Land Use
Advocacy
Urban land use is incredibly important because land is a finite, non-renewable resource that serves as the foundation for all urban activities, including housing, infrastructure, economic development, and community spaces, impacting quality of like and sustainability.
Land Use Planning is essential for organizing and managing the use of land in a way that supports the needs of the city and its residents.
LUNA is a strong advocate for responsible growth in our neighborhood. We seek to be good stewards of our community and safeguard its unique character. Land Use issues include state and city laws and ordinances, new developments, homes being built, renovated or improperly used, historic preservation, restaurant operations, parking and the appropriate use of undeveloped land.
Many of you already contribute to advocacy efforts on behalf our neighborhood. Consider joining LUNA’s Land Use Committee and help us achieve a thriving community evolving at scale. There’s plenty to do!
Land Use and Zoning - Who’s in charge?
Land use and zoning are main factors for how you can use your property. They describe how many units you can create and where and what kinds of businesses you can operate. They also describe how to design them for a specific location. Any proposed use must meet both land use and zoning.
Both the City and the State weigh in on planning and zoning decisions in Los Angeles. For the City, Los Angeles Planning takes the lead role. To understand the rules and regulations that affect a property in our city the single most comprehensive resource is ZIMAS,
ZIMAS stands for Zone Information and Map Access System. It’s a web-based mapping tool used by the City of Los Angeles to provide zoning information for properties within the city. This system allows users to access and view zoning regulations and other relevant information about specific locations in the city.
A comprehensive guide to using ZIMAS can be found here. YouTube tutorials can be found here.
Permitting and Enforcement
Building and development in Los Angeles is overseen by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS). LADBS issues permits, conducts inspections and responds to complaints from residents about problems at an address including improper or un-permitted construction and the upkeep of a property. To file complaint click here.
Historic Preservation
Many of Los Angeles’s historic and culturally important properties are eligible for special designations and protections from inappropriate development. More information can be found on LA Planning. You can search for historic places here. Other resources include the LA Conservancy.
Our Advocacy Efforts
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Supporting the recently passed Housing Element with protections in place for single-family neighborhoods, historic districts and RSO Housing.
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Preventing a problematic six-story development from being built on Larchmont Boulevard.
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Working together with nearby neighborhoods to require a proposed new restaurant to comply with neighborhood standard hours of operation and institute a parking plan to ensure safety and quiet on adjacent residential streets.
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Assisting the residents of Clinton Manor Garden Apartments with their efforts to successfully attain a Historic Cultural Monument designation
We are currently focused on the following issues:
State bill SB79
State bill SB79 which, if passed, could allow buildings from 65’ to 75’ to be built on any property in our neighborhood.
Major Transit Stop Designation
What we believe to be the improper designation as Major Transit Stops of two intersections along our neighborhood’s border which enable all of the improper out-of-scale development aimed at Larchmont: Beverly Blvd. and Larchmont Blvd; Melrose Avenue and Gower Street.
531 & 507 N Larchmont
531 N. Larchmont and 507 N. Larchmont (see illustration in the above section), two wildly out-of-scale developments which if approved will irretrievably and detrimentally alter the character of N. Larchmont Boulevard as well as overwhelm one of our neighborhoods two Preferential Parking Districts, impacting not only current residents but also the inventory of available parking spaces during daytime and early evening hours for customers of businesses all along Larchmont Blvd.
