LOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles city commission unanimously approved amendments to the city’s Site Plan Review Ordinance Thursday with the goal of streamlining and increasing affordable housing projects.
A site plan review is a planning process that requires discretionary actions for certain types of developments, Jeanalee Obergfell, city planning associate, told the Planning Commission during Thursday’s meeting. The current review system can limit the number of dwelling units and projects due to the length and cost of the process, she added.
For multi-family housing developments, site plan review is required for projects that create a net increase of 50 units or more on a site prior to any density bonus. The process requires a decision-maker to make various findings such as General Plan and local plan compliance and compatibility with neighboring areas, along with an environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, and an appeal period, which would require a public hearing.
“An unintended consequence of a site plan review is that the process can significantly expand project review timeliness for projects that otherwise conformed to zoning, causing delays averaging 165 days to process the entitlement, and often longer due to appeals and litigation risks,” Obergfell said.
The amendments OK’d by the commission would exclude restricted affordable units from the calculation of the 50-unit project threshold and address any redundancy in language within the ordinance.
See: Proposals that will impact growth of Hollywood and DTLA head to LA City Council
City planners defined a restricted affordable unit as a “housing or guest room subject to a covenant or regulatory restricting rents or housing costs,” while not exceeding 30% of the maximum gross income of each income category, and covering a period of at least 55 years for rental units or at least 45 years for for-sale units.
“The primary objective of the proposed amendment is to…
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