1. Find your zone
- Fastest: type the address into Brick Work's free zoning check. It covers the City of Los Angeles and Culver City.
- The City's own map: open ZIMAS at zimas.lacity.org, accept the terms, and search by address, APN, intersection or case number.
- Open the Planning and Zoning section. The Zoning line shows the zone string and links to its code section. Overlay lines list any HPOZ, specific plan or design overlay, and the same section holds the parcel's SB 9 eligibility checklist.
- Compare the zone against City Planning's one-page Zoning Code Summary (CP-7150), summarized in the table below.
Outside the City of Los Angeles, each of LA County's 88 cities keeps its own zoning map, and unincorporated areas such as Altadena use the County's GIS-NET map.
2. Read the zone string
City Planning's example is [Q]C2-1-CDO. The parts always come in this order:
- [Q] or (T): a condition in front. Q limits the uses or standards on that parcel; T is tentative, waiting on dedications or improvements.
- C2: the zone. It sets the allowed uses and the density (see the table).
- 1: the height district. It caps height or floor area. A D after it (for example 1D) adds a development limitation on height, floor area, coverage or setbacks.
- CDO: a supplemental district. Overlays such as CDO (design), CPIO, RIO, SN (sign) or HPOZ (historic) add their own rules.
Height districts
| Height district | Limit |
|---|---|
| 1 | No height limit in most zones; floor area ratio 1.5:1 in commercial and industrial zones, 3:1 elsewhere. RA, RE, RS and R1 use their own floor-area limits instead. |
| 1L | 6 stories / 75 ft |
| 1VL | 3 stories / 45 ft (50 ft in RAS3 and RAS4) |
| 1XL | 2 stories / 30 ft |
| 1SS | 1 story / 18 ft (RA, RE, RS and R1 only) |
| 2 / 3 / 4 | Floor area ratio 6:1 / 10:1 / 13:1 |
Source: LAMC Sec. 12.21.1. A fully residential building in 1VL or 1XL is limited in feet only, not stories.
3. Los Angeles zoning summary
The main zones, from City Planning's Zoning Code Summary. Density is lot area per home; height is for Height District 1 outside hillside and coastal areas.
| Zone | What it allows | Density | Height (HD 1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Agriculture, one-family homes | 2.5 acres per home (max 2 per lot), 5-acre minimum lot | 45 ft |
| RE9 – RE40 | One-family homes | One home on a 9,000 to 40,000 sq ft minimum lot (the number is the lot size in thousands) | RE9: 33 ft (28 ft flat roof); RE11–RE40: 36 ft (30 ft flat roof) |
| RS | One-family homes | 7,500 sq ft minimum lot | 33 ft (28 ft flat roof) |
| R1 | One-family homes | 5,000 sq ft per home | 33 ft (28 ft flat roof), plus an encroachment plane |
| R2 | Two-family homes | 2,500 sq ft per home on a 5,000 sq ft lot | 33 ft |
| RD1.5 – RD6 | Apartments (restricted density) | 1,500 to 6,000 sq ft per home (the number is thousands of sq ft) | 45 ft |
| R3 | Apartments | 800 sq ft per home (about 54 per acre) | 45 ft, floor area ratio 3:1 |
| R4 | Apartments, churches, schools | 400 sq ft per home | No height limit, floor area ratio 3:1 |
| R5 | Apartments, hotels, hospitals | 200 sq ft per home | No height limit, floor area ratio 3:1 |
| C1 | Retail under 100,000 sq ft, offices, hotels | Same as R3 (800 sq ft per home) | No height limit, floor area ratio 1.5:1 |
| C2 | Retail, limited manufacturing, auto uses, gas stations | Same as R4 (400 sq ft per home) | No height limit, floor area ratio 1.5:1 |
| C4 | C2 uses, with some excluded | Same as R4 (400 sq ft per home) | No height limit, floor area ratio 1.5:1 |
| CM | Wholesale, storage, limited manufacturing | Same as R3 (800 sq ft per home) | No height limit, floor area ratio 1.5:1 |
Source: CP-7150 (January 2026). Commercial lots next to residential zones have lower transitional height limits.
