Plan Check Language Library · Mount Washington
Section 6.C of Ordinance 168,707 overrides the LAMC and sets its own prevailing front yard calculation for One-Family Projects in the Specific Plan area. The 200-foot stretch, the four exclusions, and the calculation hierarchy in the April 2025 checklist together produce a setback that is often deeper than the standard LADBS prevailing-setback calculator would generate, and almost always different.
The Section 6.C Calculation
Section 6.C overrides LAMC Section 12.21 A 17(a) and sets the rule:
“A front yard shall be provided which is equal to the average depth of the front yards for lots along the same right-of-way for a distance of 200 feet on either side of the side lot lines of the lot on which the dwelling is located.”
Ordinance 168,707, Section 6.C
The calculation includes the measurements between the front lot line and the main building closest to the street on each lot in the 200-foot stretch, but excludes four categories:
- The 20% of lots with the largest existing front yards.
- The 20% of lots with the smallest existing front yards.
- Existing vacant lots.
- All lots that do not provide the required parking spaces under LAMC Section 12.21 A 4(a).
The top-and-bottom-20% trim is what makes the Specific Plan’s calculation meaningful on hillside streets where one or two lots have unusually deep or shallow front yards. The LADBS calculator does not strip outliers in the same way.
When the Specific Plan Calculation Does Not Apply
Section 6.C contains two carve-outs that revert the front yard back to the LAMC’s standard rule:
- Where a driveway cannot be created in accordance with LAMC Section 12.21 A 5(g) without building a retaining wall or other structural wall of more than five feet in height measured from the natural grade.
- Where there are not at least two remaining lots to use for the calculation after the four exclusions are applied.
The first carve-out is narrow. It requires that no compliant driveway can be built without a tall retaining wall — not that one would be inconvenient. The second is mathematical: if the 200-foot stretch is dominated by vacant lots or non-parking-compliant lots, fewer than two qualifying lots may remain.
The Calculation Hierarchy
The April 2025 application checklist (Item 12.a.v, NOTE9) sets the order of calculation:
“If prevailing calculation per the Mount Washington-Glassell Park Specific Plan cannot be determined, use LADBS prevailing setback calculator and show on plans. If prevailing per LADBS cannot be determined refer to LAMC.”
April 2025 Checklist, Item 12.a.v, NOTE9
Specific Plan first. LADBS calculator second. LAMC third. The hierarchy matters because a calculation result that satisfies the LADBS calculator does not satisfy the Specific Plan if the Specific Plan calculation can be performed. Plans submitted with only the LADBS number drawn on the cover sheet are routinely held by Project Planning for Specific Plan compliance.
Measured Before Dedication; Through Lots Both Ways
Two further procedural notes from the April 2025 checklist apply to the cover sheet:
These are current procedural filing requirements published by the Department of City Planning, not provisions of Ordinance 168,707. Verify the current checklist before filing.
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
Need the Specific Plan Setback Calculated?
Design 1 Studio runs the Section 6.C calculation along the 200-foot stretch with the four exclusions applied, before dedication, on both frontages where applicable. The cover-sheet number that the April 2025 checklist requires, ready to draw against from concept forward.