City of Los Angeles Adopts Four New Ordinances to Spur Housing Creation

In November 2002 City of Los Angeles adopted four planning ordinances aimed at increasing housing construction.

Two years before the Housing Crisis Task Force presented its report and recommendations of steps the City could take to address the housing crisis. Among the 100 recommendations were a number of proposals for zoning changes and streamlining building permits. (The full report is available on line at HousingCrisisLA.ucla.edu)

The four new City ordinances are:

• A new Residential/Accessory Services Zone intended to revitalize some of the sagging commercial boulevards in the City by encouraging mixed-use development - apartment construction and neighborhood serving commercial (CPC 2002-1124-CA). Available at cityplanning.lacity.org under selected ordinances and reports, adopted ordinances.

• Updating the way density is calculated from number of habitable rooms to dwelling unit/acre for R3, R4 and R5 zones. This would remove the bias against building apartments with more than two bedrooms (CPC 2002-1126-CA).
• Increasing by-right density bonuses for affordable housing to 35% when well served by public transportation or near employment centers (CPC 2002-0141-CA). Available at cityplanning.lacity.org under selected ordinances and reports, adopted ordinances.
• Giving affordable housing developers the choice of using either a public benefit process or a Conditional Use Permit when seeking a density bonus over 25% (CPC 2002-0161-CA).