Dear Stakeholder,

Ahead of the upcoming January 22 operative date for the Processes and Procedures Ordinance, the Department of City Planning would like to remind you that you now have early access to filing forms that have been updated for consistency with the Ordinance, alongside the current versions of our forms, at our Forms webpage.

Please be aware that projects are not subject to the provisions of this ordinance if a complete application was filed and fees were paid prior to January 22, 2024 (the Operative Date) and may proceed using the procedures in place prior to these changes. Following the Operative Date, projects in the old procedures can choose to opt-in to its regulations, as long as a public hearing has not been held.

The new application forms offered on our Forms webpage will not be accepted until the Operative Date; this early release is intended to allow applicants to begin preparing their materials in advance of this date and allow additional time for pre-filing questions and consultation.

Presentation slides can be found on the Processes and Procedures page of the Department’s website.

Depending on when you intend to file a case, click on the form number in one of the two columns to access the appropriate version of the form you would like to use.

Applications filed on or before January 21 are required to use the forms listed under the “Chapter 1 Code” column. All applications filed on or after January 22 will be subject to the Processes and Procedures Ordinance and will be required to use the revised forms under the “Chapter 1A Code” column.

If a new form starts “CP13,” that means it contains changes for Processes and Procedures and will supersede/replace the old version. If it keeps the “CP” prefix, that means the form is retained and won’t be changed. Edits to some forms are minor, whereas others received more comprehensive edits. Some forms are new, were not previously on the website, and/or receive new names.

Please contact Zoning Implementation Section staff with any questions at planning.ch1A_implementation@lacity.org.

Thank you for your attention. The remainder of the text is a general overview of the background for this ordinance.

BACKGROUND

The Processes and Procedures Ordinance is part of a larger initiative to comprehensively update the City’s Zoning Code. It aims to create a clear set of administrative procedures for considering and processing requests for Zoning Code entitlements. The Processes and Procedures Ordinance lays the groundwork for a more user-friendly, transparent, and predictable set of zoning regulations.

In December 2022, the City Council adopted Ordinance 187,712, commonly referred to as the Processes and Procedures Ordinance, which is scheduled to be operative beginning January 22, 2024, as established in Ordinance No. 187,930. On September 19, 2023, the City Council approved a proposed ordinance to amend the provisions that regulate development applications and approvals in the City’s coastal zones, as approved by the California Coastal Commission.

A dedicated webpage for Processes and Procedures, which summarizes the upcoming changes in greater detail and provides helpful resources—including the Processes Comparison Table and Fact Sheet—is available at Planning4LA.org/project-review/processes-procedures.

To receive future updates on the implementation of this ordinance, please sign up for the interested parties list at planning.lacity.org/about/email-sign-up. Members of the public may also view related documents and sign up for updates related to the ordinance itself directly at the Council File (12-0460-S4).