In addition to the historic nature of our Mellenthin-style and Post World War II architecture, Valleyheart Glen enjoys the special protections of a neighborhood adjacent to the Los Angeles River.

Valleyheart Glen is within the City’s River Improvement Overly (RIO) Zone. The City’s River Design Guidelines seek to improve the aesthetic quality of the River and its surrounding communities. The stated purpose of the guidelines is to foster a sense of community and to encourage pride of ownership. The Guidelines’ Objective No. 2 is to employ high quality, attractive and distinguishable architecture adjacent to the river. The Guidelines’ Objective No. 3 is to maximize access to, and awareness of, the River and its relationship to the community. With respect to sight lines and views, the Guidelines intend to create view opportunities to and from the River and preserve visual access to existing landmarks and overlooks within view corridors. Over-sized mansions interfere with the surrounding residents’ benefits of their close proximity to the Los Angeles River and the character of the community in which they reside.

With these goals in mind, Valleyheart Glen is zoned R1 which signifies a low-density, single-family residential zone. R1 zoning requires side yards of not less than five feet and rear yards of not less than 15 feet. The RIO requires the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) to determine whether a project is subject to the RIO. No building permit shall be issued for any project within the RIO until the Department of City Planning has approved an RIO Administrative Clearance. The RIO is codified under Los Angeles Municipal Code section 13.17.

Also with these goals in mind, in 2013, the Department of City Planning published a “Do Real Planning” brochure with the stated goal of neutralizing mansionization.