Plan Check Language Library · Mount Washington
Section 6.D of Ordinance 168,707 creates a small-addition carve-out from the Specific Plan’s parking requirement. The carve-out is narrow: two joint prongs must be met, and the Floor Area definition that controls the 2,400-square-foot ceiling is the Specific Plan’s expanded definition, not the LAMC’s. Owners targeting the carve-out for a modest addition often discover at plan check that covered parking and basement storage push them past the threshold.
The Two Joint Prongs
Section 6.D overrides LAMC Section 12.21 A 17(h) and sets the carve-out:
“The parking space requirements for any addition to or remodeling of an existing One-Family Project which does not increase the total Floor Area by 200 square feet or more and for which the total Floor Area does not exceed 2,400 square feet shall be as required in LAMC Section 12.21 A 4(a).”
Ordinance 168,707, Section 6.D
The sentence is read as two joint requirements. Both must be satisfied for the LAMC’s standard parking requirement (typically two covered spaces) to apply rather than an upgraded count.
- Prong one. The addition or remodel does not increase the total Floor Area by 200 square feet or more. A 199-square-foot addition qualifies on this prong; a 200-square-foot addition does not.
- Prong two. The total Floor Area, after the addition or remodel, does not exceed 2,400 square feet. A 50-square-foot addition that brings the total to 2,401 square feet fails on this prong even though it cleared prong one easily.
Both Prongs Or Neither
The carve-out fails the moment either prong fails. A 250-square-foot addition on a 1,800-square-foot house clears prong two but fails prong one. A 100-square-foot addition that brings a 2,350-square-foot house to 2,450 square feet clears prong one but fails prong two. Either failure pushes the project to whatever parking standard applies under the underlying zone — which on most Mount Washington and Glassell Park lots means a higher requirement than LAMC 12.21 A 4(a).
The Specific Plan Floor Area Definition Applies
The 2,400-square-foot ceiling is calculated using the Specific Plan’s own Floor Area definition in Section 3, not the LAMC’s. That definition includes covered automobile parking areas, basement storage areas, and other elements the LAMC excludes. A house with a 1,900-square-foot conditioned area and a 400-square-foot attached garage has 2,300 square feet of Floor Area under the Specific Plan — close to the prong-two ceiling before any addition is added. A 100-square-foot addition pushes the total to 2,400 square feet, on the line. A 101-square-foot addition fails prong two.
Owners running early feasibility against the carve-out typically calculate the existing Floor Area first, including covered parking and any basement storage, then back out how much addition the carve-out actually leaves available. The number is often smaller than the addition the owner had in mind.
Why the Carve-Out Exists
Section 6.D is not a discretionary exception. It is a statutory threshold built into the ordinance. The intent is to keep small additions and remodels out of the upgraded parking obligation that larger projects trigger. For an owner who wants a 150-square-foot kitchen addition on a 2,000-square-foot house, the carve-out keeps the parking requirement at the standard residential count rather than forcing a new garage or carport to be designed and permitted.
The trade-off is that the carve-out operates as a hard ceiling on the project’s total scope. A project sized to fit inside the carve-out cannot grow during design without losing the parking benefit.
Design 1 Studio is a building design firm based in Pasadena, California. Over a decade serving Los Angeles County with residential and commercial design, including ADUs, hillside projects, multifamily, and historic-district work. Inspector-led methodology focused on producing drawings that anticipate plan check rather than react to it. Specialty work in Mount Washington / Glassell Park Specific Plan navigation. Contact through design1.studio.
Mount Washington Project Review
Sizing an Addition Under the Carve-Out?
Design 1 Studio runs the Section 6.D prong analysis using the Specific Plan’s Floor Area definition before drawings begin. The existing total, the available addition before either prong fails, and the parking requirement that applies if either fails — addressed at feasibility, not at correction.