DTLA 2040

Planning a Dynamic Future for Los Angeles

The ambition of the DTLA 2040 Plan is to create and

implement a collective future vision for Downtown Los
Angeles. The Plan will strive to support and sustain the
ongoing revitalization of Downtown while thoughtfully
accommodating projected future growth.
Image Source: Cory Gruenfeld Image Source: Cory Gruenfeld
Image Source: Metro

PLAN VISION DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY PLAN AREA

The Downtown Community Plan envisions a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive future for
Downtown.

A strong core is important to the health of the City. This Plan will promote a dynamic, healthy,
and sustainable Downtown core that is well connected to and supports the City of Los Angeles
and the region.
COMMUNITY PROFILE
This Plan seeks to accommodate anticipated growth through 2040 while creating a livable
and healthy community for workers, residents, and visitors. The goals and policies described
PLAN The Downtown Community Plan Area is the birthplace of
Los Angeles and contains some of the oldest structures
neighborhoods that sit at the confluence of the region’s
growing transportation system. An international center

VISION
of the City. From a small pueblo and agricultural for art, culture, business, and entertainment, as well
community, to a railroad and manufacturing hub, to as a governmental, commercial, manufacturing and
in this Plan focus on continuing Downtown’s remarkable renaissance and promoting it as a a commercial and cultural capital, Downtown has jobs oriented center for the City of Los Angeles and
always represented the heart of the Los Angeles region. the region, the Plan Area is also home to a growing
center of innovation in the public and private realms. This Plan also seeks to addressThemany
Downtown Community Plan envisions a Today, Downtown has grown to become a collection
residential population.

of the challenges facing Downtown and the larger region, such as climate change, housing
sustainable, equitable, and inclusive future
for Downtown.
of distinctive but interconnected and walkable

demand and affordability, and a shifting economy, through strategies that guide thoughtful
A strong core is important to the health of the
DOWNTOWN TODAY IS:

growth. These strategies promote the physical development of Downtown; improve access to
City. This Plan will promote a dynamic, healthy,
and sustainable Downtown core that is well
RICH IN WELL A GROWING A CLUSTER OF
HISTORY CONNECTED RESIDENTIAL INDUSTRIES
jobs,open space, services, and cultural resources; and provide housing for all income levels.
connected to and supports the City of Los
There are 190
BY TRANSIT COMMUNITY
Downtown
Angeles and the region.
Historic Cultural The City’s Rail Since 2010 Represents 1% of
This Plan seeks to accommodate anticipated Monuments and Infrastructure approximately the Land Area and

The Downtown Community Plan includes policies, plans, and implementation programs that growth through 2040 while creating a livable 4 Designated
Historic Districts in
Converges in
Downtown.
15,000 units
have been added
12% of the Jobs
within the City of
and healthy community for workers, residents,
frame the City’s long-term priorities. The Plan will be the first in the City to apply new zoning and visitors. The goals and policies described
Downtown. in Downtown. Los Angeles.

in this Plan focus on continuing Downtown’s

tools developed as part of the comprehensive update to the City of Los Angeles’s Zoning Code. remarkable renaissance and promoting it as a
center of innovation in the public and private
realms. This Plan also seeks to address many of
the challenges facing Downtown and the larger The top Job
Industries in
region, such as climate change, housing demand
Downtown are
and affordability, and a shifting economy, through 40% of all Metro Professional,
strategies that guide thoughtful growth. These Rapid Bus Lines Scientific & Tech
serve Downtown. Services, Retail
strategies promote the physical development
According to regional projections, Downtown will be of Downtown; improve access to jobs,open
Trade, and Public
Administration.
space, services, and cultural resources; and
adding approximately 125,000 people, 70,000 housing provide housing for all income levels. Image Source: Shutter stock, Metro, Department of City Planning Data Source: Department of City Planning, American Community Survey

units and 55,000 jobs by the year 2040. Downtown

The plan incorporates

Los Angeles County Community Plan

at the state, regional,
reinforce policy set

- AB 1358 - Downtown
Los Angeles Department of City Planning State of City of

needs a strong future vision to ensure that as it grows

and local levels.

