Clare DeBriere Named ULI Chair

Clare DeBriere is taking on Los Angeles's biggest challenges. The Urban Land Institute has named her the chair of the Los Angeles chapter. For her two-year term, she has identified three key goals: addressing the city's immense urban-growth challenges, introducing successful solutions from around the world, and expanding ULI's base to include large-scale space users, which include studios, hospitals and corporations. We sat down with DeBriere, who is the former chief operating officer and EVP of the Ratkovich Co. and the founder of C+C Ventures, for an exclusive interview to talk about the position, her goals and her path to lasting change.

GlobeSt.com: Why are you excited to take on this role as the ULI L.A. Chair?

Clare DeBriere: I have been an active member of the Urban Land Institute for over 20 years. This organization and its members, specifically those in Los Angeles, have created very real change for the better in this city which all of its citizen have benefitted from. I am honored to be able to serve in this position to continue that tradition of providing leadership in the responsible use of land.

GlobeSt.com: You have set three specific goals in this position. Why do you feel each of these goals are important to address during your term?

DeBriere: This is a ground breaking time for Los Angeles in both positive ways and negative. ULI, as an educational and research organization, is uniquely poised to research and find solutions to many of our challenges by compiling best practices from all over the US, and the world. Our District Council convenes the best and the brightest of our members to work together towards finding lasting, positive solutions that will make Los Angeles a better place for its citizens and visitors. To that end, we have established a Land Use Leadership Committee headed up by David Waite, Paul Keller and Kelli Bernard. They will be working with our members to proactively review, research and ultimately to make specific recommendations to the City leaders to achieve that goal. We are also broadening our net, reaching out to bring more public-sector practitioners, small-scale developers, and large corporate land users into our ULI membership, so that we can make sure that as many people as possible are working on reaching that goal.

GlobeSt.com: The city's urban growth challenge is definitely a key issue. What will your approach be to finding a solution?

DeBriere: The best way to find a solution is to first fully understand the problem. Our Land Use Leadership Committee is ready to do just that. By working with our county and city leaders, activists, academics, as well as our vast local, national and global members, we can not only identify the issues but begin to provide some very real, practical solutions.

GlobeSt.com: Why do you think this has become such an immense issue?

DeBriere: There is a lack of transparency in the land use process. There are misperceptions on all sides as to how the process works and whom it benefits. There are very real problems related to the lack of affordable housing, homelessness, worsening traffic and air quality – and ever increasing density. There is no clear, predicable process or plan in place to address these issues.

GlobeSt.com: How do you think your vast development experience will help you in this position?

DeBriere: As a developer, I have been through the planning and entitlement process on both very large-scale developments and very small ones. I have seen both the best and the worst of the development process. I am sympathetic to the frustration that is felt both by community members and by developers. I hope that through ULI's leadership, research and education, we can alleviate some of this frustration and create a better, more transparent process.

Clare DeBriere is taking on Los Angeles's biggest challenges. The Urban Land Institute has named her the chair of the Los Angeles chapter. For her two-year term, she has identified three key goals: addressing the city's immense urban-growth challenges, introducing successful solutions from around the world, and expanding ULI's base to include large-scale space users, which include studios, hospitals and corporations. We sat down with DeBriere, who is the former chief operating officer and EVP of the Ratkovich Co. and the founder of C+C Ventures, for an exclusive interview to talk about the position, her goals and her path to lasting change.

GlobeSt.com: Why are you excited to take on this role as the ULI L.A. Chair?

Clare DeBriere: I have been an active member of the Urban Land Institute for over 20 years. This organization and its members, specifically those in Los Angeles, have created very real change for the better in this city which all of its citizen have benefitted from. I am honored to be able to serve in this position to continue that tradition of providing leadership in the responsible use of land.

GlobeSt.com: You have set three specific goals in this position. Why do you feel each of these goals are important to address during your term?

DeBriere: This is a ground breaking time for Los Angeles in both positive ways and negative. ULI, as an educational and research organization, is uniquely poised to research and find solutions to many of our challenges by compiling best practices from all over the US, and the world. Our District Council convenes the best and the brightest of our members to work together towards finding lasting, positive solutions that will make Los Angeles a better place for its citizens and visitors. To that end, we have established a Land Use Leadership Committee headed up by David Waite, Paul Keller and Kelli Bernard. They will be working with our members to proactively review, research and ultimately to make specific recommendations to the City leaders to achieve that goal. We are also broadening our net, reaching out to bring more public-sector practitioners, small-scale developers, and large corporate land users into our ULI membership, so that we can make sure that as many people as possible are working on reaching that goal.

GlobeSt.com: The city's urban growth challenge is definitely a key issue. What will your approach be to finding a solution?

DeBriere: The best way to find a solution is to first fully understand the problem. Our Land Use Leadership Committee is ready to do just that. By working with our county and city leaders, activists, academics, as well as our vast local, national and global members, we can not only identify the issues but begin to provide some very real, practical solutions.

GlobeSt.com: Why do you think this has become such an immense issue?

DeBriere: There is a lack of transparency in the land use process. There are misperceptions on all sides as to how the process works and whom it benefits. There are very real problems related to the lack of affordable housing, homelessness, worsening traffic and air quality – and ever increasing density. There is no clear, predicable process or plan in place to address these issues.

GlobeSt.com: How do you think your vast development experience will help you in this position?

DeBriere: As a developer, I have been through the planning and entitlement process on both very large-scale developments and very small ones. I have seen both the best and the worst of the development process. I am sympathetic to the frustration that is felt both by community members and by developers. I hope that through ULI's leadership, research and education, we can alleviate some of this frustration and create a better, more transparent process.