Councilmember: No More McMansions on Our Hillsides

Over-sized construction in residential areas is on its way out thanks to the Los Angeles City Council. Councilmember LaBonge and his colleagues voted unanimously on Wednesday to ask the City Attorney to draft the language for the Baseline Hillside Ordinance (BHO). Much like the Baseline Mansionization Ordinance (BMO) in effect since 2008 for non-hillside areas of Los Angeles, the BHO will require all future single-family homes to be built in accordance with the scale and character of the neighborhood.
The vote comes after a staff report from the Planning and Land Use Management Committee approved the amendments to existing building codes. Hillside communities have complained for several years about out-of-scale developments. Oversized developments have been on the Councilmember’s radar since May of 2006.
“Long overdue, this ordinance will assure architecture and scale of new developments will fit the contours of the hills,” Councilmember LaBonge said. “When it passes, we won’t see McMansions all over our hillsides. I thank the neighborhood Hillside Federation, the neighborhood councils and neighborhood associations who have been waiting for over a century to see this pass. I’d also like to thank Councilmember Ed Reyes for his leadership.”
Previous planning laws did not place restrictions on single-family units, encouraging those who sought to maximize space to build out-of-scale, box-like mansions—building actual living area to the maximum allowed height and width. The City Attorney will draft the ordinance to consider various aspects of new housing proposal including slope of the lot and height of the proposed structure. The ordinance will also require developments in special use areas, such as equestrian neighborhoods or lake districts, to maintain distinguishing characteristics of that neighborhood.
For more information or to track the motion, click here.