Single-family size limits
On most flat R1 lots the house can't exceed 0.45 of the lot area in residential floor area, under an encroachment plane that starts 20 ft up at the front and side setbacks (LAMC 12.08 C.5). Some neighborhoods have R1 variation zones with their own ratios, and RE lots use 35% to 40% depending on zone and lot size.
4. The new zoning code (Chapter 1A)
Los Angeles is replacing its 1946 zoning code one community plan at a time. The new code, Chapter 1A, applies in Downtown (effective February 2025) and Boyle Heights (effective August 20, 2026). Its zone strings look different: five districts in brackets, form, frontage, standards, use and density, plus an overlay. A Boyle Heights example is [LM4-G2-3][CX2-4][CPIO]. Everywhere else, the Chapter 1 zones above still apply.
Zone codes that aren't City codes
Codes such as LCA11 come from Los Angeles County, not the City. LCA11 corresponds to the County's A-1-1 (Light Agricultural) zone in unincorporated areas. For those parcels, use the County's GIS-NET map.
5. State laws that override your zone
Your zone is the floor, not the ceiling. These state laws and City programs can allow more homes than the base zone:
- SB 9: up to four homes on a single-family lot (R1, RS, RE, RA).
- SB 684 and SB 1123: up to 10 homes on multifamily lots and vacant single-family lots.
- CHIP and AHIP: the City's housing incentive program, which replaced ED-1.
- State density bonus: extra units for affordable homes, outside CHIP.
- SB 79: density near rail and bus rapid transit, partly postponed in the City of LA.
Questions
How do I find the zoning of a property in Los Angeles?
Enter the address in Brick Work's free zoning check for an instant answer in the City of Los Angeles or Culver City. Or use ZIMAS, the City's parcel map at zimas.lacity.org: search by address or APN, accept the terms, and open the Planning and Zoning section. The Zoning line shows the zone string and links to the code section for it.
Where is the City of Los Angeles zoning map?
The official map is ZIMAS (zimas.lacity.org), run by Los Angeles City Planning. It shows each parcel's zone, overlays, General Plan land use, planning cases and permits. City Planning also publishes a one-page Zoning Code Summary chart (form CP-7150) with the rules for every zone.
What does R1-1 mean in Los Angeles zoning?
R1 is the zone: one-family residential, with 5,000 sq ft of lot area per home. The 1 after the dash is the height district: Height District 1, where R1 lots are limited by the single-family floor-area rules (0.45 of lot area on most flat lots) and a 33 ft height limit (28 ft with a flat roof).
What do [Q], (T) and D mean in a zone string?
Q is a qualified classification that limits the uses or standards on that parcel. T is a tentative classification that waits on dedications or improvements. Both sit in front of the zone, for example [Q]C2-1. D is a development limitation on height, floor area, lot coverage or setbacks, written after the height district, for example R3-1D. The conditions are in the ordinance listed on the parcel in ZIMAS (LAMC 12.32).
What is LCA11 zoning?
LCA11 is not a City of Los Angeles zone, and it isn't one of the City's new Chapter 1A zones either. It corresponds to Los Angeles County's A-1-1 zone (Light Agricultural), which the County uses in unincorporated areas. Check those parcels on the County's GIS-NET zoning map from LA County Regional Planning.
Does zoning tell me how many homes I can build?
It is only the starting point. State laws such as SB 9, SB 684 / SB 1123 and density bonus, and LA's CHIP program, can allow more homes than the base zone. Overlays, hillside rules, fire zones and specific plans can allow fewer. A Brick Work report runs every one of them against the parcel.
Sources
- LA City Planning, Generalized Summary of Zoning Regulations (CP-7150), January 2026
- LA City Planning, Zoning search and ZIMAS
- LAMC Sec. 12.21.1, height districts
- LAMC Sec. 12.08, R1 one-family zone
- LA City Planning, the new Zoning Code (Chapter 1A)
- Ordinance 189006, Boyle Heights Community Plan (effective August 20, 2026)
- LA County Regional Planning, agricultural zones
Last reviewed October 23, 2026. General information, not legal advice; a parcel's own zoning, overlays and cases control.