Los Angeles to Update Community Plans Every 6 Years

Los Angeles has approved new rules aimed at increasing accountability in the planning process—and at preempting a more severe approach promised by an upcoming ballot measure.

2 minute read

February 17, 2017, 9:00 AM PST

By Elana Eden


Los Angeles Density

Sean Pavone / Shutterstock

The centerpiece of the new rules approved by the Los Angeles City Council is a requirement that the city's 35 community plans be updated on a six-year cycle.

"The plans are so outdated that developers frequently seek permission to skirt the rules, allowing them to build bigger and taller than what the plans allow," explains Curbed LA. Since 2000, 90 percent of these exemptions have been granted, the Los Angeles Times recently found.

The new legislation restructures the review process for these exemptions—which can include height allowances, zoning changes, or General Plan Amendments—to help planning commissioners get a more holistic picture of their impact on the city.

The City Council also approved a plan to create a list of approved consultants from which developers can choose to prepare environmental impact reports.

Fast-tracking General and Community Plan updates was one demand presented to the mayor by backers of the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative, now called Measure S, which will appear before voters on the March 7 ballot. Measure S calls for a two-year moratorium on any such exemptions, during which the city would have to update its General and Community Plans. And it would ban developers from choosing their environmental consultants at all, potentially requiring the city to retain them directly.

City officials including Mayor Eric Garcetti have opposed the measure. PLUM Committee Chair José Huziar, whose district includes Downtown Los Angeles—an area in the midst of a development boom as well as a community plan updatetold KPCC that, all in all, the city’s new rules would "make Measure S unnecessary."

Thursday, February 9, 2017 in KPCC

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 28, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

AI-generated image of high-speed rail trail in elevated track in green hilly farmland.

Four Reasons Urban Planners Can’t Ignore AI

It’s no longer a question of whether AI will shape planning, but how. That how is up to us.

May 28, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Metro rail station in Mariachi Plaza with colorful glass pavilion in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California.

High Housing Costs Driving Down Transit Ridership in LA

When neighborhoods gentrify and displace lower-income residents, transit ridership suffers, new research shows.

15 minutes ago - CALmatters

Des Moines, Iowa skyline viewed from a plaza with two flags on either side at dusk.

Iowa Legalizes Accessory Dwelling Units

A new law will allow property owners to build ADUs on single-family lots starting on July 1.

1 hour ago - Smart Cities Dive

Manhattan skyline seen from Brooklyn, New York City with brick apartment buildings in foreground.

NYC Council Approves Brooklyn Rezoning Plan

The Atlantic Avenue Mixed Use Plan includes infrastructure investments and could bring 4,600 new housing units to parts of Brooklyn.

2 hours ago - BK Reader