Place
Angelino Heights
Active
Los Angeles’ best preserved Victorian neighborhood faces new threats.
Place Details
Neighborhood
Year
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Designation
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Overview
Angelino Heights is Los Angeles’ best preserved Victorian neighborhood and storied hotbed for the preservation movement. Located just two miles from Downtown, the area was developed to cater to L.A.’s upper-middle class, making it one of the earliest suburbs. Though the Victorian homes are the best known historic resources in the area, the neighborhood features an eclectic mix of Craftsman, Revival and early Modern styles and historic multifamily housing.
The Angelino Heights Historic Preservation Zone (HPOZ) was the first to be formally adopted by City Council in 1983. Located within the HPOZ, the 1300 block of Carroll Avenue is addtionally listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and there are over 30 individually designated Historic-Cultural Monuments.
About This Place
About This Place
Angelino Heights is unique among Historic Preservation Overlay Zones in that the district is entirely zoned for multifamily uses. Most of the district is zoned RD2, which allows two to three story multifamily developments. The core of the district, centered around Carroll Avenue, is zoned R2, allowing duplexes. This flexible zoning has historically supported bungalow courts and “granny flats” in Angelino Heights, allowing the community to foster a mix of homeowners and renters in the neighborhood.
Recent changes in state law and city policy have opened up development potential within Angelino Heights. Most notably Senate Bill 1123, or the Starter Home Revitalization Act, allows up to 10 townhomes to be built on each individual parcel in Angelino Heights, far exceeding the current development capacity. Meanwhile, most single family lots within the City of Los Angeles do not qualify for this incentive. Other City programs, such as the Low-Rise Ordinance, also anticipate more housing production within the HPOZ though with stronger safeguards for historic resources.
Community members in Angelino Heights have created a campaign to push back against some of the projects that have been proposed in the neighborhood, through a group called Save Angelino Heights. The campaign’s main focus is a proposed SB-1123 project at 1467-1471 Ridge Way.
Our Position
The Conservancy is concerned about the multiple threats to Angelino Heights, one of Los Angeles’ most historic neighborhoods. We are working with concerned residents to understand the various projects that have been proposed and what options are available.
The project proposals have also underscored efforts to create lasting and effective Objective Design Standards for HPOZs, which will help shape and guide projects while providing reasonable demolition protections.
