The following regulations shall apply in the “RS” Suburban Zone:
A. Use — No building, structure or land shall be used and no building or structure shall be erected, structurally altered, enlarged, or maintained, except for the following uses, and when a “Supplemental Use District” is created by the provisions of Article 3 of this chapter, for such uses as may be permitted therein:
1. One-family dwellings.
2. Parks, playgrounds or community centers, owned and operated by a governmental agency.
3. (Amended by Ord. No. 181,188, Eff. 7/18/10.) Truck gardening; the keeping of equines, poultry, rabbits and chinchillas in conjunction with the residential use of the lot, provided that:
(a) Such animal keeping is not for commercial purposes.
(b) The keeping of equines shall be permitted only on lots having an area of 20,000 square feet or more. Where equines are being kept, the number of such animals being kept shall not exceed one for each 5,000 square feet of lot area.
4. Two-family dwellings on lots having a side lot line adjoining a lot in a commercial or industrial Zone, provided that: (Amended by Ord. No. 126,309, Eff. 2/13/64.)
(a) The lot on which the dwelling is located does not extend more than 75 feet from the boundary of the less restricted Zone which it adjoins;
(b) There is a minimum lot area of 7,500 square feet for each two-family dwelling.
5. (Deleted by Ord. No. 171,687, Eff. 8/19/97.)
6. Accessory buildings, including private garages, accessory living quarters, servant’s quarters, recreation rooms, or private stables, provided that:
(a) No accessory living quarters nor servant’s quarters are located or maintained on a lot having an area of less than 15,000 square feet;
(b) No stable is located or maintained on a lot having an area of less than 20,000 square feet and its capacity does not exceed one equine or each 5,000 square feet of lot area. (Amended by Ord. No. 157,144, Eff. 11/22/82.)
(c) An accessory living quarters, servant’s quarters, recreation room or private garage or any combination of said uses may be included within one building not exceeding two stories in height.
(d) Automobile parking space is required in connection with permitted uses and additional space may be provided in accordance with the provisions of Sec. 12.21 A.
7. Conditional uses enumerated in Sec. 12.24 when the location is approved pursuant to the provisions of said section. (Amended by Ord. No. 117,450, Eff. 12/18/60.)
8. Accessory uses and home occupations, subject to the conditions specified in Section 12.05 A.16. of this Code. (Amended by Ord. No. 171,427, Eff. 1/4/97, Oper. 3/5/97.)
9. Name plates and signs as provided for in Section 12.21
A. of this Code. (Added by Ord. No. 171,427, Eff. 1/4/97, Oper. 3/5/97.)
10. Backyard beekeeping, as an accessory use, provided that the activity complies with the performance standards established in Section 12.07 A.13. of this Code. (Added by Ord. No. 183,920, Eff. 12/6/15.)
B. Restriction. (Amended by Ord. No. 173,268, Eff. 7/1/00, Oper. 7/1/00.) For any lot designated as Public, Quasi-Public, Public/Quasi-Public Use, Other Public, or Open Space on the land use map of the applicable community or district plan; any lot shown on the map as having existing lakes, waterways, reservoirs, debris basins, or similar facilities; any lot shown on the map as the location of a freeway right-of-way; and any property annexed to the City of Los Angeles where a plan amendment was not adopted as part of the annexation proceedings:
Any of the uses permitted by Subsection A. of this section shall require prior approval in accordance with the provisions of Section 12.24.1 of this Code.
C. Area (Development Standards). No building or structure nor the enlargement of any building or structure shall be erected or maintained unless the following yards, lot areas, and floor area limitations are provided and maintained in connection with the building, structure, or enlargement: (Amended by Ord. No. 179,883, Eff. 6/29/08.)
1. Front Yard. There shall be a front yard or not less than 20% of the depth of the lot, but such front yard need not exceed 25 feet provided, however, that where all of the developed lots which have front yards that vary in depth by not more than 10 feet comprise 40% or more of the frontage, the minimum front yard depth shall be the average depth of the front yards of such lots. Where there are two or more possible combinations of developed lots comprising 40% or more of the frontage each of which has front yards that vary in depth by not more than ten feet, the minimum front yard depth shall be the average depth of the front yards of that combination which has the shallowest average depth. In determining the required front yard, buildings located on key lots, entirely on the rear half of lots, or on lots in the “C” or “M” Zones, shall not be counted, provided, however, that nothing contained in this paragraph shall be deemed to require front yards which exceed 40 feet in depth. (Amended by Ord. No. 139,155, Eff. 10/16/69.)
On key lots the minimum front yard may be the average of the required front yard for the adjoining interior lot and the required side yard along the street side of a reversed corner lot, but such minimum front yard may apply for a distance or not more than 85 feet from the rear lot line of the reversed corner lot, beyond which point the front yard specified in the above paragraph shall apply. Where existing buildings on either or both of said adjoining lots are located nearer to the front or side lot lines than the yard required by this article, the yards established by such existing buildings may be used in computing the required front yard for a key lot.