- SB 375 Los Angeles

DOWNTOWN
California Los Angeles
strategies that

- AB 1358 - General Plan

and changes it only becomes better. - SB 375 - Framework Element

Community Plan + 125,000 people + 70,000 housing units + 55,000 jobs

- SB 375

Icon Source: The Noun Project

Data Source: Southern California Association of

BLUEPRINT FOR GUIDING GROWTH

Governments (SCAG)

GUIDING
PRINCIPLES
THE FOLLOWING CORE PRINCIPLES
REPRESENT THE LONG-TERM
PRIORITIES FOR THE DOWNTOWN
COMMUNITY PLAN

ACCOMMODATE
PROMOTE A TRANSIT,
ANTICIPATED GROWTH IN SUPPORT AND SUSTAIN
REINFORCE DOWNTOWN’S JOBS GROW AND SUPPORT THE BICYCLE, AND STRENGTHEN NEIGHBORHOOD CREATE LINKAGES BETWEEN CREATE A WORLD-CLASS
AN INCLUSIVE, EQUITABLE, DOWNTOWN’S ONGOING
ORIENTATION RESIDENTIAL BASE PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY CHARACTER DISTRICTS PUBLIC REALM
SUSTAINABLE, AND REVITALIZATION
ENVIRONMENT
HEALTHY MANNER

Concentrating growth near Promoting innovation for Encouraging synergy through a Expanding areas where Prioritizing pedestrian Reusing, protecting and Finding opportunities within a Supporting the development
transit decades to come greater mix of uses housing is allowed safety and human comfort preserving existing structures community benefits program for of catalytic major public
that characterize unique the development of new publicly realm improvements
Identifying strategies for Creating well-designed Identifying locations where Intensifying housing where Improving connectivity and urban development patterns accessible open space
inclusive growth buildings that continue to commercial activity is preferred appropriate internal circulation within Promoting sustainable
develop the skyline Downtown Supporting streets that Requiring high quality streets public realm improvements
Promoting infill Establishing locations with a Allowing a full range of encourage community and and pedestrian linkages
development Celebrating history, baseline of productive uses housing options Increasing dedicated bike human interaction Encouraging the
culture, community, and infrastructure Treating the streets as development of high quality
Elevating design the arts Creating a job sanctuary Expanding areas for Developing a palette of Downtown’s living room publicly accessible open
expectations adaptive reuse and Expanding transit service regulations and design spaces
Reinforcing Downtown conversion to joint live/work guidelines that reinforce Encouraging places for people
as a destination Eliminating parking to gather and interact Supporting the development
minimums and managing distinct places
of nontraditional open
parking effectively spaces

Ensuring that open space,

recreation, and park spaces
are well-maintained

Partially
funded by

LU GOAL 24 LU GOAL 33 and external spaces are woven the area’s convenient access to PRODUCTION DRAFT MATERIALS
distribution, wholesale, and manu-
 DTLA 2040
Planning a Dynamic Future for Downtown Los Angeles

WH AT A R E WE D O IN G? WHY A RE WE DOING I T?
Los Angeles City Planning is collecting public input to inform the update of Los Angeles City Planning is updating the Downtown Community Plan to
the Downtown Community Plan, which includes the Central City and Central ensure that this policy document effectively guides growth and development
City North Plan areas. Together, this geography comprises Downtown Los in Downtown’s neighborhoods. There are 35 Community Plan areas
Angeles. The effort of updating the Downtown Plan is known as “DTLA within Los Angeles, which are to be updated periodically, and provide
2040.” neighborhood-level policies and implementation strategies necessary
to achieve the City’s General Plan objectives and the
The Downtown Community Plan will set a new direction for the future community’s vision. The Downtown Plan update is part of an Los AngeLes DepArtment of City pLAnning

of Downtown. Community Plans guide the physical development of ongoing program to update all 35 Community Plans.
the Long View: planning for 2035

neighborhoods, establishing goals and policies for land use, in addition

to a range of planning topics, including streets and open space, urban
design, mobility, and arts & culture.
nine
MAP OF COMMUNITY
PLANS CITYWIDE
Chatsworth
A
Granada Hills
Knollwood
Sylmar

Arleta
Pacoima
B
Sunland-Tujunga
Shadow Hills
Lake View Terrace
East La Tuna Canyon

