DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Over the next week and a half, the Planning department will be holding a series of four community meetings to collect community input on Downtown's future development.

The meetings are an early step toward updating the Central City Community Plan, the document that is supposed to act as the blueprint for growth and land use in the Downtown core.

A flyer advertising the meetings calls on residents to "envision a vibrant, livable Downtown, create sustainable neighborhoods and influence future development and land use recommendations."

All are worthy goals, but Los Angeles has a long history of ignoring the contents of such high-brow plans. The current Central City Community Plan calls for three new one-block parks to be created Downtown, similar in size to Pershing Square. It also calls for a variety of transportation changes that show no signs of happening any time in the future.

Planning head Gail Goldberg has long expressed her own frustration with the city's community plans. "They are like no community plans I have ever seen anywhere," she told the Budget and Finance committee in May. She hopes to see new community plans provide a more usable and thorough framework for future development.

The four meetings will all offer the same information. Those interested are invited to attend whichever is most convenient.

• Wednesday, June 24, 5:30 - 7:30pm / Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 5th Floor / 135 N. Grand Ave.

• Thursday, June 25, 4:30 - 6:30pm / California Market Center, Fashion Theater / 110 E. 9th

• Tuesday, June 30, 5:30 - 7:30pm / Centenary United Methodist Church / 300 S. Central Ave.

• Wednesday, July 1, 5:30 - 7:30pm / Leavey Hall, Keck Auditorium / California Hospital Medical Center / 320 W. 15th

For more information, contact Nick Maricich at 213-978-2666 or nicholas.maricich@lacity.org.