Division 5A.2 — GENERAL RULES

City of Los Angeles Zoning Code Chapter 1A

The intent of this Article (Use) is to establish the Use Districts, use standards, and use definitions in

order to regulate the activities on a lot, and to mitigate any potential impacts within a lot and on

surrounding property as a result of those activities, to protect public health, safety, and welfare.

A. General

1. Most lots, operations, and facilities will contain more than one use. Where more than one use

occurs on the same lot or in the same operation or facility:

a. Allowed uses are specified by the applicable Use District in accordance with Div. 5A.3.

(Use Permissions), and combinations of allowed uses are also permitted. Certain uses

are allowed only as accessory to (pursuant to Sec. 5C.1.1. ), incidental to (pursuant to Sec.

5C.1.2. ), or in conjunction with (pursuant to Sec. 5C.1.3. ) another use.

b. If all proposed uses are permitted by the applied Use District, but there are conflicts

between the required use standards, the most restrictive of the use standards shall prevail,

including where multiple uses overlap on the same portion of a lot or portion of a building.

2. All projects filed after the effective date of this Zoning Code (Chapter 1A) shall comply with the

Use District standards and all other provisions in this Article (Use), as further specified below.

For vested rights, see Sec. 1.4.5. (Vested Rights), and for continuance of existing development,

see Sec. 1.4.6. (Continuance of Existing Development) .

B. Applicable Components of Lots, Buildings, & Structures

1. Unless otherwise provided, use regulations apply to all portions of a lot.

2. Unless otherwise provided, use regulations apply to all portions of buildings and structures on

a lot.

3. Specific use regulations may further limit which components of buildings and lots are required

to comply with Part 5C. (Use Rules) .

C. Nonconformity

Article 12. (Nonconformities) provides relief from the requirements of this Article (Use) for existing

lots, site improvements, buildings, structures, and uses that conformed to the zoning regulations at

the time they were established, but do not conform to current Use District standards or permission

levels. For lots with nonconforming uses as to the provisions of Div. 5A.3. (Use Permissions), Div. 5C.1. (General Use Standards), or Part 5D. (Use Definitions) specified by the applied Use District (Part 5B.), no project activity may decrease the conformance with any regulations specified in this Article (Use), unless otherwise specified by Div. 12.5. (Use Exceptions) .

Div. 5A.2. (General Rules) | 5-10 Established by Ord. 188,418, Eff. 01/20/2025, Oper. 01/27/2025

[ FORM - FRONTAGE - STANDARDS ] [ USE - DENSITY ]

Div. 5A.2. (General Rules)

City of Los Angeles Zoning Code Chapter 1A

STANDARDS

Regardless of allowed uses, the form of a building, its architectural elements, and site improvements

are regulated by, and shall comply with the standards in Form Districts (Part 2B.), Frontage Districts

(Part 3B.), and Development Standards Districts (Part 4B.) . For example, an eating & drinking use might

be allowed, but the Development Standard District regulations may prohibit drive-through facilities.

Use Districts that contain provisions for residential uses do not include regulations regarding the

number of dwelling units that are permitted. The Density District (Part 6B.) component of the zone

string, as described in Article 6. (Density), is the mechanism that regulates the number of dwelling units

permitted on any lot.

Div. 5A.2. (General Rules) | 5-11 Established by Ord. 188,418, Eff. 01/20/2025, Oper. 01/27/2025

[ FORM - FRONTAGE - STANDARDS ] [ USE - DENSITY ]

Div. 5A.3. (Use Permissions)