BEVERLY GROVE RFA DISTRICT ORDINANCE SIGNED & IN EFFECT
An ordinance that would put significant restrictions on the size of single-family dwellings in a small Mid-City neighborhood took affect Monday, just days after it was signed by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Earlier this month, limitations on new and remodeled single-family dwellings in Beverly Grove were approved unanimously by the City Council, the most restrictive "anti-McMansion" rules yet adopted in Los Angeles. The ordinance was passed with an urgency clause, putting it on a fast track for enactment.
The Residential Floor Area (RFA) District covers approximately 700 homes in a 5-street Mid City neighborhood between San Vicente Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue north of Wilshire Boulevard. It limits the maximum residential floor area ratio (FAR) contained in all residential buildings and accessory buildings to 42 percent, with various bonuses that could bring the FAR up to 50%. For example, a home on a 6,000-square-foot lot would be limited to 3,000 square feet, with bonuses.
The Beverly Grove RFA sets both a lower base FAR and a lower maximum allowable FAR than is currently allowed citywide.
Beverly Grove RFA Final Ordinance
http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2011/11-1438_ord_182754_10-28-2013.pdf
Anti-McMansion ordinance OK'd for Beverly Grove
http://www.landusela.com/1/post/2013/10/anti-mcmansion-ordinance-okd-for-beverly-grove.html
MORE OPPOSITION TO PROPOSED MERGER OF DEPARTMENTS
The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee endorsed Monday the motion to table the merger of the city's Planning and Building & Safety Departments until June, if at all.
Earlier this month, the council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee recommended that the idea be tabled until at least July while options were studied other than a merger. Nearly 30 people spoke in favor of postponing the merger during the PLUM Committee hearing.
Monday's vote by the Budget and Finance Committee endorsed the PLUM Committee plan. Both recommendations will now be forwarded to the full City Council for vote.
Mayor Eric Garcetti endorsed the plan to search for other options, saying he would veto the highly controversial proposed merger because “I think that’s just rearranging the bureaucracy and not the systems.”
LandUseLA: Garcetti vows to stop Planning, LADBS merger
http://www.landusela.com/1/post/2013/10/update-garcetti-vows-to-stop-planning-ladbs-merger.html