02 - Highway Dedication

A building permit to construct, remodel, or enlarge an apartment, house, commercial, or industrial building fronting on an Avenue, Boulevard, or Collectors can be issued only subject to the applicant providing for dedication of the adjoining streets. However, highway dedication and improvement cannot be required for additions and accessory buildings incidental to other than a residential building existing on the lot as of March 1, 1962, if the total cumulative floor area of such additions and accessory buildings does not exceed 500 square feet. The system of Avenues or Boulevards is shown on the 2035 Mobility Plan on file in the office of the Department of City Planning.  

The authority for this dedication is LAMC Section 12.37 commonly called the R-3 Ordinance. This ordinance gives the specific requirements of street dedication and improvements which must be required on:

• Avenues
• Boulevards
• Collectors
• Local streets (only when subject property is fronting/abutting a Local Street AND an Avenue or Boulevard will the Local Street within a distance of up to 300 feet from such highways be subject)

When highway dedication is required, BOE should make sure the dedication line (new property line) is shown on the plans. Building setback, encroachments, and acceptable driveway grades must be determined based on the new property line.

The Board of Public Works may, in some instances, waive highway dedication as a requirement preceding the issuance of a building permit, conditional upon later dedication. In such cases, it is important BOE make sure that no portion of the building, planter, or stairs extend in front of the future property line. It is also important the elevation of garage floors and other parking areas are such that they provide acceptable driveway grades based on the back of sidewalk elevation of the future property line as well as the elevation of the existing property line.

Note: BOE created the Customer Service Request (CSR) Portal (located in the Customer Portal) to allow members of the public to make contact with City Staff for questions and/or assistance on any permit or development services related matter.  This includes requesting clearances for building permits.

Processing the BOE Clearance for Highway Dedication

IMPORTANT NOTE: When reviewing Highway Dedication Clearance on the Clearance Summary Worksheet, BOE staff will also start a cursory review of the Permits Clearance to hold for any possible improvements.  For example, if it's known that a B Permit is required, but has not been guaranteed, BOE staff should "Comment" "B" Permit required in the both the Highway Dedication AND the Permit Clearance items.

The following is the process of updating Highway Dedication clearance status on the Clearance Summary Worksheet.  This process is done through LADBS Plan Check and Inspection System (PCIS) under the module called "Clearances".  BOE staff should verify the following:

