Around the Corner

📉 September saw a slowdown in planning applications

But notable movement from LA’s PLUM Committee, who voted to apply union labor standards only to ED1-expedited affordable housing projects that are eight stories or higher. City planners cautioned that broader requirements could stall many projects moving forward. Read more.

This week, City Council will review an amended motion that exempts Olympic and Paralympic temporary and permanent venues, training facilities, transit infrastructure, and more from the requirements of City Planning approvals and conditions.

SB 79 remains on Gov. Newsom’s desk…

Sept in Review 

City of LA Applications:

• Executive Directive 1 (ED1) and RED1: 5 ADM/DIR (+7 Pre-Application Review or PAR). 3 Expanded Administrative Review (EAR) RED1 projects

  • 3 in Canoga Park-Winnetka-Woodland Hills-West Hills

  • 3 in Southeast LA

  • 2 in Westlake

  • 2 in Hollywood

    • 544 S Pacific Ave, ADM-2025-5319-RDP-RED1: Approved 78 unit, 5 story senior residential building, over 1st floor parking and one level basement parking, 100% affordable senior housing ,100% privately funded

• Transit-Oriented Communities (TOC): 2 (1 DIR, 1 PAR)

  • 214 N Berendo St, DIR-2025-5505-TOC-SPPC-HCA: Construction of a 35-unit, 43,075 sf tall multi-family TOC development utilizing base and additional Tier 4 incentives

• Appeals: 6

• Denied Application: 1

• Wildfire Rebuild Applications

  • 881 Alma Real Dr, PAR-2025-5239-CM: Replace 2 story commercial building destroyed in Palisades fire with 5 story mixed use development. Utilizing State Density Bonus.

Highlighted Applications

City of LA

• 233 N Irving Blvd, ADM-2025-5306-ADUH: Pursuant to AB 2299 and SB 1069 in the Windsor Square HPOZ Preservation Plan for the addition of doors and fenestration to accessory structures

• 13123 Hoyt St, CPC-2025-5267-DB-HCA: Case for new 30 unit housing project in the R1 zone

• 10621 Wilkins Ave, DIR-2025-5252-DRB-SPPC-HCA: Proposed demolition of a single-family dwelling and for the construction of 6 multifamily apartment units within the Westwood Community Design Review Board Specific Plan area

• 5114 Avenida Hacienda, DIR-2025-4759-ADJ: Parcel map to subdivide 38,763.0 sf lot into two new 17,543.65 (Parcel A) and 21,235.64 (Parcel B) sf lots in the RA-1 Zone and an adjustment to permit a substandard lot width on Parcel A

• 2727 W 6Th St, ZA-2025-4962-CU1-CU2-PR: Demolition of commercial office space and construction of self-storage

• 9213 Tobias Ave, PAR-2025-4985-AHRF: New 5-story 64-units (6 VLI) and (5 MI) mixed-use affordable housing project with 5-levels of Type III-A apartments using AHI- Density Bonus 12.22.A.37 Menu of Incentives in Mission Hills - Panorama City - North Hills

City of Santa Monica

• 1514 7Th St, 25ARB-0200: Architecture Review Board for a proposed 23-story multi-family residential building with 104 for sale market-rate units which include 3-levels of above grade parking and two levels of subterranean parking.

• 2012 19Th St, 25ARB-0198: 3 Unit Condo 6475 project total sf, 2 stories (29 ft height), 3 units, 6 parking spaces

• 1723 Cloverfield Blvd, 25ENT-0176: SB 330 application for a new multi-family residential housing project consisting of an eight story with 330 residential units (including 33 affordable units)

• 1399 Olympic Blvd, 25ARB-0189: ARB review for a new 8-story mixed-use building composed of 222 residential units using a 50% Density Bonus and 25 affordable units. Mixed-use building with 9,982 sf of commercial space. Also refer to 25ENT-0178.

Week Ahead

Oct 6 | Santa Monica Architectural Review Board

• 1437 Lincoln Blvd, 25ARB-0135: Review of the design, colors, materials, landscape plans and sign program for the construction of an eight-story, 85-foot tall, 76,896 sf residential housing project consisting of 90 units (80 market rate units; 10 affordable units), above three levels of subterranean parking in the Lincoln Transition East Zoning District of the Downtown Community Plan (DCP-LT). Staff Report.

• 2901 Santa Monica Blvd, 25ARB-0134: Review of the design, colors, materials and landscape plans for the construction of an eight-story, 85-foot tall, 98,189 sf residential housing project consisting of 129 units (116 market rate units; 13 affordable units) above three levels of subterranean parking in the Mixed-Use Boulevard Low (MUBL) Zoning District. Staff Report.

• 1399 Olympic Blvd, 25ARB-0189: Review of the design, colors and materials for the construction of an eight-story, 81-foot tall, 192,381 sf mixed-use housing project consisting of 222 residential units (197 market rate units; 25 affordable units), and 9,982 sf of commercial floor area above two levels of subterranean parking in the Mixed-Use Boulevard Low (MUBL) Zoning District. Staff Report.

