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Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan: Sherman Oaks and Encino Hillside Rules
A hillside lot in Sherman Oaks or Encino that sits within half a mile of the Mulholland Drive right-of-way is inside the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan, and no building or grading permit for any project on it, seen from Mulholland Drive or not, is issued until the Director of Planning approves the plans on the recommendation of a Design Review Board. The ordinance, No. 167,943, was adopted on May 13, 1992. For projects visible from the road it caps buildings at 15, 30 or 40 feet depending on where the lot sits and limits grading to one cubic yard per four square feet of lot area in the inner corridor. A single-family remodel escapes design review only under seven conditions, one of them that additions since 1992 total 900 square feet or less.
Is my Sherman Oaks or Encino house inside the Mulholland Specific Plan?
The plan text defines two bands. The Inner Corridor is the Mulholland Drive right-of-way plus 500 feet outward from its outermost boundary, labeled MPI on the plan maps. The Outer Corridor, MPII, runs from there out to one-half mile from the right-of-way.
The city's overlay page lists the Encino-Tarzana and the Sherman Oaks-Studio City-Toluca Lake-Cahuenga Pass community plan areas under the plan. The practical check is the parcel record on ZIMAS, which identifies any specific plan overlay. A lot partly inside the boundary counts as inside: the plan defines a project as construction on a lot "located in whole or in part within the Specific Plan Area."
Two definitions matter. "Project" covers new construction, additions, alterations, conversions and changes of use, but "shall not include interior remodeling." "Visible project" means one that can be seen with normal 20-20 vision from any point on Mulholland Drive that lies within a circle of three-quarter-mile radius centered on the midpoint of the lot. The height, grading and materials rules in Sections 5 and 6 apply to projects that are both inside a corridor and visible.
What height limit applies near Mulholland Drive?
Section 5 D sets three caps for visible buildings in the inner corridor, and Section 6 D one for the outer corridor, all measured from existing natural or finished grade, whichever is lower:
| Lot position | Distance from the right-of-way | Height cap |
|---|---|---|
| Upslope | within the first 100 feet | 15 feet |
| Upslope | more than 100 feet, up to 500 feet | 30 feet |
| Downslope | within 500 feet | 40 feet, and never into the viewshed |
| Any lot in the outer corridor | up to one-half mile | 40 feet |
An upslope lot is land higher than Mulholland Drive along the right-of-way; a downslope lot is lower. Under Section 5 D 1 a visible building on either kind of lot may not penetrate the viewshed, a seven-degree visual field measured from four feet above the edge of the road, without written approval from the Director. Each cap carries a 12-foot allowance for steep ground, never above the cap measured from the ground directly below the roof.
The handout tells applicants to check separately whether the Baseline Hillside Ordinance, LAMC 12.21 C.10, also applies; where both do, Section 3 B says the more restrictive Mulholland rule prevails. The hillside ordinance is summarized in Encino hillside construction rules.
How much grading does the Mulholland plan allow?
Section 5 C allows, without Director approval, no more than one cubic yard of earth per four square feet of lot area on a visible inner corridor lot. The Director may approve up to two cubic yards per four square feet after the four findings in Section 5 C 1, among them that Building and Safety or the Bureau of Engineering has determined the grading is needed for access, drainage or foundations and that it follows the Landform Grading Manual. In the outer corridor the base figure is two cubic yards per four square feet, and the Director may approve up to four. Corrective grading ordered by Building and Safety is left out of both calculations.
Which Mulholland lots carry extra restrictions?
Section 5 B adds five environmental protection measures, and Section 6 B carries them into the outer corridor. The fifth is a record search for archaeological resources once grading passes 50 cubic yards per 5,000 square feet of lot area; the other four decide where a house may go.
- Prominent ridges, designated on plan maps 1B through 6B. No visible building may be built on the top of one, and none within 50 vertical feet of the top without the Director's written approval. The Director may approve no more than 1,000 cubic yards of grading on a ridge; beyond that a Specific Plan Exception is needed.
