LA City Council takes a stand: No to giant houses, yes to residential hotels

It took a lot of talking and plenty of negotiating but the Los Angeles City Council voted today to limit the size of new houses (12 - 0) and to preserve more than 18,700 units in residential hotels (13 - 0) for the area's poorest residents. Cara Mia DiMassa and Jessica Garrison report:

The new rules radically limit the size of remodeled homes in the city’s flatlands to 3,000 square feet in most cases, curtailing what homeonwers say is a plague of behemoth, ugly stucco boxes that are killing neighborhood character.

On the other end of the spectrum, council members voted to preserve more than 18,700 units in residential hotels, mostly located downtown, which advocates worry are in danger of being turned into luxury lofts or condos.

They're controversial measures and no will be surprised if developers mount a challenge. We'll have more details in the full story to come.

--Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Steve Moyer]

Re: Baseline Mansionization Ordinance: it allows floor areas of more than 3,000 sq. ft. in many cases. The Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is based on the square footage of the lot. If the lot is 5,000 square ft., it is true that the FAR would allow for 3,000 sq. ft. But, if the lot size is more than 5,000 sq. feet, the FAR will permit houses in excess of 4,000 square feet or more.