Could the Small Lot Update Help Fix the General Plan?

LOS ANGELES—There may be an obvious answer to the anti-development sentiment in Los Angeles. The city is in the midst of updating the small lot ordinance—a rule that allows developers to big single-family housing on small dense urban infill sites. The program has become extremely popular in recent years, and has had some misuse of the guideline. To address the growing community concern, the city gathered a group to take into account development, design and community concern to create a new set of design standards. Why can't we do the same for the general plan, and alleviate development concerns.

“Relative to the City's process, they certainly started with leaders in the small lot design world for input, and they did go to public meetings to get by in from various neighborhoods,” Alan Scales, a principal at KTGY, tells GlobeSt.com. “I think that was very useful. I could see that as being a model for other change in the city, like zoning.”

Of course, this change did not come easily. The development community challenged early versions of the standards; however, the city's group of experts was able to work toward a solution. “The initial idea of this change from the city standpoint was that we need to make change, otherwise, there is going to be pressure from the mayor and city council,” says Scales. “No one wanted to see that, so the alternative was to make some good decisions. The first iterations were extreme and got a ton of pushback from the development community. The team really worked hard to address some challenges in the first document, and that is really why they reached out to the team to do. Through a lot of effort there, the city has taken a lot of this into consideration.”

Some of the original challenges included requiring pitched roofs, which would essentially eliminate design features, like a rooftop deck. “There is a way to address the roofline and still have a rooftop deck,” says Scales. “There is still flexibility to meet the requirement.”

The group was able to work through the conflicts toward a solution. Now, the small lot ordinance will be updated by the end of the year, and potentially much sooner. Once it is received by the development community, it may be the perfect model for other negotiations and change in the community.

LOS ANGELES—There may be an obvious answer to the anti-development sentiment in Los Angeles. The city is in the midst of updating the small lot ordinance—a rule that allows developers to big single-family housing on small dense urban infill sites. The program has become extremely popular in recent years, and has had some misuse of the guideline. To address the growing community concern, the city gathered a group to take into account development, design and community concern to create a new set of design standards. Why can't we do the same for the general plan, and alleviate development concerns.

“Relative to the City's process, they certainly started with leaders in the small lot design world for input, and they did go to public meetings to get by in from various neighborhoods,” Alan Scales, a principal at KTGY, tells GlobeSt.com. “I think that was very useful. I could see that as being a model for other change in the city, like zoning.”

Of course, this change did not come easily. The development community challenged early versions of the standards; however, the city's group of experts was able to work toward a solution. “The initial idea of this change from the city standpoint was that we need to make change, otherwise, there is going to be pressure from the mayor and city council,” says Scales. “No one wanted to see that, so the alternative was to make some good decisions. The first iterations were extreme and got a ton of pushback from the development community. The team really worked hard to address some challenges in the first document, and that is really why they reached out to the team to do. Through a lot of effort there, the city has taken a lot of this into consideration.”

Some of the original challenges included requiring pitched roofs, which would essentially eliminate design features, like a rooftop deck. “There is a way to address the roofline and still have a rooftop deck,” says Scales. “There is still flexibility to meet the requirement.”

The group was able to work through the conflicts toward a solution. Now, the small lot ordinance will be updated by the end of the year, and potentially much sooner. Once it is received by the development community, it may be the perfect model for other negotiations and change in the community.