EDITORIAL WORKING BACKWARD EXPANSION OF PLANNING DEPARTMENT COMES BEFORE THERE'S EVEN A PLAN.

THE expansion of the Los Angeles city Planning Department announced Wednesday will add 20 new planners, allow the department to chip away at the huge backlog of projects and start ``dynamic new initiatives to enhance livability for all Angelenos.''

It all sounds fabulous. But there's some niggling concerns that make it hard to celebrate the new direction just yet.

First, no amount of ``dynamic new initiatives'' (which is how Jane Blumenfeld, head of the Citywide Planning Division, put it) can individually compensate for the lack a comprehensive vision for the future Los Angeles. Without a vision, these initiatives can easily devolve into confusion, miscommunication among units and many missed opportunities.

But perhaps more important is that a restructuring and expansion is premature until the city hires a replacement for Planning Director Con Howe, who retired last year. This is no slur against the work of interim director Mark Winogrond, who took over the department in September. In fact, he ought to be commended for his speed at responding to a critical audit by City Controller Laura Chick in October and his evident desire to make the planning department more responsive to Angelenos. But Winogrond has made it clear he doesn't want the permanent job, and this is the type of restructuring and goal-setting that should come from the new director.

A restructuring such as this is certainly necessary. The department has policies that please a certain constituency and make a few people a lot of money, but not that seek to makes Los Angeles a better place to live. Still, it's being done backward.

Hopefully the city will urge the new director to start immediately on crafting a comprehensive growth plan for Los Angeles that involves community members, citizen groups and innovative thinkers and integrates the crucial elements of the city's planning department - housing, preservation, transportation and code enforcement.

For too long, Los Angeles has grown without a plan and without leadership, its main goal to benefit developers and various special interests. The question being asked about Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his team today is whether they represent more of the same or whether they will work openly with all segments of the community to make Los Angeles a better city for all in the future.