# Is second floor included in Residential Floor Area?



## Indra (Sep 25, 2017)

Hi, I am in LA county, currently working on a floor plan for SFD in R1-1 zone. The lot size is only 3135 sqft. We are planing to build a two story house for total of 1650 sqft. According to LADBS, maximum RFA is 45%, which mean RFA is 1410 sqft.
I have a conflicting information on how much we can build.  The first time I asked LADBS, they said 1410 sqft is the max land area we could build (not including second floor), but then after the architectural drawing almost finish, they said I can only build total of 1410 sqft (including the second floor). 
Can anyone clarify which of these conflicting information is correct? Thanks


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## mark handler (Sep 25, 2017)

1410 max including second floor. 
They are trying to prevent mansionization of the property.


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## cda (Sep 25, 2017)

Do you have a link or can post the ordinance


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## mark handler (Sep 25, 2017)

On March 1st, 2017 the City Council voted unanimously to adopt an update to the existing Baseline Mansionization Ordinance (BMO) and Baseline Hillside Ordinance (BHO). This vote, in effect, establishes new development standards for single-family zoned properties citywide. The changes, as recommended by the City Planning Commission, incorporate additional protections to further limit large-scale homes and related construction impacts. Leading up to Council adoption of the ordinance, the Department of City Planning held public hearings with the community over the course of a six-month period to garner input. Since the adoption of the 2008 BMO and 2011 BHO, the City Council has approved several Interim Control Ordinances (ICOs) to temporarily limit the construction of over-sized homes in certain single-family neighborhoods. With the new amendment in place, the integrity and character of single-family homes citywide will be better preserved.
Some of the adopted changes to the BMO and BHO regulations include the following:
Establishment of new development standards for single-family zones, including the usage of angled encroachment plane and side wall articulation requirements to reduce the visual impact of building mass;
Modification to the definition of Residential Floor calculations to further reduce the impact of out-of-scale homes;
Elimination of nearly all exemptions, which created the big, boxy homes;
Counting of grading under a house to prevent what was previously an unlimited amount of hillside grading and
Reduction of Floor Area Ratio for single-family homes in R1 zones.
http://zimas.lacity.org/zoneinfo/ZI2391.pdf


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## Indra (Sep 25, 2017)

OK. Thanks all. Mark your explanation really clarified it. Thanks again.


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## mark handler (Sep 25, 2017)

*This is what they are fighting against; destruction of  small neighborhood housing. New SF house on left, dwarfs the Existing housing. 
*


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## cda (Sep 25, 2017)

Yep

See it all over the country 

Not even any respect for God:::

https://ixquick-proxy.com/do/spg/sh...ephpt.jpg&sp=4dcb9d45f7e8e9848bdd1befa64d7188


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## Pcinspector1 (Sep 25, 2017)

Mark, that photo illustrates a good reason for the restrictions, that look's pretty bad. 

Did they propose an ocean view obstruction clause for the second tier houses?


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## Indra (Sep 28, 2017)

Ok, One more question: What is the difference between Floor Area vs Buildable Area?
Thanks


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## cda (Sep 28, 2017)

Buildable

Size of lot minus all the area the city says you cannot build on??


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