Permitting Sunset Strip

Permitting Sunset Strip

Better known for hair metal bands and grungy nightclubs the Sunset Strip is Los Angeles’s favorite place to make fun of yet visit. Now movie stars, luxury architects, and developers are joining in on the fun by developing higher-end hotels, apartments, stores, and restaurants. For those of you looking to develop on “The Strip,” as it’s called, here are some things you need to know about developing there.

Change of Use

Unless you are planning to open retail on the strip you will almost certainly need to apply for a change of use permit. This is a fancy way of saying Los Angeles has and follows strict zoning codes and to put a restaurant where a shop used to be requires a change of use permit. To get a change of use permit requires a trip to planning. For more information on what and how to get a change of use permit click here.

With that being said, before you assume the change of use permit rule applies to you, you should get a copy of the current certificate of occupancy and zoning code for the site. In order to get both, you will need the address and the assessor’s parcel number (also called APN) for the site.

For a copy of the Certificate of Occupancy go to the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, ask for their records section and search to your heart’s content. Los Angeles Building and Safety also have their website where you can search for documents at http://ladbsdoc.lacity.org/idispublic/ and search and print the records from home.

To find the current zoning code you can visit the City of Los Angeles ZIMAS site at http://zimas.lacity.org/ . Enter your information and get a copy of the parcel on a map, the current zoning code, and a bonus goodie is you can also see it has had a zoning administration file on it in the past.

The Required Departments

Once you have figured out if your project will require a change of use permit you can determine which departments will be involved in the permitting process. Before we list those departments it would be irresponsible not to note: ALWAYS get a permitting solutions firm with specialized expertise for LA on board.

Okay, the departments that could be required in the permitting process are:

-Planning

-Engineering

-Building

-Mechanical

-Electrical

-Plumbing

-Fire

-Sanitation

-Grading

-Health

So, you’re thinking to yourself, “Surely your project couldn’t require every one of those departments,” but the truth is: it could.

The Time

The next thing to know about permitting on The Strip is how much time to expect. It would be irresponsible to put down even the roughest of estimates. So, instead, let’s say each of the above mentioned permitting departments requires 2 plan check: 1 for the initial submittal and 1 for a recheck because there will be a resubmit. For the sake of this article, we can say each submittal is 1 hour, so just in planchecks, you can expect 20 hours! This doesn’t include the time drafting the plans, revising the plans, waiting in line at the city, and waiting for the reviewer to complete their review.

The most responsible and accurate thing to say about permitting on the Strip in regards to time is: expect to need a lot of it! Again, get a permitting solutions firm that knows the process, the specific code requirements, and timelines you will be working with. They can and will execute for you.