POinT
Porter Ranch
Northridge Mission Hills
Panorama City
North Hills Sun Valley
La Tuna Canyon

Reseda
Canoga Park Van Nuys
West Van Nuys North Sherman Oaks
West Hills

Blueprint for Guiding Growth and Development

Winnetka
North Hollywood
Woodland Hills C D Valley Village

Encino
Tarzana Sherman Oaks-Studio City

Plan
Toluca Lake-Cahuenga Pass

Hollywood Northeast
Bel Air Los Angeles
Brentwood Beverly Crest

IMPLEMENTATION
Pacific Palisades Silverlake

PLAN DOCUMENT PLAN MAP ZONING

F G
Echo Park
Elysian Valley

OVERLAY E Westwood Wilshire

J
Boyle
West Los Angeles Heights

• Vision • Sets Range of • Development Palms

H
West Adams
Baldwin Hills
Leimert
I
• Incorporate CDO’s
Mar

• Goals Uses Regulations Venice

Vista

Del Rey
Central City
North

• Establishes • Downtown Design

South

• Policies • Use Allowances Los Angeles Central City

Range of Guide to protect quality of life, ensure that infill Westchester

Playa Del Rey
Westlake

• Implementation & Process Los Angeles

• Community
Southeast

Intensities • Base &

International Airport
Los Angeles

Programs development is compatible and complementary, Pacific Ocean

Maximum FARs Benefits

Guidelines and important citywide goals are achieved, all 35

community plans must be updated, and on a faster

Harbor-Gateway

NORTH
schedule than the current approach allows. That
LEGEND Wilmington
K
means we must pivot the New Community Plan
Harbor City

A Community Planning Regions

Port of

program in a fresh new direction — the purpose of Community Plan Area Boundaries
Los Angeles

San Pedro

the nine strategic objectives discussed below.

1
HO W W I LL IT AFFE C T M E? HOW DO WE G E T THER E? 6
Use re:codeLA for three plan updates Update the citywide general plan
The code evaluation report completed this year calls for a new approach to zoning. The current approach relies The foundation of our planning system is the General Plan Framework, which sets forth a directed growth
on a confusing mishmash of base zones, designations, qualifiers and overlays. The new approach builds a strategy to channel most new development along mixed boulevards and into regional centers connected by
comprehensive set of base zones, a more accessible and understandable system because all regulations are transit. Adopted in 1996, the Framework is now almost two decades old. Many other citywide elements, including
housed in one location. Boyle Heights, Central City and Central City North are far enough down the line that open space, noise, safety, conservation, air quality, infrastructure systems and public services, are similarly
they can benefit from this new approach, and the Department is committed to road testing re:codeLA’s new out of date, with some also nearing the 20 year mark. While the policies contained in the Framework and the
base zones for these three updates. other citywide elements are still largely relevant, they should be updated to reflect changes in state law and
local circumstances. Under this approach many of the topics the NCP program now addresses would mostly be

2
Write a CeQA compliance manual addressed at the citywide level, thus freeing up community plans to focus on land use and zoning. This objective
requires new resources next fiscal year and so a request has been included in our FY 2015-16 budget submittal.
As part of an agreement with the City Attorney’s office the Department will pay the cost of a full-time CEQA

The Plan will be intended for use by all members of the community, 7
lawyer to work on the NCP program. The lawyer has been hired and has already started work. The Department
implement a regional approach
PLAN UPDATE PROCESS is committed to working with this lawyer and the City Attorney’s office on a CEQA compliance manual that will
provide a more uniform and legally defensible approach to preparing community plan EIRs. Once completed,
this compliance manual will be distributed to Department staff and EIR consultants.
The City’s ultimate long-range planning goal is this: all 35 community plans updated and the entire city rezoned.
That’s an ambitious goal, but doable if we reorganize the NCP program into a more manageable number of

including residents, Neighborhood Councils, business owners, property

11 regions. While the 35 plan areas will be retained, each with its own separate planning document, the work

3 Appoint a full-time manager program itself will be organized geographically. This new organizational structure will allow the Department to
take advantage of economies of scale, concentrate public outreach efforts in contiguous areas simultaneously,
The NCP program does not have a full-time manager. As part of the City’s early retirement program five of and allow for larger and more collaborative work teams that together will help complete each region’s plans.

