Do you know your zone?

If you live in a hillside area in Silver Lake east of Glendale Blvd., like I do, you may be surprised to learn that the recently passed Baseline Hillside Ordinance does not apply to our neighborhood.

Here’s why: most of Silver Lake east of Glendale Blvd is zoned R2-1VL and R2 is a “two-family zone” (1VL refers to a building  in Height District 1, specifically a “Very Limited Height District”).

The Baseline Hillside Ordinance only applies to homes in single-family zones, like R1.

    Los Angeles leaders crowed when the Baseline Hillside Ordinance was signed into law in March 2011. Mayor Villaraigosa said: “The City of Los Angeles is renowned for both its diverse architecture and unique natural beauty.” He added: “The Baseline Hillside Mansionization Ordinance allows neighborhoods to grow in that tradition that preserves and complements our City’s historic character and scenic hillsides.”  Councilmember Tom La Bonge said: “The passage of the Los Angeles Baseline Hillside Ordinance, along with the 2008 Baseline Flatland Ordinance, marks the end of huge homes on small lots.” Councilmember Paul Koretz said: "The Baseline Hillside Ordinance will be of immense value in protecting our hillsides from the ravages of mansionization and overdevelopment.” According to La Bonge's website:

The [Baseline Hillside] Ordinance was part of a response to a 2006 City Council motion by Councilman Tom LaBonge, seconded by Councilmembers Wendy Greuel, Eric Garcetti, Janice Hahn, Ed Reyes, Bill Rosendahl, and Herb Wesson, Jr. aimed at addressing the issue of “mansionization”. The Baseline Hillside Ordinance (sometimes referred to as the Hillside Mansionization Ordinance) is the final step in a three-part initiative aimed at preventing out-of-scale single-family development in the City of Los Angeles.

The first part became effective in June 2008 with the adoption of the Baseline Mansionization Ordinance that established new regulations for the City’s flatlands that focused on structure size and height limits. The second part became effective in May 2010 and involved the creation of a new Hillside Area Map that more accurately reflects the City’s true hillsides. In order to diminish out-of-scale developmentIn order to diminish out-of-scale development in the City’s hillside neighborhoods, the regulations address Floor Area Ratios (FAR – building size to lot size ratio), Height, and Grading. Like the BMO, this Ordinance also creates an overlay tool that will allow individual neighborhoods to adjust the baseline limits to better fit their community’s character and scale. The Baseline Hillside Ordinance will determine the maximum amount of development for a property based on lot size, zone, and steepness of slopes on a property. This approach takes into account that there are many differences in hillside lots, and that the Code needs to consider the varying hillside conditions when determining size limits.

Sounds wonderful, right? No more McMansions shutting out the sun, casting homes and gardens into shadow. No more McMansions destroying views and neighborhoods.

Unfortunately, these protections are only for Los Angeles residents who live in “single-family residential zoned properties (R1, R2, RE, and RA).” If you do not live in one of those zones – if you live in R2-1VL, for instance – you are not protected. Doesn't the fact that you live in a hillside area matter? Not if it's zoned R2.

This is kind of boring but please bear with me as we do a little digging: according to Sec.12.21.1. (Height of Building or Structures) of the city's Municipal Code, “A. Limitations”: “Portions of Height District No. 1 may be designated as being in a ‘VL’ Very Limited Height District, and no Building or Structure in Height District No. 1-VL shall exceed three stories, nor shall it exceed 45 feet in height.” (Emphasis added.)

However, the “exception” for “A. Limitations” also states that “A Building in Height District Nos. 1-XL, 1-VL, designed and used entirely for residential purposes, or a Building in the RAS3 or RAS4 Zones shall be limited to the number of feet in height, but not as to the number of Stories.”

Me again: In other words, a building in R2-1LV can be as many stories as a builder wants it to be as long as the building does not exceed 45 feet in height.

In addition, “A. Limitations” of Sec. 12.21.1. states that “The total Floor Area contained in all the main Buildings on a Lot in a commercial or industrial zone in Height District No. 1 shall not exceed one-and-one-half times the Buildable Area of the Lot; for a Lot in all other zones, except the RA, RE, RS, and R1 Zones, the total Floor Area contained in all the main Buildings on a Lot in Height District No. 1 shall not exceed three times the Buildable Area of the Lot.”

From what I understand, this means that if a developer has a lot in R2-1VL with a buildable area (the size of the lot minus the setbacks) that is 5,000 sq. ft. that developer can build a 15,000 sq. ft. home on that lot – yup, 15,000 sq. ft. Clearly, that house would have to go up, up, up! (I have verified this with one city planner, but I’ve written several others to confirm; when I hear from them I will share what they say. The planner I spoke with said that when it comes to R2 the height restricions are nice - they "make people feel better," she said - but they're effectively meaningless given that developers can build up to 45 ft. in height.) 

Here's a question: why isn’t Silver Lake east of Glendale Blvd. worth protecting?

As we ponder this question, here are some links you may find useful:
The website for the Department of City Planning has a lot of interesting information on it. I'll be digging into the site and what it reveals in depth at some point in the future.  

           Zimas allows you to check information about specific lots. When you plug in your house number, you will be taken to a map of your area with much of the relevant information (zoning, etc.) visible in the left column. When you click on the tabs (like “planning and zoning”) you will see even more detailed information.

The Silver Lake-Echo Park-Elysian Valley Community Plan is a long document that's well worth reading or even skimming because it lays out the city’s largely idealistic vision for these neighborhoods. I’ve been told by a city planner that the community plans are policy documents while the zoning codes are law. Nonetheless, Silver Lakers should check out the plan because it shows what the city says it wants for our area, even if what the city allows, in terms of development, can contradict the plan's lofty goals. The city recently redid the Hollywood Community Plan and some residents are extremely unhappy both with how the new community plan was pushed through (fast, fast, fast) and with the results. (More thoughts on this later.)

Last, it’s worth looking at the community maps for the Silver Lake- Echo Park- Elysian Valley. If you click on the big “Generalized Plan Land Use” map you can see that Silver Lake is mainly divided between R1 and R2. The houses around the reservoirs are mainly zoned R1 (residential single family) – the area to the east of Glendale Boulevard is almost entirely zoned for “residential multiple family” (many specifically R2-1VL). The text on the left of this "Land Use Map” explains the height limitations.