Are you looking for a new house, a new site for your business, to remodel your house, to add some landscaping, or even just to understand the possibilities for development of your property?
Starting a new development or looking for a new property is a delicate process that comes with a number of questions. The first step is to figure out what it is that you want. A good list of your must haves, good to haves and deal breakers can be very helpful to you during this process. (Check out my previous post about a seed for more clarity at the beginning of a project.)
By now, you may already know that I am a big proponent of putting things in writing. The exercise of actually naming and writing things on a sheet of paper can help you bring much clarity and organize ideas. At the beginning when you are just thinking about all the things that you want to accomplish or modify, it may feel overwhelming. Once you write it down on paper, you’ll realize that the scope is actually manageable, or that several items are just the same idea from a different perspective.
Once you have defined what you want, a good next step is to check out the site and city constraints. When we analyze the site, we examine the constraints that come from the physical aspects of the site, its placement, orientation, climate, etc. We will leave these site specific constraints for a future post. In this post, I would like to concentrate on the policies or regulations that affect the site and land use, also known as Zoning Regulations.
What Is Zoning And Why Is It Important?
Land use and zoning are a series of regulatory guidelines that specify how the land can be used within its respective boundaries. They specify the density as well as the types of use of the land, e.g. commercial, residential, mixed use, reserved for city utilities, etc.
Each city, town or particular area has a general plan and the zoning regulations incorporate the goals and information from such a general plan. Zoning regulations provide development standards for setbacks, open areas, maximum construction area, minimum parking, building heights among others. By researching the zoning information, you can also find out whether your property or project may be subject to further regulations, like hillside ordinance or fire zones. You can also find that discretionary approvals may be needed in order to continue with your project.
“Discretionary approvals may require a
public hearing and may be subject to appeals.
Building Permits cannot be issued until the
discretionary process has taken place and any
appeal period has concluded and/or
any appeals have been settled” (1)
Gathering and researching zoning information at the beginning of a project is important not only because it allows you to understand the opportunities and constraints of your future development, but also because it can give you a clue of the schedule and timelines in your project. In the event that your project is subject to discretionary approvals, for instance, enough time should be allocated for the development of supporting documents and plans, submittals, and the hearing processes.
Every site is different and zoning ordinances may vary from one block to another. It is important to have a professional architect, engineer or urban planner help you define the best course of action for your project, and to contact the proper Authority Having Jurisdiction in your project for more information. Bringing a professional to aid you in this process is an investment that will convert into time and monetary savings by developing guidelines, programs and a general plan for your future project. This process will allow you to identify red flags early and to diminish the number of surprises during the project development.
This subject is vast, and we will continue talking about zoning in future posts. In the meantime, feel free to reach out with questions. Also, you may contact us and inquire about our discovery package, where we help clients to bring clarity and to create a general plan of action for the development of their projects.
In the meantime I will leave you with a piece of
history regarding zoning ordinances in the United States:
Did you know which cities in the USA were
the first ones to adapt zoning ordinances?
According to Wikipedia, the earliest zoning laws
originated with the Los Angeles zoning ordinances
of 1908 and the New York City Zoning resolution of 1916.
Starting in the early 1920s, the United States Commerce
Department drafted model zoning and planning
ordinances to facilitate states in drafting enabling laws” (2)
As always, thank you for your support, and please help me reach more people and share it with your friends, family and colleagues! To know when a new blog post is out you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook.
Gracias!
Citlalli
"In great cities, spaces as well as places are designed and built: walking, witnessing, being in public are as much part of the design and purpose as is being inside to eat, sleep, make shoes or love or music. The word citizen has to do with cities, and the ideal city is organized around citizenship; around participation in public life"
- Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A history of Walking
References:
(1) LADBS Document No. P/ZC 2002-009
(2) Wikipedia, Zoning in the United States
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Special thanks to my editor, Ilya Godes!
Citlalli is an architect and a mom who enjoys
finding the extraordinary around us and
understanding what makes each person thrive.
She believes that art, and good design should
be accessible, and her motivation is to help build
a better world for the next generations.
She has worked on residential and commercial
projects for 15 years, and decided to open her own
studio in Los Angeles, California, aimed to make
great architecture accessible and affordable to more people.
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