ZONING ENERGY

Height Districts 

Source: LADCP Map Gallery

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Produced by the Los Angeles Department of City Planning, the Height District Map indicates baseline height district zones for the city of Los Angeles.  The map illustrates one of the primary determinants in L.A.'s infamous sprawl: land use restriction of allowable structural height.  Height limitations play a significant role in determining density.

 

Over a century of low-density development has produced a sprawling urban suburb in Los Angeles, with serious implications for residential energy consumption and production, industrial siting, and the emergence of a fuel-intensive automobile commute culture. Notable exceptions to standard low-rise zoning occur downtown, along the Wilshire Blvd. corridor, in Century City, and increasingly in discrete developments citywide which have been spot-zoned for height district exception.    

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While low-density 1VL districting has produced numerous problematics it has also produced a polycentric, low-density urban spatial condition beloved my many and an unparalleled residential solar field.  This condition sets a clear path toward amending historic energetic planning mistakes through proactive solar energy policies moving forward.  The democratic management of this vast environmental/energetic resource is one of the preeminent tasks facing the LADCP and LADWP in coming years. The outcome of decisions made will determine energetic, economic, health, and quality of life standards for Angelenos in years to come. 

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