Planning During COVID-19

October, 2020

Consistent with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Safer At Home” directives to help slow the spread of COVID-19, City Planning has implemented new procedures for the filing of appeals for non-applicants that eliminate or minimize in-person interaction.

Click here for fact sheet.

Option 1: Online Appeal Portal

Entitlement and CEQA appeals can be submitted online and payment can be made by credit card or e-check. The online appeal portal allows appellants to fill out and submit the appeal application directly to the Development Services Center (DSC).

Once the appeal is accepted, the portal allows for appellants to submit a credit card payment, enabling the appeal and payment to be submitted entirely electronically. A 2.7% credit card processing service fee will be charged - there is no charge for paying online by e-check. 

Appeals should be filed early to ensure DSC staff has adequate time to review and accept the documents, and to allow Appellants time to submit payment. On the final day to file an appeal, the application must be submitted and paid for by 4:30PM (PT). Should the final day fall on a weekend or legal holiday, the time for filing an appeal shall be extended to 4:30PM (PT) on the next succeeding working day. Building and Safety appeals (LAMC Section 12.26K) can only be filed using Option 2 below.

Click here to access the online appeal portal

Option 2: Drop Off at DSC

An appellant may continue to submit an appeal application and payment at any of the three Development Services Center (DSC) locations. City Planning established drop off areas at the DSCs with physical boxes where appellants can drop.

City Planning staff will follow up with the Appellant via email and/and or phone to:
– Confirm that the appeal package is complete and meets the applicable LAMC provisions
– Provide a receipt for payment

City Planning public hearing, commission meetings, and design review board meetings are now held virtually in order to provide continued service to communities and businesses across Los Angeles while practicing physical distancing protocols. Directions on how to listen in, and/or provide comments will be sent to the public in advance of each meeting. Using remote meeting technology, all presentations and materials related to any agenda item will be uploaded onto a public Google drive folder prior to each meeting, providing participants with greater transparency and ease in accessing relevant planning documents. For the latest public meeting agendas, schedules, and information, visit https://planning.lacity.org/about/commissions-boards-hearings.

Public Order Under City of Los Angeles Emergency Authority Issue Date: March 23, 2020 (Revised March 24, 2020)

On March 23, 2020, Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a public order under the City of Los Angeles’s Emergency Authority to modify City regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages. The modified regulations allow:

• restaurants and bars that prepare and serve food for off-site consumption to sell alcoholic beverages together with food for delivery and take-out; and,
• sales by retail stores of alcoholic beverages for off-site consumption, including deliveries and extended sales hours, from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

Alcoholic beverages sold under this public order must be sold in containers that are fully sealed in a manner designed to prevent consumption without removal of the lid or cap.

The public order does not waive, suspend, or amend any regulations promulgated by the State, including those under the authority of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC). Furthermore, it does not suspend or supersede existing prohibitions against drinking in public and similar regulations pertaining to public consumption and possession of alcohol. This public order is currently in effect until the end of the local emergency period.

• While this order provides existing alcohol-serving establishments with the temporary ability to deliver alcohol and conduct sales from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., it does not permanently modify existing Conditional Use Permits that have been granted to these businesses by Los Angeles City Planning.
• Businesses seeking to temporarily expand alcohol sales under this public order are not required to request approval from Los Angeles City Planning, as this order has been granted by the Mayor and is already in effect.
• The State of California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) remains responsible for establishing and enforcing alcohol sales and distribution.
• Once the public order is lifted, existing grants approved through Conditional Use Permits for the sale and consumption of alcohol will revert back into effect, as will the specific conditions that were granted for each establishment.

City Planning greatly appreciates your help as we all work together to slow the spread of COVID-19. Development Services Center (DSC) operations have been modified to help protect the public and our employees who serve you. Consistent with Mayor Garcetti’s directives to help slow the spread of COVID-19 while continuing to deliver important City services, City Planning is minimizing in-person interaction throughout its offices.

City Planning has established physical, monitored and secure, drop off areas at the Metro/Downtown and Van Nuys DSCs for applicants to submit plans and applications. This drop off system is available during regular business hours and allows applicants to file project applications and provide plans without visiting the public counter or needing an initial filing appointment.

You may schedule a telephone or video conference appointment with DSC staff for technical guidance on the design, entitlement, and permitting stages of a project.

Note: Proof of vaccination is required for visitors over the age of 18 to enter the DSCs. Visitors with reasonable accomodation due to a medical condition, restriction, or religious belief must provide a negative COVID test within the 72 hours.

In response to COVID-19, City Planning has revised its current procedures to allow project applications that qualify under Senate Bill 330: Housing Crisis Act of 2019 to submit their referral forms electronically. This shift to accepting referral forms via email has shortened the turnaround time, allowing applicants to file remotely without requiring an appointment.

Email planning.PARP@lacity.org to initiate the Preliminary Zoning Assessment review. Submit the optional vesting SB330 Preliminary Application through the Department’s Online Application System.

A signed Tier Verification by City Planning is required to submit a plan check application for a ministerial TOC project with “base incentives” to the Department of Building and Safety. A Transit-Oriented Communities – Tier Verification Form (CP- 4051) may be filed online via the Online Application System. Applicants will be required to submit a simple radius map demonstrating the distance from the project site to the nearest Major Transit Stop, with clearly marked rail station entrances or bus intersections, and applicable bus route timetables demonstrating a minimum of 15 minute headways during peak hours for two intersecting routes.

Email DCPPHP@lacity.org for questions regarding the Transit Oriented Communities Affordable Incentive Program.

As of August 5, 2020, invoices for any application or fee can be paid online, regardless of how the application was submitted. Please contact your assigned planner to receive an online invoice.

To address the shortage of affordable housing in the City of Los Angeles, City Planning works with other City Departments to develop and prioritize affordable housing projects per the Mayor’s Executive Directive 13 (ED 13). The City is dedicated to providing development services to streamline the permitting and land use entitlement process for all affordable housing developments.

In August 2020, City Planning released a memo outlining procedures that ensure a comprehensive and timely conformance review of affordable housing projects. This is an effort to identify potential issues early in the design process, with the goal of avoiding costly "late hits," such as the need to seek approval of discretionary entitlements.

Affordable housing projects are complex in that they have strict deadlines, various funding requirements from different agencies, and are difficult to redesign late in the process. Therefore, applicants are encouraged to make use of pre-design services.

Click here to read the memo on funding form procedures.