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Dear Stakeholder: Los Angeles City Planning is launching a package of local citywide Zoning Code amendments, known as Missing Middle LA, a new effort to expand housing choices for Angelenos. By all accounts, the cost of housing is out of reach for most Angelenos, with only 36% of Angelenos owning a home – one of the lowest rates in the US. These trends place enormous pressure on working families, young adults, and longtime residents who want to put down roots in the city they call home. Missing Middle LA is designed to address this challenge by opening new pathways for Angelenos to stay rooted in their communities, building on recent state housing laws to create more flexible housing opportunities, including opportunities for homeownership, reinforcing the sense of place and neighborhood fabric, while also advancing the goals of the City’s Housing Element.   About the Program The Missing Middle LA Program consists of local citywide Zoning Code amendments implementing state law that aim to create smaller, neighborhood-scale homes such as accessory dwelling units (ADUs), duplexes, and small lot townhomes in order to meet the demand for more affordable alternatives to traditional single-family houses on larger lots. The proposed ordinances will benefit Angelenos by empowering residents to tailor their housing choices to diverse lifestyle, family, and financial needs—whether it’s generating rental income to sustain homeownership, creating space for multigenerational living, planning to age in place, or choosing to downsize. The program emphasizes the importance of high-quality design and livability through the introduction of objective design standards aimed at ensuring neighborhood-scale development, reducing paving and hardscape, and incentivizing the preservation of historic buildings and mature trees that make up the neighborhood fabric.   The Missing Middle LA Program will leverage and implement three recent state housing laws through a series of local code amendments:   Small-Scale Homes Code Amendments:   Update the City’s 2019 ADU Ordinance to align with current state ADU law, allow ADUs to be sold separately (AB 1033) and expand hillside fire zone protections. Incorporate state law (Home Act, SB9/450) two-unit development provisions that allow duplexes and two homes on a lot. Consider additional provisions to further expand and streamline ADU creation. Small Lot Ordinance Update:  Update the City’s Small Lot Subdivision Ordinance to incorporate recent state housing laws allowing for the subdivision of land to create homes on smaller lots including: The Home Act which allows lots to be split in single-family zones. The Starter Home Revitalization Act (SB 684/1123), which facilitates more attainable for-sale housing types such as detached townhomes and bungalow courts in all residential zones. Create a complementary local program that better addresses citywide policy priorities and implements objective design standards that support gentle density and livable communities. These updates support the goals of the City’s adopted Housing Element and Mayor Bass’ Executive Directive 7, both of which call for a multi-faceted approach to housing production, including expanding homeownership opportunities, to address the City’s long-standing housing affordability crisis. Upcoming Engagement Opportunities – You are invited to participate in one or more ways!  Kick-Off Webinar – October 28, 2025 This webinar will mark the launch of the work program and provide an opportunity to introduce information and collect your feedback on the Missing Middle LA Program.  To register for the Open House/Webinar on October 28 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. click here. For those who cannot attend, the webinar will be recorded. Tell Us About Your Housing Experience! – Open Now  We are gathering community stories:  We are collecting stories from people that have had experience living, owning or building small scale multifamily housing, as well as those who are being impacted by the housing affordability crisis and limited homeownership options. If you have personal experiences to share with us, we invite you to share your housing story through our testimonial form. Timeline Draft ordinances are tentatively expected to be released for public review and comment by the end of 2025. In addition, Planning staff will host a series of public events in local communities to gather input and refine the ordinances prior to formal hearings and adoption in 2026.

Stay Connected If you would like to learn more about the Missing Middle LA Program, please review the program Fact Sheet. You can also stay up-to-date on this exciting work effort, including future events, by signing up for updates here by selecting Missing Middle LA under Current Planning Initiatives. For questions or additional feedback, please email planning.missingmiddlela@lacity.org. Thank you for your continued interest in supporting the future of housing in Los Angeles!