AIA|LA Baseline Hillside Ordinance Working Group Recommendations

April 28, 2010

Honorable William Roschen
and Members of the Los Angeles City Planning Commission
Department of City Planning
City of Los Angeles
200 North Spring Street, Mail Stop 395
Los Angeles, California 90012-2601

Re: Baseline Hillside Ordinance (CPC-2010-581-CA)

Dear Commission President Roschen and Members of the Commission:

AIA|LA Baseline Hillside Ordinance Working Group Recommendations

An informal working group of AIA|LA has reviewed the proposed Baseline Hillside Ordinance (BHO). The working group substantially agrees with the goals and objectives of the proposed ordinance. In particular the working group supports the following provisions:

• Reducing allowed Residential Floor Areas in hillside areas by lowering Floor Area Ratios (FAR).
• Providing Residential Floor Area incentives reducing the visual impact of new development in hillside areas by encouraging step-backs at front and side yards, reduced building heights, multiple structures, or reduced grading.
• Establishing new hillside height regulations encouraging building heights to follow the existing hillside topography.
• Limiting excessive grading of hillsides.

In the opinion of the working group these tools can help establish better development standards for hillside development. At the same time the working group sees the sheer number of provisions, the complexity of individual provisions, and the extent of proposed Zoning Administrator actions as burdensome to the development of hillside homes.

Therefore, the AIA|LA working group proposes that the effects of this proposed Ordinance be studied and tested using specific, representative case sites.

Wherever feasible simplified approaches should be incorporated into the ordinance to improve the overall workability, including the following specific considerations:

Grading – Slope Band Analysis Method

The working group questions whether the proposed and highly complex Slope Band analysis method will lead to significantly better results than simpler methods of determining maximum Residential Floor Area would.

It is further the working group's opinion that there may be significant conflicts between the proposed method of determining maximum Residential Floor Area and proposed grading limitations, in particular soil import and soil export limitations. Especially on larger sites, proposed grading limits might override the elaborate Slope Band analysis method. In this case the Slope Band analysis method would be redundant. The working group believes the effects and the interaction of the proposed ordinance provisions have not adequately been demonstrated.

Residential Floor Area

The proposed Slope Band analysis method for determining maximum Residential Floor Areas utilizes a complex method of determining and categorizing site slopes, based on a highly detailed topographical survey and advanced computer-aided analysis techniques.

The working group recommends studying the following alternatives:

1. As lot sizes in hillside areas vary considerably within zoning designations, base maximum FAR on the actual lot size rather than zoning designations. FARs should diminish for larger lots.

For instance, in lieu of the proposed Slope Band analysis method, maintain the existing method of determining lot slope per LAMC 12.21 A.17 (c). Establish more restrictive FAR for sites with "steep slopes," currently defined to be sloping at greater than 66%. For example a 5,000 square foot lot FAR = 0.50; a "steep slope" 5,000 square foot lot FAR = 0.40 (these figures equate to the proposed BMO's R1 FAR designations). Rationale: The additional value of the complex Slope Band analysis method has not been demonstrated. The average slope method is a simple and widely used tool. And, the reduction of slope types, from six to two, simplifies the process of determining site development potential.

1. Requiring two-foot topographical surveys instead of one-foot surveys increases cost/complexity and does not add value. Rationale: A one-foot topographical survey is more costly than a two-foot survey. The additional topographical information is questionable and may result in overly complex surveys.
2. Removing the proposed Floor Area Bonus for projects utilizing U.S. Green Building Council's LEED system (Green Building Option #1). Rationale: This incentive promotes the use of a proprietary rating system and is redundant with Green Building Option #2. The use of green building techniques does not address the issue of neighborhood character in hillside areas and should be more specifically addressed in other portions of the City of L.A. Municipal Code or Building Code.

Height

The proposed Maximum Envelope Height method establishes height limits that follow the existing hillside topography. The working group welcomes this approach as this method will encourage buildings with reduced bulk and more in character with hillside topography.

At the same time the working group finds that the proposed Maximum Envelope Height needs to be reconciled with existing City of Los Angeles Building Code height definitions ('grade plane' as defined in LABC 502.1) and recommends that:

1. Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) study the City Planning proposed "Parallel Plane Method for Height Measurement", test the proposal relative to 'Grade Plane Method for Height Measurement" found in the L.A. Building Code and issue a preliminary interpretation "Information Bulletin" for review prior to the passage of the Baseline Hillside Ordinance.

Rationale: It is essential that there be agreement between LADBS and City Planning on the interpretation of height limits on hillsides to avoid public confusion and ensure that the goals and objectives of this ordinance are achieved in practice and this ordinance provision function as intended.

Grading

The proposed ordinance restricts grading quantities for cut and fill and for import and export of soil from the site. The amount of soil import is limited to 500 cubic yards and the amount of soil export is limited to 1,000 cubic yards regardless of lot size; for sites on Substandard Hillside Limited Streets soil import and export quantities are even more restrictive.

The working group recommends the following:

1. Study whether the proposed grading limits conflict with the proposed Residential Floor Area method mentioned above. Rationale: The strict limitations of soil imports and exports may preclude the development of the maximum allowed Residential Floor Area on a given site. If this is the case, provisions of this ordinance would be in conflict, thereby further burdening the permitting process of hillside homes.

The working group would further like to reaffirm the recommendation to require the involvement of an architect in hillside development of new homes and additions exceeding 500 square feet in size. Given the sensitivity of development on hillside including considerations such as community character, complexity of hillside regulations, green building goals, code requirements, and the sensitively of siting buildings on slopes a licensed professional should be involved.

Other points:
• We believe a record search and assessment of recorded Phase I for all properties within 1,000 feet of the site is excessive and recommend that any Phase I requirement be related to size of development and/or scope of grading.
• The existing code limits on retaining walls should be analyzed as it relates to this ordinance (retaining wall limits may be incentivizing more bulky buildings and may be in conflict with the goals of this ordinance).
• We believe the current substandard street exemption for additions under 750 sf, should remain and these projects should not have to apply for a variance.
• We believe additions under 750 sf should be allowed (as under current code, 'grandfathered rights') without also requiring 2 covered parking spaces as this would defeat the purpose of the ordinance, which is to promote a better scale of buildings and limit grading.

The AIA/LA working group is committed to working with both the Planning Commission and the Department of City Planning to address these concerns and crafting a workable ordinance.

We're here to help provide leadership in improving the build environment.

For more information, please contact:
Will Wright
Director, Government & Public Affairs
AIA Los Angeles
213.639.0777
will@aialosangeles.org

http://aialosangeles.org/article/aia-la-baseline-hillside-ordinance-working-group-recommendations