- Streams. No project, and no more than 100 cubic yards of earth moved, within 100 feet of either bank without approval, which requires a biologist's report and a recorded covenant binding the owner to the mitigation measures.
- Public parkland. No project and no grading within 200 feet of a park boundary without approval.
- Oak trees. No oak of the three species the plan names, Quercus agrifolia, Q. lobata and Q. virginiana, may be removed, cut down or moved without approval, and Section 10 requires two 36-inch box oaks for each one removed. The city's own permit still applies; see Encino protected tree removal rules.
A project within 200 feet of parkland, 50 feet of a prominent ridge or 100 feet of a stream is not eligible for administrative review.
What materials, fences and plants does the plan regulate?
Visible fences, gates and walls must be built of rough-cut unfinished wood, native-type stone, split-face concrete block, textured plaster, black or dark green chain link or wrought iron, or a combination. Visible roofs must be non-glare, with no equipment on them except solar devices. A tennis court is a discretionary use allowed only on a lot of 15,000 square feet or more; on a smaller lot it is prohibited outright.
Section 10 B lists plants that may not be planted anywhere in the parkway on or after its 1992 effective date, among them eucalyptus, all palms, Italian cypress, bamboo, fountain grass, Brazilian pepper and black locust. Landscaping must consist predominantly of native-type, fire-resistant plants and must go in within six months of finishing any grading. The 2003 Design and Preservation Guidelines, amended in 2009, create no mandatory requirements beyond the ordinance, but they state the Board's working positions, such as site retaining walls of no more than 10 feet above finished grade and exterior colors from the Santa Monica Mountains color wheel. The Board may also recommend that an owner record a covenant requiring the project to be maintained as approved. Such a covenant runs with the land, so a buyer should look for it among the recorded documents listed in the preliminary title report.
When is a remodel exempt from Mulholland design review?
Section 11 J exempts the remodel or repair of a single-family house or its accessory structures only when all seven conditions hold: exterior changes consistent with the plan, total cumulative additions of no more than 900 square feet, height within the plan's limits, no change of access to the right-of-way, not on a prominent ridge and not breaking an existing skyline, no stream on the lot, and no grading. The city's general information handout, dated January 20, 2026, states that floor area is counted cumulatively from the plan's adoption in 1992, so a 600 square foot addition permitted in 2005 leaves 300 square feet of exemption for the next owner.
How does the Mulholland Design Review Board process work?
The handout describes two tracks. Projects that add more than 900 square feet, new construction included, file a Project Compliance case, SPP-DRB, with a Geographic Project Planning Referral, form CP13-7812, and go to the Board for a recommendation to the Director. Smaller projects may be approved through an Administrative Clearance based on permit history, photographs, the proposed plans and a Clearance Summary Worksheet. In both tracks a preliminary review through the Online Application System comes before any case is filed. The Board has seven voting members, one appointed by each council member whose district is in the plan area, one by the Mayor and one by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Board of Directors; it meets on the first and third Wednesdays at 1:00 p.m. at 6262 Van Nuys Boulevard, Room 1A.
What should a buyer or seller check before escrow?
For a buyer planning to add a second story or a pool on a lot near Mulholland, three items belong in the inspection period: the ZIMAS record, including any prominent ridge or stream designation; the permit history since 1992, to compute how much of the 900 square feet remains; and any recorded covenant from a prior design review, which binds the new owner to the approved landscaping and exterior.
For an owner preparing to sell, an unpermitted addition in the corridor is a problem to settle before listing: Section 11 A bars a building permit for any project until design review is complete, so a permit to legalize it should be expected to go through review. A home valuation that assumes the next buyer can expand should account for the exemption used up by earlier work.
Q: Does the plan apply if the house cannot be seen from Mulholland Drive? Design review does, under Section 11 A. The guidelines add that a house screened only by landscaping may still be treated as visible, depending on the plants.
This article summarizes Ordinance No. 167,943 and Los Angeles City Planning documents as published on October 14, 2026 and is not legal advice. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
More on this community in the Sherman Oaks area guide.