Around the Corner 

On Thursday, the City of LA opened a specialized planning office to expedite the rebuilding process for residents who lost their homes in the fires. The Centralized Permit Operation Center is located at 1828 Sawtelle Blvd in West LA.

Californians for Homeownership and Yes In My Back Yard (YIMBY) filed a joint lawsuit against the City of LA accusing leaders of not doing enough to zone for new housing and reversing the state-mandated plan to rezone land for more than a quarter-million new units.

The Week Ahead

Feb 19 | West LA Planning Commission

• 10281 West Charing Cross Rd, ZA-2023-3336-ZAA-1A: Notice of public hearing for appeal of construction, use, and maintenance of existing fencing and hedging that is 10 feet in height along the property boundaries with exception of the west property line, hedging along the west property line that is 20 feet in height, a new vehicular gate and one pedestrian gate 10 feet in height.

  • Appellant argues that that the setback more than double the 3.5 feet (front) and 6 feet (side) permitted by LAMC 12.22.C.20. The fence/hedge has already been installed without permits or the required Zoning Administrator’s Adjustments and the applicant is under investigation with LADBS for construction without permits. And that construction workers have damaged vegetation on their property. Read Commission Packet.

Feb 19 | Santa Monica Planning Commission

• Adoption of Resolution Numbers 25-001, 25-002 and 25-003, Resolutions of Intention declaring the Commission’s intention to consider recommending to the City Council that the Council (Staff Report):

  • 1) Amend the Land Use and Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan and Downtown Community Plan for consistency with recent updates to State law;

  • 2) Amend the text of the Zoning Ordinance to eliminate parcel size threshold for streamlined review of housing projects, increase the maximum square footage for ADUs, revise provisions related to ministerially approved lot splits and duplexes on parcels zoned for single-unit residential, adjust the criteria for streamlined review of housing projects located on large sites within Bergamot Zoning Districts, provide extensions for projects approved prior to January 6, 2025, convert parcel coverage standards to FAR for the City’s residential zoning districts, align density standards for the City’s Multiple-Unit and Ocean Park Neighborhood zoning districts with the intensities envisioned in the Land Use Circulation Element, eliminate Resolution of Intention requirement, for consistency with recent updates to State laws, and making other minor changes, corrections, and clarifications;

  • (3) Amend the Santa Monica General Plan Land Use Map and the Official Districting Map regarding 2644 30th Street and 1331 Wilshire Boulevard for consistent designation.

• 3009 Lincoln Blvd, 24ENT-0184: Conditional Use Permit; Consideration of Compliance with CEQA: CUP to allow the sale of beer, wine, and distilled spirits for off-site consumption in conjunction with the operation of a liquor store use within the General Commercial (GC) zoning district. Staff Report.

Week in Review 

Highlighted Case Applications

Los Angeles

• 17510 W Willow Glen Rd, DIR-2025-997-SPPC-DRB-MSP-HCA: New 3-story 2,698 sf SFD with attached 634 sf ADU and attached 2 car garage and 2 open to the sky parking spaces; two new 10' retaining walls; and a new swimming pool

• 1158 W 37Th Pl, DIR-2025-989-DB-VHCA: Demo one SFD to construct a new Multifamily 6-story building with 7 units (1 VL) & 1 ADU using 3 Off Menu incentives & Waiver of Dev In the SLACPIO & RD2 zone

• 9000 Hopen Pl, ENV-2025-878-EAF: Class 32 being requested for a haul route for a project that includes 3,148 cubic yards of grading and a haul route for the export of 2,730 cubic yards of earth

• 2904 Sagamore Way, DIR-2025-964-CDO: 2nd story addition adding 1900 sf of living space and remodeling the existing conditions

• 7555 N Hollywood Way, APCNV-2025-973-ZC: Zone change for the section of the property currently in the R-1-1 zone to align it with the lot zoned R-3-1

• 1033 W 60Th Pl, ADM-2025-912-ADU-CPIOC: Convert existing detached garage into an ADU unit with a 1 story addition

• 3525 W 8Th St, ADM-2025-950-RDP: PVC letter sign on the illuminated box

Highlighted Completions

Did you know we now have a completed date filter for LA in ATC? You can also check a project's status using the new status filter. For example, many of the cases below have been approved but have a status of “In appeal period.”

Los Angeles

• 353 N Avenue 53, ZA-2024-3844-CU1-HCA: Terminated construction and maintenance of a duplex and two ADUs within the Highland Park-Garvanza HPOZ

• 10050 Riverside Dr, DIR-2024-6206-CDO: Approved with conditions major design overlay approval within Toluca Lake Village Community Design Overlay for installation of 2 Solar carports w/ under lighting, transformer & 1 wall mounted PV equipment in rear of lot

• 3323 Scadlock Ln, DIR-2024-2627-DRB-MSP-SPPC: Approved with conditions project compliance within the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Corridor Specific Plan for a major remodel of SFD and new 1,206 sf 2nd-floor addition

• 3820 W Roble Vista Dr, AA-2019-7116-PMLA-SL-HCA: Partially approved subdivision for 2 small lot homes. each 3 stories over garage, and with roof deck in the Hollywood Community Plan Area

• 15349 Gault St, ZA-2023-8380-CU: Approved with conditions the existing 4 story office and retail use to be converted to a self storage facility with retail located on the 1st floor along Sherman Way

• 5305 Knowlton St, DIR-2022-9365-DB-SPR-VHCA-PHP: Approved with conditions the demolition of existing buildings for the construction of a new multi-family housing project with two buildings totaling 145 units