Los Angeles wants to go green and limit the lot coverage on residential projects considerably. New ordinance goes effective this Monday, limiting the coverage to 25% of the lot and you get additional 20% with a LEED certification. ord. 179883(pdf)
Meh. I'd rather see a completely new zoning code than another slapped-on addition. Or maybe allow people to treat stormwater locally. Or maybe getting rid of stupid street dedication requirements. I have nothing against these kinds of ordinances. But IMO the last thing LA needs is more code.
Just did the math. Basically this means that on most of the lots in the flat parts of LA the max you can build is between 1500 and 2250 interior SF. That's with the 20% credit you get from stepping back volumes and whatnot. This thing has teeth. It's going to make R2 zones even more of a hot commodity than they already are.
Oh, no, wait, scratch that. R1 zones it's twice that so double those numbers. Most lots will probably cap at around 3000-3500sf. Which is still better than what we have. Could push some interesting new site plans instead of the current "fill it up" mentality you see around here...
To post yet again, anyone notice that the director of planning recommends against this ordinance at the very bottom? That's the report I want to see...
The ordinance presents a sliding scale. The larger your lot, the smaller the size of the maximum house as a percentage of the lot area. Having done all the math, it will not so much keep reasonable size houses from happening as much as limit the built-out boxes that took advantage of the old zoning envelopes which were pretty crude. I always smile at people who imagine that a new code can be both simple and not need cumulative change over time - thus becoming the old code. Reform is always needed with codes regardless of how "smart" they were when first passed.
Jul 1, 08 2:04 am ·
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sounds inspired.
Meh. I'd rather see a completely new zoning code than another slapped-on addition. Or maybe allow people to treat stormwater locally. Or maybe getting rid of stupid street dedication requirements. I have nothing against these kinds of ordinances. But IMO the last thing LA needs is more code.
Just did the math. Basically this means that on most of the lots in the flat parts of LA the max you can build is between 1500 and 2250 interior SF. That's with the 20% credit you get from stepping back volumes and whatnot. This thing has teeth. It's going to make R2 zones even more of a hot commodity than they already are.
Oh, no, wait, scratch that. R1 zones it's twice that so double those numbers. Most lots will probably cap at around 3000-3500sf. Which is still better than what we have. Could push some interesting new site plans instead of the current "fill it up" mentality you see around here...
To post yet again, anyone notice that the director of planning recommends against this ordinance at the very bottom? That's the report I want to see...
all i know is, a lot of people had to file their set of drawings for plan check last friday to beat the deadline and evade the ordinance.
The ordinance presents a sliding scale. The larger your lot, the smaller the size of the maximum house as a percentage of the lot area. Having done all the math, it will not so much keep reasonable size houses from happening as much as limit the built-out boxes that took advantage of the old zoning envelopes which were pretty crude. I always smile at people who imagine that a new code can be both simple and not need cumulative change over time - thus becoming the old code. Reform is always needed with codes regardless of how "smart" they were when first passed.
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