Westside Community Plans Update 2024
Draft Plans and Land Use Refinements
Overview
Community Plans
There are 35 distinct Community Plans that make up the Land Use Element of the General Plan for the City of Los Angeles. Community Plans function as a guide for growth and adaptation for neighborhoods, and consist of three primary components - a Policy Document, a General Plan Land Use map, and a Zoning map.
Westside Community Plan Updates
Four Community Plans on the Westside of the City of Los Angeles -- the West LA, Venice, Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey and Westchester-Playa Del Rey Community Plans -- are currently undergoing an update. These four projects are collectively referred to as the Westside Community Plan Updates.
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As part of the Community Plan Update process, City Planning works with community groups and stakeholders to establish the policy vision for the future. Changes to Land Use and Zoning are identified to implement the vision of the community. The Westside Community Plan Updates seek to foster more affordable, healthy, vibrant, sustainable and equitable communities across the westside region of the City including:
- Promoting greater housing opportunities near transit, existing commercial centers and major corridors while respecting the context of the surrounding neighborhood
- Promoting new opportunities for affordable housing and protecting existing affordable housing units
- Supporting a mix of building uses and expanding walkability within neighborhoods
- Expanding access and connections to open space.
- Promoting resource protection, resiliency planning and climate change adaptation.
Please continue scrolling through this StoryMap to see more about how the Plans are achieving these goals.
Community Plan Update Process
The Westside Community Plans Update is an iterative multi-year effort that involves multiple rounds of community engagement, plan update proposals, community feedback, and draft plan revisions.
Community Engagement
Outreach
Community engagement is an integral part of the Community Plan Update process. Since this program began in 2018, City Planning has held numerous public outreach events and received feedback via a wide variety of formats -- including workshops, presentations, meetings, office hours, surveys, letters, emails and phone calls. A diverse group of stakeholders have provided a great deal of input on the key issues and opportunities facing the Westside.
Westside Community Plan Advisory Group (WCPAG)
As part of the Plan Updates, the WCPAG was created to invite a diverse group of community leaders to engage in the planning process. There are approximately 50 members on the Advisory Group, including residents, students, youth, housing development experts, business leaders and representatives from various community-based organizations, advocacy groups, neighborhood councils, and business improvement districts (BIDs) from across the four Community Plan Areas.
The Advisory Group is not a decision-making body -- it serves as a sounding board to assist planning staff in evaluating land use policy and zoning at different stages of the Community Plan Update process. Feedback and input are always welcome from all members of the community, and is not limited to those who are part of the Advisory Group.
In 2023, the WCPAG provided feedback on the Westside plan area Vision Statements, Guiding Principles, Draft Policy Documents, and Draft Residential, Commercial and Industrial General Plan Land Use (GPLU) Maps.
Stay Engaged!
As the Community Plan Update process proceeds, we will continue to solicit community feedback on draft policy, land use, and zoning proposals. We appreciate every stakeholder's engagement in the community planning process! To stay up to date on news and events, sign up for our email list here .
Land Use & Zoning
General Plan Land Use
Like much of the City and region, the Westside is facing a variety of challenges related to housing, transportation, climate change and equity. The Westside Community Plans seek to address some of these challenges. One way to address issues of housing, jobs and equity is through the General Plan Land Use Map, which shows at a high level what types of uses can be built where and at what scale and intensity.
Why is the General Plan Land Use Map Important?
Land Use can identify where in a community one can live, work and recreate. This impacts how far residents have to commute to and from work and how far one has to travel to access daily amenities and leisure. Allowing for a greater mix of land uses, such as more commercial uses near residential uses, can reduce vehicle trips in a neighborhood, therefore reducing congestion and carbon emissions.
The Westside is a major jobs center, particularly for the technology, media, and education sectors -- in addition to providing many restaurant and retail jobs. Accommodating greater housing opportunities near these major job centers is a critical part of the City’s long-range planning efforts. Allowing new housing allows employees of all sectors the option to live closer to where they work, reducing overall regional automobile reliance and making these neighborhoods even more economically robust. New housing can take many different forms - from gentle infill of units on existing residential properties, to larger mixed-use and apartment buildings in certain areas of a community. Land Use helps to designate what building scale, height and density is appropriate in which areas of a neighborhood.
Ultimately, Land Use can also impact how one experiences the public realm in their daily life: the scale and intensity of buildings helps define the visual character of the built environment and the uses that are allowed in buildings can define where and how one spends their time.
Zoning
While Land Use is a broader category of what general scales, intensities, and densities can be built where, Zoning applies the specific regulations to each property in the City. Land Use and Zoning are connected, with the Land Use Designation acting as an umbrella under which several specific Zoning Districts may fall. For example, while Land Use may designate an area for a “Medium Residential” scale and intensity, the Zoning regulations on a particular property will state the specific height limit, number of units, and specific uses that can be built on that property.
The City of Los Angeles is in the process of comprehensively updating its zoning code for the first time since 1946. The new zoning will be implemented through each Community Plan Update process and will be applied to all properties in a Plan Area. In some instances, there will be changes to the intensity or development potential on a property as part of the Community Plan Update process. In other cases, the new zoning will apply the same or similar development regulations as today’s zoning. The new zoning will be tailored to the needs and vision of each neighborhood and will implement the policy vision for the Community Plan Area.
