Skylight 4-Square-Foot Cap

Mulholland Design and Preservation Guideline 41 limits skylights to four square feet in area. The guideline addresses the visual impact of glazed roof penetrations on the Plan’s scenic and parkway character. Like all Design Guidelines, it is applied by the DRB and Director when interpreting the Specific Plan’s standards rather than as a separate ordinance requirement, but in practice plan check treats it as substantially binding.

• Skylights are highly visible from Mulholland Drive, particularly on roofs that pitch toward the parkway.
• Larger skylights tend to read as light-emitting surfaces at night and reflective surfaces by day.
• The guideline aligns with the §5 D 7 non-glare roof requirement: a skylight is, by nature, a glazed (and therefore reflective) roof element.
• Multiple smaller skylights distributed across a roof typically read better than one large skylight, even if the aggregate area is similar.

• Skylight dimensions and area on the Topographic Roof Plan (Exhibit E-4).
• Each skylight verified against the 4-SF cap.
• For multiple skylights, the aggregate impact on roof appearance from Mulholland Drive.
• Coordination with §5 D 7 non-glare roof requirements — even an under-cap skylight may be flagged if it reads as glare-producing.
• Visibility analysis confirming whether skylights are visible from Mulholland Drive (the guideline applies most strongly to visible roof surfaces).

• Treat skylights as design constraints, not late additions. Each skylight should be sized at 4 SF or under from the schematic stage.
• Where larger glazed roof areas are desired, evaluate whether a true skylight is the right element, or whether a clerestory or vertical glazing achieves the daylighting objective without triggering the cap.
• For non-visible roof surfaces (e.g., on the leeward side of the building, screened from Mulholland Drive by ridge geometry), the cap can be argued more flexibly — but document the visibility status on the Visibility Study.
• Specify low-emissivity, anti-glare glazing on every skylight as a default. The non-glare rule extends to glazed elements.

Source: Mulholland Design and Preservation Guidelines, Guideline 41 (skylight area cap). Adopted September 24, 2009 as part of Ordinance No. 167,943. Coordinates with §5 D 7 (non-glare roof requirement).