs east-west, Vermont runs north-south) are zoned for “Commercial” uses, essentially forming a narrow cross shape in the middle of the map. The Los Angeles City College campus begins one block south of the station and occupies a single large parcel, equivalent to roughly 4 city blocks. It is zoned for Public Facilities. Other than these areas, almost all of the remaining land within one-quarter mile of the station is zoned for “Multi-family residential” (shaded orange).

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#### Figure 5: Hollywood rail stations: Hollywood/Vine and Vermont/Santa Monica

Figure 5 consists of two rail station photos, also showing the type of land use and building size near the stations. In the top photo, the Hollywood/Vine station entrance is just visible outside the ground-floor entrance to the high-rise W hotel, prominently indicated by a large red W at the top of the sign. Several restaurants and cafes surround the station entrance at street level, and large advertising billboards are located on the hotel front. The bottom photo shows the Vermont/Santa Monica station entrance in a mostly open paved space, next to several bicycle racks and a free-standing public toilet. In the background are a one-story shopping center, anchored by a Staples store, and a two-story medical clinic.

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#### Figure 6: Zoning around Del Mar Station Area

Figure 6 shows that roughly 75 percent of the land within one-quarter mile of Del Mar station is zoned for “Commercial”, under the City of Pasadena’s Central District Specific Plan. The station is located adjacent to the newly built Avalon Del Mar Station Apartments, and one block east of Central Park, zoned for “Open Space”, which occupies a large parcel roughly equivalent to two of the surrounding city blocks. About two city blocks to the southeast of the station are zoned for “Multi-Family Residential”. Although the zoning category names are equivalent to the other station areas, because the Del Mar station is located in Pasadena instead of Los Angeles, the colors used to show the zoning categories are different, and the underlying allowable uses and densities are not directly comparable, therefore we show the Del Mar station separately.

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#### Figure 7: Zoning around Highland Park Station Area

Figure 7 shows that slightly more than half the land area within one-quarter mile of the Highland Park station is zoned for “Multi-family Residential”. Most of this land is north/northwest of the station. The parcels on either side of Figueroa Street, two blocks south/southeast of the station, are zoned for Commercial uses, while the parcels directly adjacent the station are zoned for Public Facilities (essentially, the station boarding area and tracks). Approximately two blocks to the north and northeast of the station are several city blocks zoned for Single-Family Residential. The station is located approximately two blocks northeast of the Highland Theater, along the Figueroa commercial strip.

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#### Figure 8: Pasadena/Arroyo Seco stations: Del Mar and Highland Park

Figure 8 shows photographs of the Del Mar (top) and Highland Park stations. Both have above-ground boarding platforms and tracks, unlike the other four stations, which have underground boarding. The Del Mar platform is located between two halves of a 5-storey apartment building, constructed shortly after the station opened; the photo shows the interior of the building overlooking the platform and tracks. The Highland Park station and tracks run parallel to a minor side street that separates a low-density residential neighborhood from the Figueroa commercial strip. The photo shows the station sign and pedestrian entrance to the boarding platform, with several 1-2 story houses in the background.

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