2. Side Yards. (Amended by Ord. No. 169,775, Eff. 6/2/94.)
(a) For a main building not more than two-stories in height, there shall be a side yard on each side of the building of not less than five feet, except that where the lot is less than 50 feet in width, the side yard may be reduced to ten percent of the width of the lot, but in no event to less than three feet in width. For a building more than two-stories in height, one-foot shall be added to the width of each yard for each additional story above the second story.
(b) In lieu of the additional one-foot side yard for each story above the second story as required above, for new construction of a main building or a ground floor addition to the main building on a lot not located in a Hillside Area or Coastal Zone, one-foot shall be added to each required side yard for each increment of ten feet or fraction thereof above the first 18 feet.
(c) Side yard requirements in specific plans, Historic Preservation Overlay Zones or in subdivision approvals shall take precedence over this subdivision. This subdivision shall apply in these areas, however, when there are no such side yard requirements.
3. Rear Yard. There shall be a rear yard of not less than 20 feet in depth. (Amended by Ord. No. 121,925, Eff. 6/4/62.)
4. Lot Area. (Amended by Ord. No. 153,478, Eff. 4/12/80.) Every lot shall have a minimum width of 60 feet and a minimum area of 7,500 square feet. The minimum lot area per dwelling unit shall also be 7,500 square feet, except for two-family dwellings on lots having a side lot line adjoining a lot in a commercial or industrial Zone as provided for in Subsection A. of this section.
Provided, however, that on property located within the “RS” Zone and also within a “H” Hillside or Mountainous Area for which a General Plan including dwelling unit densities has been adopted by the City Council, the number of lots may be limited and the minimum required areas may be increased so that the number of dwelling units permitted will not substantially exceed the densities shown on the Plan.
There may be lots with less than the minimum required width and area, as provided by Section 17.05 H. of this Code, and there may be a single-family dwelling on each such lot if the lot is shown with a separate letter or lot number on a recorded Subdivision Tract Map or Parcel Map.
Further exceptions to area regulations are provided for in Section 12.22 C.
5. Maximum Residential Floor Area. (Amended by Ord. No. 184,802, Eff. 3/17/17.) For a lot located in a Hillside Area or Coastal Zone, the maximum floor area shall comply with Section 12.21.1 A.1. of this Code.
For all other lots, the maximum Residential Floor Area contained in all buildings and accessory buildings shall not exceed 45 percent of the lot area when the lot is less than 9,000 square feet. For Lots 9,000 square feet or greater, the Residential Floor Area shall not exceed 40 percent of the lot area or 4,050 square feet, whichever is greater.
An additional 20 percent of the maximum Residential Floor Area for that lot shall be allowed if any of the methods listed below are utilized. Only one 20 percent bonus per property is allowed.
(a) The total Residential Floor Area of each story other than the base floor in a multi-story building does not exceed 75 percent of the base floor area; or
(b) The cumulative length of the exterior walls facing the front lot line, equal to a minimum of 25 percent of the building width shall be stepped-back a distance of at least 20 percent of the building depth from a plane parallel to the lot width established at the point of the building closest to the front lot line. When the front lot line is not straight, a line connecting the points where the side lot lines and the front lot line intersect shall be used. When through-lots have two front yards, the step-back shall be provided along both front lot lines.
For the purposes of this provision, all exterior walls that intersect a plane parallel to the front lot line at 45 degrees or less shall be considered to be facing the front lot line. The building width shall be the greatest distance between the exterior walls of the building measured parallel to the lot width. The building depth shall be the greatest distance between the exterior walls of the building measured parallel to the lot depth.
6. Verification of Existing Residential Floor Area. (Amended by Ord. No. 184,802, Eff. 3/17/17.) For additions with cumulative Residential Floor Area of less than 1,000 square feet constructed after January 1, 2008, or remodels of buildings built prior to January 1, 2008, the existing Residential Floor Area shall be determined based on the building records or the building square footage shown on the most recent Los Angeles County Tax Assessor’s records at the time the plans are submitted to the Department of Building and Safety and a plan check fee is paid. Except that Residential Floor Area may be calculated as defined in Section 12.03 of this Code when a complete set of fully dimensioned plans with area calculations of all the structures on the lot, prepared by a licensed architect or engineer, is submitted by the applicant.
Any work that does not qualify as a remodel, as defined in the paragraph below, or additions that are 1,000 square feet or larger shall require a complete set of fully dimensioned plans with area calculations of all the structures on the lot prepared by a licensed architect or engineer.
For the purposes of implementing this subdivision, a remodel shall mean the alteration of an existing building or structure provided that at least 50 percent of the perimeter length of the contiguous exterior walls and 50 percent of the roof are retained.