1. Login to PCIS and review the "Comments" to confirm the stage of the Clearance (generally Highway Dedication is a multi-step clearance).  PCIS comments will dictate where BOE Staff start the remainder of the process (2-4 below).
2. Determine if the project is Discretionary per the guidelines in the 01 - Dedication Processing section of this manual.
   1. No Dedication Required:  The item would be ready for PCIS Clearance 
      1. Within PCIS click the "Comment" box in the upper right side on the screen.  Typical comments that could be entered include:
         1. Sample Comment: No dedication required, list the "discretionary item(s)":
      2. Change status to "Approved”
      3. Click "Save Status" (if this is not clicked, the worksheet will not save)
   2. Dedication Required: 
      1. Within PCIS click the "Comment" box in the upper right side on the screen.  Typical comments that could be entered include:
         1. Sample Comment 1 - Planning Case # and what dedication is required on each street (i.e., 3ft on Main St., 5ft. on 3rd St.) 
         2. Click "Save Status" (if this is not clicked, the worksheet will not save)
      2. Provide the Applicant with the Highway Dedication paperwork (01 - Dedication Processing).  Applicant will most likely not have all the required information and will have to return to the counter.
      3. There is no change made to the status, remains in Pending
      4. Applicant returns to the Counter:
         1. Applicant provides BOE staff with all the required documents
         2. BOE staff to create a new record in the Highway Dedication Tracking System (per the guidelines of 01b - Dedication Processing - On-Line Application Procedures)
         3. Within PCIS, BOE staff will click the "Comment" box in the upper right side on the screen.  Typical comments that could be entered include:
            1. Sample Comment 1 - Planning Case #, what dedication is required on each street (i.e., 3ft on Main St., 5ft. on 3rd St, Highway Dedication Reference # or ROW #)
         4. Change status to one of the following based on the description of work proposed:
            1. Approved with Conditions - Used because Dedication is required
            2. Pending - Only used if the Applicant hasn't provide the required documents
         5. Click "Save Status" (if this is not clicked, the worksheet will not save)
3. Determine if the project is subject to LAMC 12.37 (no Planning Actions or DIR is silent) per the guidelines in the 01A - Highway Dedication Investigations section of this manual.
   1. NOT Subject to LAMC 12.37 (no investigation is required) - Follow the instructions below​
      1. BOE staff to login to PCIS to clear this item.  Additional instructions can also be found in the 00 - Clearance Summary Worksheet for Building Permit Application Clearances,  Plan Check and Inspection System (PCIS) Usage.
      2. Within PCIS click the "Comment" box in the upper right side on the screen.  Typical comments that could be entered include:
         1. Sample Comment: Not subject to LAMC 12.37, no dedication required, DIR #### is silent (if applicable)
      3. Change status to "Not Required"
      4. Click "Save Status" (if this is not clicked, the worksheet will not save)
   2. Subject to LAMC 12.37 (investigation is required) - Follow the guidelines in the 01a - Highway Dedication Investigations "Project is Subject to LAMC 12.37" section of this manual. 
      1. Provide the Applicant with the Highway Dedication Investigation Checklist (Applicant may need to return to the Counter). 
      2. Within PCIS click the "Comment" box in the upper right side on the screen.  Typical comments that could be entered include:
         1. Sample Comment 1 - Investigation required
      3. There is no change made to the status, remains in Pending
      4. Click "Save Status" (if this is not clicked, the worksheet will not save)
      5. Applicant provides BOE staff with all the required documents for the investigation
      6. BOE staff to create a new record in the Highway Dedication Tracking System (per the guidelines of 01b - Dedication Processing - On-Line Application Procedures)
      7. Within PCIS, BOE staff will click the "Comment" box in the upper right side on the screen.  Typical comments that could be entered include:
         1. Sample Comment 1 - Investigation required, Highway Dedication Reference #)
      8. There is no change made to the status, remains in Pending
      9. Click "Save Status" (if this is not clicked, the worksheet will not save)
      10. BOE staff should continue the investigation process per  01a - Highway Dedication Investigations in order to provide the Applicant with the "Letter of Requirements". If the Letter of Requirements states that dedication is required, the Applicant will also receive a Highway Dedication Application Checklist (in progress).
   3. Once the investigation is complete the Applicant will be required to return to BOE (public counter or electronic communication) to complete the process per one of the following requirements:
      1. No Dedication Required:  The item would be ready for PCIS Clearance (generally happens when the public right of way adjacent to the property has been fully dedicated per the 2035 Mobility Plan)
         1. Within PCIS click the "Comment" box in the upper right side on the screen.  Typical comments that could be entered include:
            1. Sample Comment: Investigation required, Highway Dedication Reference #, No dedication required
         2. Change status to "Approved”
         3. Click "Save Status" (if this is not clicked, the worksheet will not save)
      2. Dedication Required
         1. Provide BOE with all the required documentation per the Letter of Requirements and the Highway Dedication Application Checklist and all applicable attachments  
         2. BOE staff to update the Highway Dedication Tracking System per the instructions in 01b - Dedication Processing - On-Line Application Procedures
         3. Within PCIS, BOE staff will click the "Comment" box in the upper right side on the screen.  Typical comments that could be entered include:
            1. Sample Comment 1 - Investigation required, Highway Dedication Reference #, dedication required on each street (i.e., 3ft on Main St., 5ft. on 3rd St.), ROW #
         4. Change status to the following based on the description of work proposed:
            1. Approved with Conditions - Used because dedication is required.  This also alerts the next reviewer
         5. Click "Save Status" (if this is not clicked, the worksheet will not save