Oct 7 | LA City Council

• Continued consideration of Planning and Land Use Management Committee report relative to drafting an ordinance to exempt Olympic and Paralympic temporary and permanent venues, training facilities, security perimeters, broadcast and media centers, transit infrastructure, live sites and fan zones, and associated structures from the requirements of City Planning approvals, zoning regulations, and conditions, including but not limited to Conditional Use Permits and conditions tied to such permits, Site Plan Review requirements, height restrictions, setback requirements, limitations imposed by Specific Plans, and any other planning or zoning regulations that could delay or impede the rapid deployment and or use of essential facilities; and related matters. Staff Report.

  • Instructs LADBS to establish a dedicated unit to manage and expedite all development services related to the 2028 Games Projects and projects related to other major events

Oct 9 | LA City Planning Commission

• 23416 and 23514 South President Ave, DIR-2024-7352-BSA-1A: Appeal from Concerned Residents of Green Meadows West-Harbor City of the April 9, 2025, Associate Zoning Administrator's Determination which: 1. Denied an appeal to the Director of Planning alleging that the LADBS erred and abused its discretion by preparing to issue Supplemental Building Permit No. 24026-10000-00086 for the use of land in conjunction with a new recreational vehicle park as a Public Benefit Project, pursuant to LAMC, Chapter 1, Section 14.00 A.7, compliant with the required performance standards and without requiring a conditional use permit; and 2. Found that the LADBS did not err or abuse its discretion in preparing to issue Supplemental Building Permit for the use of land in conjunction with a new recreational vehicle park, as a Public Benefit Project compliant with the required performance standards and without requiring a conditional use permit. The CPC originally heard this case on June 26, 2025. The Project was remanded back to the CPC, by the City Council, for further review and consideration on August 21, 2025. The CPC shall receive new evidence, re-hear, and re-decide this case.

• 12681 West Jefferson Blvd, CPC-2024-115-GPA-ZC-HD-CU-ZAA-SPR: Construction of an 82,324 sf, 44-foot three-inch, three-story mixed-use building over a basement consisting of retail and self-storage uses. The Project will consist of 3,959 sf of retail use and parking at ground floor and 78,365 sf of self-storage use at the second and third floors and basement level. The Proposed Project will be developed at the vacant portion of a site that is currently developed with an existing 216,584 sf self-storage building that will remain.

• 657 and 659 East Sunset Ave, CPC-2024-5346-DB-CU3-CDP-SPPC-MEL-PHP-HCA: Demolition of two existing duplexes and the construction of a new four-story, 18,773 sf 25-unit apartment building, comprised of 19 market-rate units and six units set aside for Very Low-Income households, and the removal of two street trees, providing 11 vehicular parking spaces on-site.

• 1268 – 1290 West Pacific Coast Highway, CPC-2021-9522-DB-VCU-CU-SPR-HCA: Construction of a new six-story, 80-foot-tall mixed-use residential building comprised of 354 dwelling units (including 42 VLI). The Project will be approximately 406,855 sf in floor area, including 1,500 square feet of commercial, with a FAR of 2.6:1. The Project will provide 560 residential and 15 commercial parking spaces, for a total of 575 parking spaces, in a six-story above-grade parking garage. The Project will include the grading of 53,000 cy and export of 7,000 cubic yards of soil, and removal of 24 non-protected trees. The Project involves the closure of an existing mobile home park containing 88 spaces. All existing structures will be removed for the Proposed Project. The closure was heard at a previous separate hearing conducted by the Deputy Advisory Agency for Related Case No. AA-2019-5528-MPC.

• 400 South Central Ave, CPC-2021-4069-GPAJ-VZCJ-HD-MCUP-SPR-HCA: The Fourth & Central Project would consist of three distinct sites with a total land area of approximately eight acres and demolish the existing surface parking and cold storage facility uses on the West and South Sites, and would adaptively reuse, if feasible, a portion of a six-story cold storage building on the North Site while demolishing the remaining warehouse uses. The Project would include a mix of residential, office, and restaurant/retail uses within ten distinct buildings within the Project Site totaling up to 2,318,534 sf of floor area. The Project would include: 1,589 residential units, including affordable housing units, totaling 1,761,673 sf; 411,113 sf of office uses; and 145,748 sf of restaurant/retail uses. The Project would include 90,113 sf of publicly-accessible open space. The proposed buildings would range in height from two to 30 stories, with a maximum height of 364 feet.

  • 400 South Central Ave, VTT-82974-CN-HCA-1A: Appeal of merger and re-subdivision of the site into four ground lots and 27 airspace lots and for condominium purposes, and a Haul Route for the export of up to 651,000 cubic yards of soil. Approval of the decision to adopt the Fourth and Central Project EIR.