owners, developers, and public officials. It is important to note that the

the Department’s seven Principal City Planners retired in 2010. One of the remaining Principal City Planners,

8
responsible for managing the Office of Historic Resources, was also made responsible for managing the Policy
Planning Division created when the Department reorganized in 2011. A full-time manager is essential to reduce the number of eirs
carrying out this nine-point plan. This objective requires new resources next fiscal year and so a request has Completing 35 separate EIRs is a daunting prospect. But that’s what the current NCP program could require.

Plan’s policies, guidelines, and implementation programs are not created

been included in our FY 2015-16 budget submittal. There’s a better way: update the General Plan Framework’s EIR. The existing Framework EIR analyzed growth
from 1990 through 2010. An updated citywide EIR, one that analyzes long-range growth through 2035, is the

4 Creatively use resource teams cornerstone of the Department’s objective to streamline its CEQA compliance strategy. Such an EIR has two
benefits. One, it allows us to offload much of the analysis currently bogging down individual plan EIRs onto a

in isolation, but rather, developed collectively to address community issues

Community planning is a complex endeavor. It requires sophisticated technical analysis, diplomatic public single citywide document. And two, it allows us to prepare only one environmental document for each of the
engagement, and stamina for the long haul. The Department is committed to enhancing its program 11 regions shown above, either a focused EIR, an addendum to the citywide EIR, or even possibly a Mitigated
management strategy by breaking down the silos among the different disciplines. In particular, we are Negative Declaration. Developed in concert with the City Attorney and some of the best outside CEQA litigators,
committed to integrating technical analysts, public outreach specialists, and Systems, GIS, and graphics staff this CEQA strategy should result in more defensible environmental documents and thus less legal exposure.

in a comprehensive manner.
9
into agile resource teams that will maximize the use of the Department’s limited resources.

focus on implementation

5 make better use of technology

New technology that expands staff’s capabilities beyond the traditional office will bolster the Department’s
objective to create more agile planning resource teams. A “paper light” mode of working not only saves time
and money it bolsters creativity and collaboration that can be a model for the rest of city government. This
The Department is committed to maintaining metrics-driven, action-oriented resource teams that will follow-
up on community priorities. That will allow us to more consistently keep the focus on implementation, whether
it’s updating a specific plan, establishing a new historic district, or downzoning a residential neighborhood. Our
community plans with their long-range visions, goals and policies are important documents. But it’s only by

FOR RESIDENTS & FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS: objective requires new resources next fiscal year: a wi-fi hot spot; conference room projector and screen; and
six new computers with GIS and graphics software. This objective requires new resources next fiscal year and
so a request has been included in our FY 2015-16 budget submittal.
implementing these plans that they can truly make a difference.

NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCILS: The Community Plan is a part of the citywide

Prepared by Los Angeles Department of City Planning Graphic Services Section, November 2014

The Community Plan identifies the type and General Plan, which is the basis for land use
scale of land uses permitted, describes decisions by the City Planning Commissions, Poster_white_r5.indd 2 12/30/14 11:00 AM

changes that may affect neighborhoods, and other boards and commissions, and the City
explains the policies, design guidelines, and Council.
implementation programs that guide decisions
about future development.

The Plan Update process for DTLA 2040 began in 2014, and the Plan
FOR BUSINESSES: FOR PUBLIC AGENCIES:
is expected to begin the adoption process in 2020, following a period of
The Community Plan identifies land use The Community Plan is intended to help
State-required Environmental analysis and review.
measures that support businesses and agencies contemplate future actions in the
encourage future success. The Plan includes City, such as transportation infrastructure PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS
policies to support and enhance commercial improvements, parks, and schools. The policies
and industrial development. located throughout the Plan are interrelated
and should be examined comprehensively
when making planning decisions.

FOR DEVELOPERS & PROPERTY

OWNERS:
The Community Plan introduces the community
and provides background information.
Developers should review all maps, policies,
design guidelines, and implementation
programs throughout the document to better
understand what type of development can
occur, and where.

Partially
funded by

DRAFT MATERIALS