The structure of the new zone string consists of five key parts called “districts.” They are Form, Frontage, Development Standards, Use and Density. While Form, Frontage, and Development Standards regulate the built environment, Use and Density refer to the activities allowed on a site. For more information, please view the video and visit the New Zoning Code webpage .
Zoning Overview
Form
Frontage Districts
Development Standard Districts
Use and Density Districts
How to Use the Draft General Plan Land Use Map
You may skip ahead or back at any time using the navigation tabs above.
How to Use the Map
Step 1:
To search by property address, click on the magnifying glass at the top left hand corner of the map. Type in the property address and press enter. Please note that the first tab shows General Plan Land Use Designations, and the subsequent tabs such as "Mixed-Use Corridors" will show parcel level zoning details.
Click on the magnifying glass to Search by Address.
Click on a parcel within the interactive map to view the draft regulations.
Continue scrolling down.
Step 2:
As you continue scrolling. You can zoom in/out of the interactive map to guide the user.
Step 3:
Another way to guide the user on the interactive map is to pan sideways.
Step 4:
Did you see the map pan? Cool, huh?
Step 5:
There are two buttons to use for filtering and for viewing the different plan areas individually.
Left: Map Layers -- Right: Filter
Click on the left checkbox to make each plan area visible and invisible. Click on the right icon to zoom to the plan area.
Map Layers window
Use the filter tool to filter plan areas by their Proposed General Plan Designation.
Filtering for Medium Residential parcels in Palms - Mar Vista - Del Rey
Draft General Plan Land Use Map
The interactive maps below provide the existing and draft General Plan Land Use (GPLU) for each property, including a draft height, draft Floor Area Ratio (FAR), and draft density regulation. Height limits establish how tall a new building can be, FAR is the gross floor area of a building, in relation to the area of the lot where it is located and density regulates how many units can be built on a lot. Please note that these draft GPLU designations are provided for informational purposes. The GPLU and zoning drafts are subject to change throughout this process as we continue to receive feedback. Thank you for continuing to engage in the process and provide feedback. Nothing has yet been adopted as part of the Westside Community Plans Update process.
Experience
Existing Vs Draft General Plan Land Use (GPLU) Designations
Each property in the City currently has a General Plan Land Use (GPLU) Designation, often adopted when the prior Community Plan Update occurred. The existing GPLU regulates development projects being reviewed and built today; the draft GPLU will be carried forward with the Community Plan Updates, and will regulate future developments once the Plans are adopted.
To view existing General Plan Land Uses, slide the swiper tool to the right. To view the draft General Plan Land Uses, slide the swiper tool to the left.
Existing Land Use vs Proposed Land Use (2023)
Draft Policy Documents
Draft Policy Documents
As a primary component of the Community Plan, the policy documents set the vision, goals and policies that will guide decision-making and future development in the community plan areas over the next 20 years. Below are the initial draft policy documents that were shared in Summer 2023 that identify goals and policies related to: Residential, Mixed Use, Industrial, Open Space, Coastal Areas, and Historic Areas. Future drafts of the Policy Document will include further refinement to the Community Plan goals and policies, as well as future programs and supporting information such as maps, and graphics.
Existing Community Plans
For reference, please see below the existing Community Plans:
- Palms-Mar Vista-Del Rey Community Plan (adopted 1997)
- West Los Angeles Current Community Plan (adopted 1999)
- Westchester-Playa del Rey Community Plan (adopted 2004)
- Venice Community Plan (adopted in 2000)
Feedback
Survey
Thank you for taking the time to view our StoryMap, and for your continued engagement in the Community Plan Update process. We'd appreciate it if you took a few minutes to provide your input on the Draft Community Plans, via the survey form below. You may also submit comments via email at planningthewestside.org. Or, you can mail your comments to:
Westside Community Planning
LA City Hall
200 N Spring Street, Room 667
Los Angeles CA 90012
2023 General Plan Land Use (GPLU) Informational Open House Feedback Form
Next Steps
Timeline
The Westside Community Plans Update is a multi-year program that began in 2018. To see where we are in the process, please refer to the timeline below. To view materials from past (and future) outreach events, please visit our Events webpage, here . Please be sure to sign up for our email list to stay up to date on future events and announcements.
Draft Environmental Review
City Planning anticipates initiating the Environmental Review Process later in 2024, which will begin with the publication of a Notice of Preparation (NOP) and Scoping Meeting. When Community Plans are updated, City Planning typically prepares an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to review and disclose how the draft changes to the policies, land use, and zoning regulations may affect the environment. During the Environmental Review process, there are continued opportunities for community engagement and stakeholder feedback on the draft plans, land use, and zoning.
In addition to public comment opportunities on the Draft Plans, there are several opportunities for public participation throughout the environmental process, beginning with the Scoping Meeting and ultimately concluding with a final decision by the City Council when the Community Plan is adopted. An EIR does not automatically clear a plan for approval and still has to go through the approval process. For more information on what an EIR does and does not analyze, please view the Overview of an EIR Handout .
