Final Ordinance

Site Plan Review Ordinance Amendment to Promote Affordable Housing
On July 6, City Planning staff joined Mayor Karen Bass for the signing of an amendment to the Site Plan Review Ordinance, adopted by the City Council during the last week in June. The amended ordinance is intended to expedite the construction of affordable housing and add more affordable units to housing projects.

The Los Angeles Municipal Code currently requires housing projects with 50 or more units to undergo Site Plan Review, a Planning process that delays construction and increases costs. When the new ordinance takes effect on August 16, 2023, it will amend the Code to exempt deed-restricted affordable units from a project’s total unit count. It will also exempt a portion of the floor area counted toward the 50,000 square-foot Site Plan Review threshold for mixed-use projects that dedicate at least 50 percent of their floor area to affordable housing uses.

Dear Stakeholders,

Last week, Los Angeles City Council (City Council) adopted the final amendment to the Site Plan Review Ordinance for Affordable Housing. Today, Mayor Bass has officially signed the ordinance, and we are excited to inform you that the ordinance will take effect precisely 30 days from today’s date.

The ordinance exempts deed restricted affordable housing units from Site Plan Review threshold calculations, as well as certain mixed-use developments that dedicate 50 percent or more of the total project Floor Area to restricted affordable units. The report from the Planning and Land Use Management Committee and additional information can be found here.

We sincerely thank you for your thoughtful feedback in shaping this code amendment and for your sustained engagement throughout the entire process!