ZAI File, 1948 - 2006
Scope and Contents
Daniel Green, an alumnus of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy (Master of Planning, 1974), worked at the Los Angeles Department of City Planning for more than 30 years. The Daniel Green collection of Los Angeles City Planning documents consist of zoning codes, geographic plans, departmental procedural guides and publications, open space plans, administrative reports, maps of Los Angeles, zoning administrative records, and other material collected during Green's career. The documents in the collection span from approximately 1946 to 2019.
Following is a partial list of representative documents in the collection described by Daniel Green.
- ZAI Determination. These decisions are akin to law but are not adopted by the City Council; they are issued by the Zoning Administrator. They apply to either specific properties or as a general rule to common situations throughout the City. I have collected the majority of these determinations since they were first issued in 1948. It may be the largest collection in one place. Also included is an index by subject matter. These occupy an entire box within several three-ring binders.
- 1946 Zoning Code. Prior to 1946, the City Council adopted numerous zoning ordinances but they were not catalogued into one volume. This is the City's first comprehensive zoning code. It has been amended hundreds of times since then, whether a paragraph or an entirely new section.
- 2000 Zoning Code. This is the version of the same code in effect in 2000. Over time, the scope of "land use" expanded and so did the code. A completely new code is currently under preparation. (The current code is online.)
- 2006 CEQA Thresholds Guide. This volume constituted the City's guidelines in complying with the California Environmental Quality Act as of 2006.
- Historical Guide to Styles and Terms 1600 - 1945. This volume was used when historic preservation in Los Angeles came of age in the 1980s. The purpose of this guide was to educate citizens, including city decision makers, about the diverse architectural styles throughout the city.
- Crime Preservation Through Environmental Design. This volume discusses among other ideas the new (at the time) concept of defensible space.
- Open Space Plan. The State of California requires every city to adopt a general plan and to amend it from time to time. The LA city general plan consists of 35 geographic area plans, such as those for Hollywood and Northridge, as well as specific subjects at the citywide level such as Open Space and Fire Protection. Most of the documents in the collection are no longer in print and/or have been superseded by newer documents. I am not providing any current general plan documents as those are all available online.
- The Port of Los Angeles. This is an example of a geographic plan. These plans may take two to 12 years from initiation of studies to public hearings and eventual adoption.
Dates
- Creation: 1948 - 2006
Creator
- From the Collection: Green, Daniel (Person)
- From the Collection: Los Angeles (Calif.). Department of City Planning (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Extent
From the Collection: 2.46 Linear Feet (3 boxes)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Repository Details
Part of the USC Libraries Special Collections Repository
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0189 United States
specol@usc.edu