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Summary

Adopted in 2013, the Warner Center 2035 Plan enacted a cultural amenities fee on development within the Specific Plan and required the creation of the Cultural Amenities Master Plan in order to expend funds collected from the fee. Los Angeles City Planning and the Department of Cultural Affairs are working with Lord Cultural Resources to create the Cultural Amenities Master Plan. The plan will identify existing cultural assets, opportunities for growth, and strategies to overcome challenges. Once adopted, the plan will guide the expenditure decisions of a yet-to-be-established cultural amenities committee.

Background

When the Los Angeles City Council adopted Ordinance No. 182,766, it established the Specific Plan with regulations governing height, parking, and landscaping, establishing mobility and cultural amenities fees, and allocating the funds to collect the designated fees.

The Warner Center 2035 Specific Plan is generally bounded by the Los Angeles River to the north, the US-101 Freeway to the south, De Soto Avenue to the east, and Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Glade Avenue to the west. The Specific Plan created eight districts within the Plan Area: River, Topanga, Uptown, North Village, Downtown College, Park, and Commerce. Each district is designed to encourage certain types of uses and disallow others, with the goal of creating a cohesive and vibrant community.

What Would the Proposed Cultural Amenities Master Plan Do?

The Cultural Amenities Master Plan would serve as a guiding document for the expenditure of funds generated from the Warner Center Cultural Amenities Fee. The intent of the Master Plan is to promote “a rich cultural environment [by] integrat[ing] public art and contribut[ing] to the civic and cultural life of the City” (Page 10 of Appendix F of the Specific Plan).

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Summary

On December 15, 2023, City Council adopted the Al Fresco Ordinance – a key component of Los Angeles’s economic strategy, geared toward propping up locally-sourced jobs in the hospitality industry which are recovering from the pandemic. City Planning’s Al Fresco Ordinance amends provisions of Los Angeles’s Zoning Code to facilitate outdoor dining on private property. Recognizing the success of the emergency outdoor dining authorizations, the proposed ordinance simplifies current Zoning Code regulations for restaurant owners who wish to offer outdoor dining in private property areas including but not limited to parking lots, patios, and plazas. Specifically, the ordinance makes the temporary zoning relief measures for private property introduced during the pandemic that allowed restaurant operators to utilize their parking spaces to facilitate outdoor dining a permanent policy.

View the Al Fresco Ordinance

 

Background

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City enacted temporary emergency orders to allow restaurants to keep their doors open and serve customers while still adhering to local public health and safety measures. These emergency actions established L.A. Al Fresco, which authorized outdoor dining areas and temporarily suspended certain zoning regulations. This created a lifeline for many businesses, and was implemented with a simple process and minimal cost to participants. Due to the success of the temporary L.A. Al Fresco program, the City Council instructed City departments to establish permanent rules for outdoor dining on private property, sidewalks, and in-street (see Council File 20-1074 and 20-1074-S4). As such, City Planning is working alongside the Mayor’s Office, City Council and other City departments on a coordinated effort to establish a permanent Al Fresco program.

Ordinance Milestones

Additional Resources

 

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Background

In response to City Council motion CF 17-0957, Los Angeles City Planning is preparing an ordinance that amends the Los Angeles Municipal Code to establish operating standards for existing alcohol-selling businesses citywide that do not operate under a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). These businesses do not have a CUP because they began operating and selling alcohol before the City began requiring a CUP to sell alcohol in the 1970s and 1980s. The intent of this ordinance is to limit potential public safety impacts that would otherwise be addressed by CUP conditions. This proposed ordinance is referred to as the Deemed Approved Ordinance.

A business would be subject to the provisions of the Deemed Approved Ordinance if it:

  • is currently selling alcohol without a CUP, and
  • began selling alcohol for on-site consumption prior to March 1, 1977, or
  • began selling alcohol for off-site consumption prior to April 7, 1985

Owners of businesses that would be subject to the provisions of the Deemed Approved Ordinance who wish to receive email updates may join the interested parties list by following the "Email Sign-up" link or reaching out to the staff contact (see below).

EMAIL SIGN-UP

City Planning will continue to update this webpage throughout the development of the Deemed Approved Ordinance, as outreach continues and the Department releases a proposed draft ordinance.

Timeline

 

 

Staff Contact

For answers to questions about the ordinance, or to be placed on the ordinance’s interested parties list, please contact Roberto Luna at (213) 473-9701 or roberto.luna@lacity.org.

Additional Resources
City Council Motion - July 2017
Proposed Land Use Regulations

The Mills Act Historical Property Contract Program has served as Los Angeles's primary financial incentive for historic preservation since 1996, offering property tax savings for owners who invest in the rehabilitation and restoration of historic buildings.

Enabled by state legislation in 1972, the Mills Act offers a unique tool for historic preservation through a revolving 10-year contract between the City and the property owner. Contracts are automatically renewed each year and are transferred to new owners when the property is sold. The program’s strength is that it incentivizes – through a property tax abatement – significant investment in historic preservation to retain and protect historic resources.

There are property assessed valuation thresholds in place for new applications: $1.5 million for single-family residences or $3 million for multi-family residential, commercial, or industrial properties. Any properties exceeding these valuation limits require an application for an exemption and the preparation of an Historic Structure Report.

Additional information about the program is available in the list of Frequently Asked Questions.

An effort to apply the New Zoning Code’s framework and zoning system is underway in San Pedro.

Summary

The San Pedro Zoning Code Update (ZCU) was initiated to implement the New Code. It involves the application of zoning and land use designations that fall within the framework of the New Code and its zoning system.The project aims to mirror existing zoning and land use designations within the new system and incorporate best practices, while continuing to carry forth the vision created in the adopted community plan.

Background

The San Pedro Community Plan, one of Los Angeles’s 34 Community Plans, guides future land use and development within the plan area. Engaging in an extensive and participatory outreach process, the San Pedro Community Plan was most recently updated in 2017. A unique feature of the plan was the introduction of the San Pedro Community Plan Implementation Overlay District (CPIO), a tool that provides additional use, development, and design standards within the district boundaries.

The New Zoning Code or New Code is the City’s comprehensive Zoning Code Update and will be Chapter 1A of the Los Angeles Municipal Code. The New Code includes a modern and efficient zoning system with five components: Form, Frontage, Development Standards, Use, and Density. The New Zoning Code is carried into a community plan through either a comprehensive Community Plan Update or through a New Zoning Update, which is a targeted and technical implementation project.

The Project

The primary goal of the San Pedro Zoning Code Update is to apply the new zoning system and retain the intent of the adopted community plan and its regulations. The project does not intend to change the recently adopted community plan policies or existing zoning capacity; the project focuses on “re-packaging” or mirroring the existing zoning to implement its equivalent zone along with its tailored regulations. In addition, existing San Pedro Community Plan Implementation Overlay (CPIO) development standards will be incorporated into the new zoning structure resulting in a streamlined project review process.

The New Zoning system includes the following components: Form, Frontage, Development Standards, Use and Density. While Form, Frontage, and Development standards provide the opportunity to regulate aspects of physical buildings, Use and Density regulate activities that occur within a building or space. As part of the project, these new zoning components will be developed for the San Pedro plan area.

Process Timeline

 

New Zoning Code Introductory Videos
 

City Planning set out to create a responsive, modern, and tailored zoning system for Los Angeles. This comprehensive revision to Los Angeles’s zoning, one of the City’s largest planning initiatives to date, aims to establish a regulatory framework that will guide Los Angeles into the 21st century.

San Pedro Community Plan
 

View the San Pedro Community Plan Adopted by City Council in 2017

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