Greetings Everyone:

The Hillside Area Ordinance (the definition and map, NOT the Baseline Hillside Ordinance) has been signed by the Mayor’s Office and will become effective on Monday, May 3, 2010; it is Ordinance No. 181,128.

Just to clarify for all, any property zoned R1, RS, RE, or RA which is having the Hillside Area designation removed will be subject to the Baseline Mansionization Ordinance beginning on May 3, 2010. Any property zoned R1, RS, RE, or RA maintaining its Hillside Area designation will be subject to the Baseline Hillside Ordinance which is currently being developed and undergoing a series of public hearings.

Pursuant to Section 12.26 A.3 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code, any project which is accepted by the Department of Building and Safety for plan check with a complete set of plans and for which the fees have been paid prior to May 3, 2010 (essentially, you have until Friday, April 30, 2010) will be considered to be a Vested Development Plan; meaning that the applicable regulations in place prior to this change will continue to apply. However, there are some limitations to this provision that you should be aware of, but the more relevant ones are that you have 18 months after the fee is paid, and that you cannot make changes to those plans which increase or decrease the height, floor area, or occupant load of the proposed structure by more than 5%. Feel free to reference our online Municipal Code for more details (http://www.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=amlegal:lamc_ca); go to Chapter 1, Article 2, Section 12.26, Subsection A, Subdivision 3.

To download a copy of the Hillside Area Ordinance: http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2009/09-1390_ord_181128.pdf

To download a copy of the Department of City Planning Hillside Area Map (dated September 23, 2009) please go to the following link: http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2009/09-1390_misc_12-7-09.pdf

To access the rest of the City Clerk’s records for this case please click go to the following link: http://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=09-1390
As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

__________________________________________
Erick Lopez
City Planner
Department of City Planning
Community Planning Bureau – West Coastal Division
200 N. Spring St., Room 621
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 978-1243
(213) 978-1226 – fax
erick.lopez@lacity.org