Dear Stakeholders,

On Wednesday, December 7, 2016, the City Council will consider the proposed Baseline Mansionization/Baseline Hillside (BMO/BHO) Code Amendment at its regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. in the John Ferraro Council Chamber (Room 340) of Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The meeting agenda is available at the following link: http://ens.lacity.org/clk/councilagendas/clkcouncilagendas3108029_12072016.html

We do not know whether the City Council will be taking public testimony on the item, as the Public Hearing was held and closed by the Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee on November 29. To have written comments included in the record, please email [email protected] and reference Council File #14-0656 in your correspondence.

Adoption Process

The proposed ordinance will not be up for a final adoption vote at Wednesday’s meeting. There are at least four steps remaining in the adoption process, including:
  • Approval of the proposed BMO/BHO ordinance provisions by the City Council (under consideration at Wednesday’s meeting).
  • Preparation of the official BMO/BHO ordinance by the City Attorney.
  • Adoption of the BMO/BHO ordinance by the City Council.
  • The Mayor’s signature of the ordinance.
Once these steps have been completed, the City Clerk will post the adopted ordinance for a period of 10 days, at the end of which a 31-day waiting period will begin before the ordinance goes into effect.
PLUM Recommendations

As part of its action at the November 29 meeting, the PLUM Committee recommended several modifications to the proposed ordinance. The PLUM Committee’s recommended changes to the proposed ordinance include:

  • Reduce Hillside Area guaranteed minimum Residential Floor Area from 1,000 to 800 square feet.
  • Reduce R1 Zone, Hillside Area by-right maximum grading from 2,000 to 1,000 cubic yards.
  • Change starting height of R1 encroachment plane from 20 to 22 feet.
  • Remove front articulation requirement in the R1 Zone.
  • Restore 0.5 Floor Area Ratio for R1 lots smaller than 7,500 square feet.
  • Restore full 400 square foot exemption for garages, regardless of location.

  • Clarify that conditionally permitted uses are subject to the provisions of the BMO and BHO.

  • Add a provision exempting projects currently in the process of seeking zoning entitlements from following the ordinance.
  • Other technical edits and clarifications.

The Committee also recommended that the Department of City Planning be instructed to report back with a policy recommendation on limiting the Hillside Area grading exemption for pile and caisson foundations.

To have written comments included in the record, please email [email protected] and reference Council File #14-0656.

For questions, please contact Niall Huffman, [email protected] 213-978-3405.

Thank you for your continued interest in the BMO/BHO Code Amendment.

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Neighborhood Conservation Team
Department of City Planning

HPOZ | Community Planning | Code Studies

preservation.lacity.org/neighborhoodconservation