New Enhancements Aim to Standardize the Current Review Process for Projects
Fact Sheet November 2020
LOS ANGELES—Today, City Planning released a framework for an entirely new system to house Los Angeles’s updated Zoning Code. The proposed Processes and Procedures Ordinance would streamline and consolidate the administrative provisions of the Zoning Code in one centralized location. These improvements will make traditionally cumbersome and complex systems easier for local businesses to navigate, particularly as many try to survive and move towards economic recovery and viability.
Several years ago, City Planning set out to create a modern and efficient zoning system for Los Angeles. The Processes and Procedures Ordinance marks an important milestone in this project, laying the groundwork for a modern Zoning Code that will take Los Angeles into the future. Since then, City Planning has held various public hearings and stakeholder meetings to gather public comment.
The ordinance would make the rules for project review easier to understand by introducing a standardized format for processes with consistent procedural elements. The easy-to-read format outlines each process and the steps in the project approval path and includes flowcharts that depict the steps in the process.
The ordinance also consolidates similar entitlements to follow the same procedures and eliminate redundant variations, reducing the total number of processes from over 120 to about 60. From a community perspective, these streamlined changes will assist in reducing ambiguity around planning approvals requested in the City and who has decision-making authority. The ordinance focuses on making the land use process more transparent and predictable for all by standardized time periods for notification of public hearings and filing of an appeal, for example.
“Development reform has long been a stated goal of this Department,” said Vince Bertoni, Director of Planning. “With this initiative, we have been able to strengthen our rules to promote greater accountability and transparency, while at the same time we are also expanding public participation and inclusion in our land use decisions—bringing Neighborhood Councils and residents alike into the fold.”
City Planning has prepared an annotated version of the ordinance to aid the public in tracking the changes to the Zoning Code. Each section of the ordinance is annotated to indicate which provisions are new, which have been revised, and which have been moved from another section as part of the reorganization of the Code. City Planning staff is proposing revisions and soliciting feedback on the modifications which will be presented to the City Planning Commission (CPC) for their consideration.
The Department has also prepared an interactive website as a resource for stakeholders at all levels of familiarity with current Zoning Code. This resource depicts key changes proposed in the ordinance and includes videos that illustrate the core concepts behind how the ordinance improves on the current system.
Later this winter, City Planning will facilitate virtual meetings to walk community members through the proposed changes. The ordinance will then advance to the CPC, and later to City Council, for their consideration.
For questions, please contact:Bonnie Kim | bonnie.kim@lacity.org| (213) 978-1330
To receive future updates on this proposed ordinance, please sign up to join the interested parties list: https://planning.lacity.org/about/email-sign-up
