Los Angeles is poised to approve a trio of long-planned zoning code updates—for the neighborhoods of Boyle Heights, Downtown, and Hollywood—as the first test cases for a new citywide zoning code update known as re:code LA.
The Los Angeles City Planning Commission in April approved the Boyle Heights Community Plan Update, clearing the way for a City Council vote that would enact one of the city’s first applications of a zoning code update in the works for the past decade, known as re:code LA. The Boyle Heights Community Plan update will soon be joined by community plans for Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood as the initial applications of the city’s new zoning code.
A recent article by Steven Sharp for Urbanize LA opens with details about the Boyle Heights Community Plan update. Sharp writes, with more detail in the source article:
Since the onset of the update effort, the Planning Department has opted to shift growth in Boyle Heights toward commercial boulevards and transit corridors like Soto Street, 1st Street, and Whittier Boulevard, while maintaining the existing profile of the lower-scale residential neighborhoods of the predominantly renter neighborhood. Likewise, the proposed update maintains existing industrial zones adjacent to the L.A. River.
As for the application of the city’s new zoning code, Sharp adds the following details:
The plan, as one of the first out the gate following re:code LA, also enacts several elements of L.A.'s new zoning code. These include form and frontage districts which shape the height and massing of new construction - for example a provision to maintain the two-story massing of the Cesar Chavez Avenue business corridor, while shifting the mass of new construction to the rear of sites.
Sharp provides a similar amount of detail to the Central City and Central City North community plans, also known as DTLA 2040, noting that the DTLA 2040 plan recently advanced out of council committee and will appear before the council with a provision that calls for mandatory inclusionary zoning. “Likewise, the DTLA 2040 plan includes its own community benefits program - a base-bonus system which will replace the existing Transfer of Floor Area rights program which has shaped much of the skyline. Instead, developers will be able to build beyond the base zoning of their properties through providing a range of incentivized uses such as public open space and affordable housing.”
The source article, linked below, also includes details about the Hollywood Community Plan update. This particular corner of the city has proven very difficult to plan for in the past—with litigation and controversy interrupting and even overturning a previous iteration of the Hollywood Community Plan.
“Housing growth within Hollywood would be concentrated along existing transit lines and commercial hubs- including Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards. The Media District, mostly located south of Santa Monica Boulevard to the west of Vine Street, is expected to be reinforced as an employment hub, with greater height limits and new incentives for media uses,” writes Sharp.
FULL STORY: Community plan updates move forward for Boyle Heights, DTLA, Hollywood
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
New Park Opens in the Santa Clarita Valley
The City of Santa Clarita just celebrated the grand opening of its 38th park, the 10.5-acre Skyline Ranch Park.
U.S. Supreme Court: California's Impact Fees May Violate Takings Clause
A California property owner took El Dorado County to state court after paying a traffic impact fee he felt was exorbitant. He lost in trial court, appellate court, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Then the U.S. Supreme Court acted.
How Urban Form Impacts Housing Affordability
The way we design cities affects housing costs differently than you might think.
City of Costa Mesa
Licking County
Barrett Planning Group LLC
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact Transit + Community
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
City of Universal City TX
ULI Northwest Arkansas
Town of Zionsville
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.