Keys to the City: South LA's Development Services Center

09/06/2025 31 min
Keys to the City: South LA's Development Services Center

Listen "Keys to the City: South LA's Development Services Center"

Episode Synopsis

On this episode, Los Angeles City Council staffer, Chavonne Taylor, speaks with Kinikia Gardner, a Senior Planner with the Los Angeles City Planning Department. With more than two decades of experience in urban planning, Kinikia has focused her career on making the planning process more accessible and equitable, especially for historically underserved communities.She currently leads the South LA Development Services Center, one of only a few centers across the city where residents, business owners, and developers can get in-person help with permits, zoning, land use, and development questions. These centers are part of the Planning Department’s effort to demystify a process that often feels out of reach for everyday Angelenos.Kinikia is also a member of Black Planners of Los Angeles, a Qualified Minority Employee Organization within the City that helped push for the creation of the South LA center.Resourcesplanning.lacity.govplanning.lacity.gov/project-review/south-los-angeles-development-services-centerappointments.lacity.org/apptsys/Public/AccountSouth LA DSCAddress: 8475 S. Vermont Avenue, 1st FloorEmail: [email protected]: www.instagram.com/planning4laCommunity AnnouncementsEvent Name: CicLAviaNeighborhoods Featured: Historic South Central, Florence-Firestone, WattsDate: Sunday, June 22ndTime: 9 AM to 4 PMLocation: Central Avenue & 103rd StreetWebsite: www.ciclavia.org/ciclavia_historic_south_central_meets_watts25__________Want to learn more about Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson and LA's Council District 8? Follow @mhdcd8 on Instagram and sign up for the newsletter at mhdcd8.org!

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