A GUIDE TO BUILDING IN THE HILLS OF LOS ANGELES
Article #2: Baseline Hillside Ordinance
Any good building project discerns the ground first. You learn what you can build by finding out what you can’t build.
The first two things that you must have before you build will tell you what you can’t do:
- A geological study and soils analysis report
- Building codes– including zoning and ordinances
Your geotechnical engineer will give you a geological study and soils analysis report.
The City of Los Angeles has a tangled web of building codes, ordinances, overlays, etc. These regulations are all classified under the LAMC – Los Angeles Municipal Code.
Because we are building in a Hillside Area of Los Angeles, we will look at the Baseline Hillside Ordinance that guides and regulates building in Hillside Areas within the City of Los Angeles. It limits height, allowable building area, grading, among others. The ordinances are intended to preserve general intents and exceptions may be approved in individual cases.
How can I find out what codes and ordinances govern my property?
Zoning and other jurisdictional information for a property can be found at www.zimas.lacity.org. One of the better ways to search for your property is by using its Accessor Parcel Number (APN). Once found, the listing will give you a range of legal information about your property, including zoning and the applicable building codes and ordinances.
In the past twenty years as the development in Los Angeles started to approach a critical mass, the city’s planning department brought out various ordinances to promote smarter growth and to preserve the character of existing neighborhoods. The Baseline Hillside Ordinance was signed into law in 2011, and applies the same agenda specifically to the Hills.
In essence, the Baseline Hillside Ordinance guides and regulates building in Hillside Areas within the City of Los Angeles. It sets limits on the following:
- Yard Setbacks (Distance in feet that the walls of the home must be set back from the street or property line)
- Residential Floor Area (RFA) (Maximum allowed floor area on a property. This is determined by the steepness of the slope on the property, and is quantified by a process called Slope Band Analysis)
- Height (Limits the building envelope height)
- Lot Coverage (Limits the area of a property that a home can cover)
- Grading (Regulates the quantity of soil you can export or import from a site. It also sets all newly graded slopes at a ratio of 2:1 (horizontal-vertical))
- Off Street Parking Requirements
- Fire Protection (Due to the typically high risk of fire in the Hills and the occasional difficulty of navigating the Hills, this ordinance requires a fire sprinkler system for all new construction and major additions)
- Street Access & Sewer Connection (Ensures that the site is properly connected to the city’s infrastructure)
- Exceptions (The Baseline Hillside Ordinance grants exceptions in different cases, including if your property falls under another overlay or ordinance such as the Northeast Los Angeles Hillside Ordinance or the Oaks Hillside Ordinance)
STEPS TO GET STARTED WITH THE BASELINE HILLSIDE ORDINANCE:
- Get a preliminary Geological Survey & Soils Analysis
- This will tell you three important things: 1) Soil conditions: What are the soil conditions for the area including those that might make the site unbuildable? 2) Foundation: What types of foundation are recommended for the site based on the soil conditions? 3) Retaining Walls: What are the requirements if any for a retaining wall or/and impact wall based on the soil conditions? An impact wall is a freestanding low wall designed to retain loose soil and debris coming down the hill, whether over time or during an earthquake.
- Get a Topographical or Contour Map
- For initial assessment, you want to know how many square feet you can build on the property. This is called Maximum Residential Floor Area (RFA). The Maximum RFA is determined by something called a Floor Area Ratio that is part of the Baseline Hillside Ordinance, and is calculated by doing a slope band analysis. The provision does guarantee a minimum RFA of 1,000 square feet regardless of what the slope band calculations gives. This will be covered in Article 4 of the series.
- Past topographical maps are often available
- If you can’t locate one, go to Navigate LA’s website and input your Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN) to find a map with level curve layers for the property.
- If you move forward with your building project, you will need to have a licensed surveyor complete an up to date topographical map. If you decide to use the slope band analysis route to satisfy the Maximum RFA requirements, the surveyor can also complete a slope band analysis map concurrent with creating a topographical map. More in Article 4.
- Get a preliminary confirmation of whether your property fronts a Standard or Substandard Hillside Street*.
- This is a key piece of information for your property that will apply exceptions and adjustments to the code.
- Search your property on Zimas and go to Additional Information in the left-hand column.
- As part of the permitting process, you will need to take a Hillside Referral Form to the BOE for them to do the final confirmation.
* Substandard Hillside Limited Street: A street that is less than 36 feet wide and paved to a roadway width of less than 28 feet. The official determination is by the Bureau of Engineering. See definition on page 28 of the Baseline Hillside Ordinance, A Comprehensive Guide: http://planning.lacity.org/Code_Studies/BaselineHillsideOrd/BHComprehensiveGuide1stEdition.pdf
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.