Public hearing Wednesday re updated BHO/BMO draft ordinance

Late Friday, the City Attorney’s office released its proposed draft ordinance for the changes to the Baseline Hillside Ordinance and Baseline Mansionization Ordinance, the highly controversial update to the rules that have governed hillside development and 'mansionization' in Los Angeles for more than a decade.
 
The City Council’s Planning & Land Use Management committee has already put the item on its agenda for this Wednesday’s meeting, which starts at 3:30 p.m. in City Hall (Room 340). Here's the draft ordinance: http://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2014/14-0656_misc_01-13-2017.pdf
 
The cover letter from the City Attorney’s Office (here) includes discussion about passing the BHO/BMO update simultaneously with City Planning’s ordinance establishing variations of the R1 Zone because “the simultaneous effective dates of these two ordinances is important because this draft ordinance amending the BMO and BHO and the R1 zone variation ordinance together repeal and replace” the 15 Interim Control Ordinances (ICOs) that were enacted on March 25, 2015. Those ICOs expire this March 25.

But the draft ordinance for the R1 Zone Variations (here) hasn’t been sent to the City Attorney’s office yet. It’s on this Wednesday’s PLUM agenda too so PLUM can review and (presumably) vote to send it to the City Attorney’s office for the final draft ordinance. If the City Council wants to pass and enact both simultaneously, the BHO/BMO update is going to have to be set aside for the R1 Zone Variations ordinance to catch up.
 
The City Attorney’s office thinks it’s so important for both ordinances to be enacted simultaneously, they’ve included an “urgency clause” in the BHO/BMO update so that the changes take effect as soon as the City Clerk posts the approved ordinance (approved by City Council; approved and signed by Mayor Garcetti).
 
So assuming that the City Council agrees with the City Attorney’s recommendation, the BHO/BMO changes will be take effect close to March 25 (along with the R1 Zone Variations). If 3/4s of  the City Council disagrees and wants to enact the changes to the BHO/BMO sooner (and the mayor agrees), it could be done within a couple of weeks thanks to the urgency clause.
 
So what does the draft ordinance change? The City Attorney’s summarized the significant changes to the BHO/BMO as:

• Reduces the maximum residential floor area ratio allowed in the R1 zone
  
• Modifies the areas that count toward the calculation of residential floor area by limiting the FAR exemptions in all SFD zones
  
• Eliminates all floor area bonus options in the R1 zone
• Eliminates all floor area bonuses for Green Building in all SFD zones
• Establishes an encroachment plane and side-wall offset for building envelopes in the R1 zone
• Requires occupied rooftop decks in the R1 zone to be 3+ feet from the side yard setback
• Limits driveway widths in the R1 zone in non-Hillside areas
• Requires a public hearing for property owners who want a 10% increase in RFA beyond the allowed by-right in non-Hillside areas
• Removes most “exempt” grading areas
• Increases the amount of by-right grading allowed in all zones except R1 to compensate for formerly exempt grading
• Limits the hours of import and export allowed
• Limits the amount of export/import allowed

  
If you would like to contact the PLUM members and weigh in on the proposed changes and/or the timeline for approval, the council members on PLUM are:

José Huizar (Committee chair) – 213-473-7014 or councilmember.huizar@lacity.org
Gil Cedillo – 213-473-7001 or councilmember.cedillo@lacity.org
Mitchell Englander – 213-473-7012 or councilmember.englander@lacity.org
Marqueece Harris-Dawson – 213-473-7008 or councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org
Curren Price – 213-473-7009 or councilmember.price@lacity.org