Chris Parker / February 22, 2022
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 prevent homeowners from improving their homes by limiting grading, building height and the location of their homes or accessory structures on properties that are located on or near one of the hundreds of ridgelines identified by City Planning. These regulations would be in addition to those found in the current Baseline Hillside Ordinance (BHO) and other overlays such as various Specific Plans (Mulholland, Mt. Washington, etc.) and the Hillside Construction Regulation (HCR) ordinance of 2017.
Meanwhile, the slightly less controversial Wildlife ordinance was proposed to preserve and promote wildlife by placing more limitations on developments in the city’s Hillside areas. The Wildlife Pilot Study was launched so Planning could study the impact of different potential regulations on the city’s wildlife.
Now, the two are being merged and a new draft Wildlife Pilot Study Ordinance is expected to be released in the spring. City Planning expects to host additional public outreach sessions later in the spring and then present the revised, merged ordinance to the City Planning Commission later this year. The ordinance could be before the City Council before the end of the year, according to Planning’s aggressive timeline.
