Baseline Hillside Ordinance Unanimously Approved by City Council

In an effort to stem the tide of "mansionization" of Los Angeles hillsides, the City Council last week adopted new rules for building single-family homes in hillside neighborhoods. The ordinance received 13 yes votes and zero no votes.

The idea is to prevent what the new law calls "out-of-scale" structures that detract from the natural look of the many hills and canyons in city territory, including Encino.

“The Baseline Hillside Ordinance is a major step toward the protection of our city’s hillsides, and ensures that development conforms to the land, instead of the land conforming to the development,” Director of City Planning Michael LoGrande said in a statement.

The key to the new regulations is a property's "floor area ratio," or FAR, that compares the size of a building to the lot's total area. The ordinance, which takes effect in May and applies to both new construction as well as major remodeling projects, sets the maximum limit a landowner can develop his or her property based on lot size, zone and steepness of slopes.

It takes into account varying hillside conditions when determining size limits and also establishes a minimum unit size, guaranteeing a base level of development regardless of lot size and topography.

The new regulations base height measurement on the slope of a lot and allow for buildings to step up or down a hillside.

"This will remove a major design constraint that has been in place for many years and resulted in large and tall box-like structures that many communities have specifically identified as a problem," said City Planning Department spokeswoman Claudia Rodriguez.

Height limits range from 18 to 36 feet depending on a structure's zoning classification and the host hill's slope grade, according to the ordinance. The maximum size of front yards, or "setbacks," ranges from 20 to 25 feet, depending on the zone, and must be no less than 20 percent of the lot's depth.

For questions regarding a specific property, the City Planning Department can be reached at 213-482-7077.