If you filed an entitlement application and paid all fees before the effective date of the New Zoning Code, you have Successional Rights pursuant to Sec. 1.4.4. (Successional Rights). This means you can generally continue using the zoning regulations that were in effect when you filed, even if the New Zoning Code is now in effect.
However, there are a few important caveats:
The New Zoning Code is implemented by various City Agencies, with the Department of City Planning (DCP) and the Department of Building and Safety (DBS) playing the primary roles. Other departments involved in the implementation process, such as the Department of Transportation and Public Works Department, each with specific responsibilities for certain regulations.
Each project is unique and the process may vary. However, the general process for obtaining a building permit can be summarized as follows:
If your building or use existed legally before the New Zoning Code went into effect for a property, it might be considered a nonconformity. Nonconformities are allowed to continue, but there are rules about how they can be changed or expanded.
Key Points
When a complete plan check application is submitted to the Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) with the required fees, the project gains vested rights. This means the project can proceed according to the zoning rules and regulations in effect at the time of fee payment. However, vested rights do not exempt the project from other approvals (e.g., subdivisions, variances) or future citywide safety regulation changes. They also do not protect against state or federal mandate implementations.
Vested rights have limitations: