The City of Los Angeles established the first known example of regulating land use, or zoning, in the country with its Residential Districts Ordinance (Ord. No. 9974). The City’s first official Zoning Ordinance was adopted in 1921 (Street Plan and Zoning Ordinance, Ord. No. 42,666).
Through the use of zoning regulations, city governments are able to translate broad land use goals and policies into property-specific development standards and requirements. In Los Angeles, zoning regulations determine the uses (e.g., residential, commercial, industrial) that are allowed on any given site, in addition to regulating the possible size and scale of development projects. Zoning can also regulate and restrict the size and scale of future development across the City, including requirements for open space, parking, and signage. There are currently two zoning codes in effect within the City of Los Angeles. Please visit our Zoning Information and Map Access System (ZIMAS) to determine which zoning code applies to your property of interest.
Original Zoning Code
The Original Zoning Code applies to any Community Plan Area that was updated prior to the Downtown Community Plan, which went into effect in January 2025. When the Original Zoning Code first was first adopted in 1946, it consolidated 11 separate zoning ordinances into one zoning code and established the zoning system that most use today. This code has evolved over the years as new approaches to planning have emerged and local priorities have shifted. Specific Plans and Supplemental Use Districts have supplemented the original code to establish functions that are not available using base zoning.
The effective version of this Zoning Code can be accessed here.
New Zoning Code
Having learned from past planning efforts and building upon them, City Planning created a new innovative approach to zoning that better regulates buildings based on their surroundings. The new approach focuses on the size, scale, and relationship of buildings to the street, and includes customized regulations for different neighborhoods. New land use tools are being developed through the Community Plan Updates to provide tailored regulations that reflect the local architecture and character of Los Angeles’s neighborhoods.
The New Zoning Code went into effect on January 31, 2025 for the Downtown Community Plan Area and will apply to all future Community Plan Area updates. You can access the New Zoning Code:
TEMP - [Link to the effective version of this Zoning Code]
TEMP - [Link to the Interactive Web-Based Zoning Code] for a more interactive experience
Major Approaches to Zoning
The various approaches to zoning can each be classified under one or more of the following broad categories: Euclidean, Performance, Incentive, Form-Based, and Hybrid Zoning.
Euclidean Zoning
The most common form of land use regulation in the United States is known as Euclidean Zoning. This type of zoning is characterized by the separation of land uses, classified under broad categories such as agricultural, residential, commercial, or industrial, among others.
Performance Zoning
Often blended with Euclidean Zoning, Performance Zoning accommodates a wider range of land uses. It establishes a set of quantifiable performance standards to regulate the permitted activities onsite in order to prevent adverse impacts on neighboring sites (e.g., noise, traffic, pollution, etc.).
Incentive Zoning
Similar to Performance Zoning, Incentive Zoning uses Euclidean Zoning as a baseline. Incentive Zoning, however, enables projects to exceed zoning limitations (e.g., Floor Area Ratio or Density) in exchange for providing local community benefits, such as affordable housing, neighborhood amenities, or open space.
Form-Based Zoning
Form-Based Zoning regulates development not by land use but by examining the scale, design, and placement of buildings, in order to advance a more pedestrian-friendly environment.
Hybrid Zoning
Most zoning codes today contain elements of more than one of these categories, an approach often referred to as Hybrid Zoning. Modular Zoning is a specific type of Hybrid Zoning. Unlike traditional zoning which focuses exclusively on a building's use, Modular Zoning regulates the physical environment, everything from the building to the physical space around it, in addition to the activities allowed onsite.
