Mulholland: A Brief History & Explanation Of What Projects Are Still Exempt Or Only Need Administrative Review

The Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan was created in 1992 to “assure maximum preservation and enhancement of the parkway’s outstanding and unique scenic features and resources.” The corridor’s regulations cover properties within approximately 3,000 feet of either side of Mulholland Drive, from Hollywood Hills to Woodland Hills.

The Specific Plan automatically requires that any property which proposes to add 900 sq. ft. of additional floor area or more cumulatively since the Specific Plan’s inception on May 13, 1992, must present the project to the Design Review Board. The Mulholland DRB meets twice a month in public hearings.

In recent months, the unit has also declared that any project which requires a grading permit from LADBS must also be presented to the DRB for a full site review. Since LADBS requires grading permits for swimming pools in Hillside areas (and Mulholland is a Hillside area), this has forced many previously exempt projects into the queue for a Mulholland DRB hearing.

There are still some things that a homeowner can do in the Corridor without triggering a full DRB review or even an administrative review. The following projects are exempt from review by Mulholland staff:

• Interior alterations
• Exterior windows and doors in same size and location
• Foundation repair
• Seismic reinforcement
• Fences, free-standing block walls and garden walls (not on Mulholland Drive)
• Deck repair/replacement (as long as deck was permitted originally and replacement doesn’t increase its permitted size)
• Septic tank repair
• Underground tank removal

As mentioned previously, projects that will result in a site with less than 900 square feet of new floor area since May 1992 may be exempt from the DRB review. This includes new ADUs that fall under the state regulations (800 sq. ft. or less, 16-ft.-tall or shorter). These projects would only require an administrative review prior to submittal to LADBS plan-check (so staff can verify the project is exempt) and another review with Mulholland staff to clear the “Specific Plan” condition on the project’s Clearance Summary Worksheet.

But staff does have discretion to require any project to appear before the DRB, even if the project proposes less than 900 sq. ft. of floor area or would grade less than 50 CY of dirt. And a new ADU that is 801-1200 sq. ft. or occupies two stories is subject to full DRB review because it would exceed the by-right limitations of the state regulations.