Mountains, rivers, and other topographical phenomena help shape cities’ layouts, but state and municipal planning codes determine how urban areas look and function. Here are five codes that have resulted in distinctive building features or require some head-scratching measures from developers.
FINE ART OBLIGATION
Beverly Hills has great public art because all its commercial developers are obligated to pay for it. The builders can either provide their own artworks, which must be approved by city officials and equal 1 percent of total construction costs plus 1.5 percent of costs exceeding $1 million (on a $1 million build, that’s $10,000), or pay an “in lieu” fee that goes into the city’s art fund and equals 90 percent of the fine art obligation. Needless to say, many choose the second option.
WATCH YOUR STEP
While downtown Houston may be pedestrian-friendly, many other areas in the city have sidewalks in need of serious repair or are missing them entirely. A city ordinance passed in March 2023, however, states that homeowners in neighborhoods without sidewalks must build them or pay the “fee in lieu of sidewalk construction.”
A VIEW TO A BILL
If you’re replacing a furnace or doing any type of remodeling—even moving a window from one wall to another—under California’s updated building code, you’re required to obtain a Title 24 energy report, which must outline how the changes comply with the state’s energy regulations. The reports cost anywhere from $200 and up, so that view (or whatever) had better be worth it.
HOUSING CRISIS LEGAL DRAMA
California’s Housing Element Law mandates municipalities to adopt zoning plans that include low-income housing. Cities like Huntington Beach in Orange County, however, refuse to play ball. Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration recently responded by taking Huntington Beach to court.
THINGS ARE LOOKING UP
For more than 40 years, skyscrapers in Los Angeles were required to have flat roofs to accommodate helipads for the fire department. The regulation was tossed in 2014, partially in an effort to diversify the city’s skyline.•
