City News, Planning
Draft Wildlife & Ridgeline ordinances merge
Two of the most watched proposed ordinances were merged by City Planning earlier this month, restarting the clock for draft regulations that could potentially place significant additional limits on property owners in the city’s Hillside areas. The original draft Hillside ordinance was highly controversial, drawing a wide variety of critics who said that it would […]
City News, Planning
No SB9 guidelines yet but parcel-by-parcel review is available
As previously reported Sacramento passed a law late last year that requires cities counties and other municipalities to approve the creation of up to 4 homes where 1 dwelling unit currently exists beginning Jan. 1. The state allowed the local governments to exempt certain areas for specific reasons including but not limited to fire/life/safety concerns […]
City News, Planning
Planning Dept. Changes Notification Policy to Benefit of Applicants
Applicants who file projects that require a notification package to City Planning will no longer have to provide mailing lists and labels at the time of filing. Instead, those notification materials won’t be required until they are ready to be used by Planning and/or its mailing subcontractor, BTC. Beginning on Dec. 1, applicants now only […]
City News
LA Likely to Minimize SB9 Housing Benefits
City Council motion instructs departments to issue memo by Dec. 31 that will explain who can use SB9 for more housing … and who can’t As expected, the Los Angeles City Council has instructed key city departments to develop and issue a memo before the end of the year that will significantly limit the neighborhoods […]
City News
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 […]
City News
Reduced Staffing, More Projects And More Regulations Have Made The Process Crazy At One Of Planning’s Busiest Units
Several years ago, the staff at the Mulholland unit of City Planning hung a sign right behind their public counter that read, “Mulholland Madness.” It was a copy of the sign created for the ride at Disney’s California Adventure of the same name. The Disney ride has changed its name but things haven’t changed at […]
City News
Hillside Federation Files Lawsuit vs. Mulholland Policy
One of the longest-standing and most influential neighborhood groups in Los Angeles filed a lawsuit this summer alleging that a recently adopted policy from the Department of City Planning will “dramatically alter oversight” of projects in the Mulholland Corridor. The Hillside Federation’s lawsuit, filed on June 25 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, says that […]
City News
Planning Fees Going Up A Lot
Some entitlements more than doubling in late December Mayor Garcetti announced late last week that he signed an ordinance which will allow City Planning to increase its fees across most categories. The fee hike won’t take effect until Dec. 27, the department announced, “to allow sufficient time for implementation.” That also gives property owners about […]
City News
LID review/approval goes from days to weeks and now months
Of all the COVID-related delays facing homeowners and developers working in the City of Los Angeles, one of the most frustrating has to be the increased delays in obtaining approval for Low Impact Development (LID) design from the Bureau of Sanitation. This process, which could conceivably be done in a single day pre-COVID, is now […]
City News
How will SB9 & SB10 change LA? It’s up to the City Council
Late last week, Gov. Newsom signed two bills from the state senate that have been closely watched by the state’s construction/realty/housing industries. Now the question is: How will they impact the state’s largest city? The more significant law of the two is Senate Bill 9, or SB 9, which has been called by some the […]
