A GUIDE TO BUILDING IN THE HILLS OF LOS ANGELES
Article #6: Height Limits (Baseline Hillside Ordinance)
We are working through the Baseline Hillside Ordinance to determine what we can build at the fictional property, 809 Higgins St. in the Hollywood Hills. Today we will look at Height Limits. As always, the ordinances are intended to preserve general intents and exceptions may be approved in individual cases.
Height Limits
This section of the Baseline Hillside Ordinance sets the maximum height of a building on your property. There are two ways to measure the maximum height:
- Envelope height: Take the ground plane and offset it to the highest allowable vertical height as given in Table 5
- Overall height: From a distance of 5 feet from the lowest built grade, measure the vertical distance to the highest point of the roof or parapet wall. The maximum overall height allowable is 45′.
Table 6 excludes some specific roof features such as chimneys or skylights from this calculation – to a degree. For the most part, you only need to measure to the highest point of the actual roof.
These height limits are determined by the zoning of your lot as well as which Height District you fall in. There are five Height Districts: 1 (no limit); 1L (Limited); 1VL (Very Limited); 1XL (Extra Limited); and 1SS (Single Story).
It is also limited by whether your roof slope is 25% or greater; or less than 25%.
For R1 zoning:
|
Table 5 * |
|
|
*(for 25% or greater roof slope) |
|
|
Maximum Height of Structures (in feet) |
|
|
Height Districts |
R1 |
|
1, 1L, & 1VL |
33 |
|
1XL |
30 |
|
1SS |
22 |
|
Table 5 ** |
|
|
**(for less than 25% roof slope) |
|
|
Maximum Height of Structures (in feet) |
|
|
Height Districts |
R1 |
|
1, 1L, & 1VL |
28 |
|
1XL |
28 |
|
1SS |
18 |
The maximum height limits in Table 5 are split according to whether the building’s roof slope is less or greater than 25%. If the slope is more than 25%, the maximum envelope height can be greater by three to five feet. This accommodates the headroom that is lost on the interior with the steeper angled roof. For R1 zoning:
To summarize, the Baseline Hillside Ordinance gives us two ways to measure height:
- One is the Envelope Height. The measurement is obtained by first offsetting the ground plane to the roof – effectively creating a projected plane at roof height parallel to the ground. Then the measured distance between the ground plane and this parallel plane is the Envelope Height. Table 5 determines the maximum envelope height. For R1 zoning, it will either be 28′ or 33′ depending on the roof slope.
- The other is Overall Height that is measured from “the lowest elevation point within 5 horizontal feet of the exterior wall of the building to the highest elevation point of the roof structure or parapet wall.”
The Zoning Administrator can allow a structure to exceed the maximum envelope height, but the Baseline Hillside Ordinance caps this allowance at a maximum overall height of 45 feet.
And if we do a upper level front deck, there are codes to keep in mind for handrails and guardrails. Per the LAMC (Los Angeles Municipal Code), handrails and guardrails are considered part of a building and they must be within the building’s height limits. However, the Baseline Hillside Ordinance provides an exception, allowing visibly permeable handrails and guardrails can extend 5 horizontal feet from the maximum envelope height.
809 Higgins St. is a Height District 1, but it is subject to the Height Limits of the Baseline Hillside Ordinance.
We want to maximize the usable square feet of this home, so we want to be able to use the roof as an exterior space. Therefore we will keep the roof slope at less than 25%. In doing so, Table 5 will require us to stay within a maximum height of 28 feet (y=28’).
That is great because it keeps us within the 28 feet height needed to maintain a 4 feet side yard setback. If we went above 28 feet, we would have to add another foot to the side yard setbacks, thus reducing our Buildable Zone to just 15 feet wide instead of the 17 feet that we now have.
Because 809 Higgins St. fronts a Substandard Hillside Limited Street and is subject to the 5-feet Front Yard Setback, there is an important provision to note (§12.21.C.10(d)(5)).
The provision limits any portion of a building within 20 feet of the front yard setback line to a height of 24 feet. This protects the traditional character of the streetscape by keeping the vertical lines of the homes lower and set back from the street.
The massing looks like an upper level front deck connected to an interior kitchen/living area would be great idea. That will add usable square feet without affecting the RFA numbers (see What is Residential Floor Area (RFA) in Section 2, page 8 of the Baseline Hillside Ordinance).
Per the envelope height restrictions, we need to trim a bit of our height.
The building volume is now properly sited on the property, and the design is taking shape. We will discuss lot coverage and grading in the next article, to ensure the amount of soil we can export from the site to make room for the garage.
Note: The Hillside Neighborhood Overlay may supersede the requirements for Height Limits.
Note: If your property is subject to the Northeast Los Angeles Hillside Ordinance No. 180,403, it is exempt from the Height Limits provision of the Baseline Hillside Ordinance.
Note: If your property is subject to the Oaks Hillside Ordinance No. 181,136, it is exempt from the Height Limits provision of the Baseline Hillside Ordinance.
Note: The content in this article is for information only and it represents our interpretation of Los Angeles Zoning & Building codes. Current Los Angeles Zoning & Building Codes should be consulted for an in-depth understanding of the legal text contained in them, and building officials should be consulted as their interpretation of the Los Angeles Zoning and Building Codes may differ from ours.