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Los Angeles Bicycle Parking Code, Without the Legal Jargon

Reviewed against the current Los Angeles Municipal Code (Chapter I, Section 12.21 A.16) and the adopted Chapter 1A Zoning Code (Article 4, Division 4C.3) on May 29, 2026. Los Angeles is replacing its old zoning code with a new one, area by area, so two different bicycle parking codes are in effect at the same time and which one applies depends on the parcel. Requirements change. Always confirm the controlling code and the count with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning at permit time. This article is planning guidance, not legal or permit advice.

Short answer

Los Angeles currently runs two zoning codes side by side. Most of the city still falls under the original code, Chapter I, where bicycle parking is set by LAMC Section 12.21 A.16. Newly updated areas, starting with the Downtown Community Plan Area, fall under the new Chapter 1A zoning code, where bicycle parking is set by Article 4, Division 4C.3. Both codes split parking into short-term (visible racks for visitors) and long-term (secure, enclosed, weather-protected storage), and both size multifamily from the same tiered table: the first 25 dwelling units need one long-term space per unit, with larger unit brackets needing progressively fewer. The first thing a project team should do is confirm which code governs the parcel, then apply that code’s tables. Confirm the final count with City Planning.

Which LA zoning code applies to your parcel?

This is the question to settle before you count a single space.

  • Chapter I (the Original Zoning Code), Section 12.21 A.16 governs parcels still zoned under the old code, which is most of Los Angeles today.
  • Chapter 1A (the new Zoning Code), Article 4, Division 4C.3 governs parcels carrying Chapter 1A zone designations, currently the Downtown Community Plan Area and the Community Plan areas updated after it. Chapter 1A “applies only to projects located on lots with zone designations established in this Zoning Code (Chapter 1A),” and Chapter I does not apply where Chapter 1A is in effect.

Los Angeles is rolling Chapter 1A out one Community Plan area at a time, so the map changes as more plans update. Confirm a specific parcel’s zoning before using either table. Look the address up in the city’s parcel zoning tool (ZIMAS) or the LA Zoning Search, and see the LA Planning new zoning code page for the rollout status. When in doubt, City Planning confirms which code controls.

Short-term versus long-term in Los Angeles

Both LA codes use short-term and long-term instead of the Class 2 and Class 1 labels you see in some other California cities. Short-term is the visible visitor rack near the entrance; long-term is secure, enclosed, weather-protected storage for residents and employees. The definitions are nearly identical across the two codes, and the short-term / long-term split is the same two-job framework California uses statewide, which is why it lines up with the California multifamily bike parking overview. What is specific to Los Angeles is the tiered ratios, the in-code design standards, and the differences between the two codes covered below.

Chapter I rules: Section 12.21 A.16 (most of the city)

For parcels under the original code, bicycle parking is set in LAMC Section 12.21 A.16, in Chapter I of the Planning and Zoning Code. That section was most recently amended by Ordinance No. 185,480 (effective May 9, 2018).

Multifamily, by building size (Chapter I)

For residential buildings other than hotels and motels with more than three dwelling units, Section 12.21 A.16.(a)(1)(i) sets the counts “for each marginal increment of dwelling units.” Marginal increment means each unit bracket is counted at its own ratio and the results are added together, the way tax brackets work. A minimum of two short-term spaces is required in all cases.

Dwelling units in the building Short-term spaces Long-term spaces
1 to 25 1 space per 10 units 1 space per unit
26 to 100 1 space per 15 units 1 space per 1.5 units
101 to 200 1 space per 20 units 1 space per 2 units
201 and up 1 space per 40 units 1 space per 4 units

Source: LAMC Sec. 12.21 A.16.(a)(1)(i), Table 12.21 A.16.(a)(1)(i).

Two residential details worth knowing: dwelling units with “individually accessed private garages for each unit” are not required to provide long-term bicycle parking, and hotels, motels, and apartment hotels with more than five guest rooms provide both short-term and long-term parking at one per ten guest rooms (minimum two of each).

Commercial and other uses (Chapter I)

For certain commercial, institutional, and industrial uses that require automobile parking under Section 12.21 A.4(c), (d), (e), and (f), bicycle parking is sized by floor area in Table 12.21 A.16.(a)(2). A minimum of two short-term and two long-term spaces applies. The table below shows the highest-traffic uses; pull the rest of the rows directly from Table 12.21 A.16.(a)(2).

Use Short-term Long-term Source
Office 1 per 10,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) 1 per 5,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) Sec. 12.21 A.16.(a)(2)
Retail stores, general 1 per 2,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) 1 per 2,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) Sec. 12.21 A.16.(a)(2)
Restaurants and bars, general 1 per 2,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) 1 per 2,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) Sec. 12.21 A.16.(a)(2)
Warehouse 1 per 10,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) 1 per 10,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) Sec. 12.21 A.16.(a)(2)
All institutional uses 1 per 10,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) 1 per 5,000 sq. ft. (minimum 2) Sec. 12.21 A.16.(a)(2)
All other uses See Table 12.21 A.16.(a)(2) See Table 12.21 A.16.(a)(2) Sec. 12.21 A.16.(a)(2)

Design standards Chapter I writes into the code

Chapter I puts its rack and room standards right in Section 12.21 A.16. The ones that drive layout:

  • Short-term racks must let the frame and at least one wheel lock to the rack, must accept both a cable and a U-shaped lock, and must be securely anchored. If both sides of a rack can hold a bike, each side counts as a space.
  • Covering: “If more than 20 short-term bicycle parking spaces are provided, at least 50 percent shall be covered by a roof or overhang.”
  • Space size: each bicycle parking space “shall be a minimum 6 feet (72 inches) in length.”
  • Vertical storage is allowed for long-term parking and must be “a minimum of 4 feet (48 inches) deep and 6 feet (72 inches) in height,” and wheel-hanging devices must not damage the wheel.
  • Stacked, two-tier layouts are allowed for long-term or short-term parking.

What the multifamily number looks like in practice (Chapter I)

Take a 120-unit apartment building and apply Table 12.21 A.16.(a)(1)(i) by marginal increment.

Long-term (secure, enclosed):

  • First 25 units: 1 per unit, so 25 spaces.
  • Units 26 to 100 (75 units): 1 per 1.5 units, so 50 spaces.
  • Units 101 to 120 (20 units): 1 per 2 units, so 10 spaces.
  • Long-term total: 85 spaces.

Short-term (racks):

  • First 25 units: 1 per 10 units, so 2.5.
  • Units 26 to 100 (75 units): 1 per 15 units, so 5.
  • Units 101 to 120 (20 units): 1 per 20 units, so 1.
  • Short-term subtotal: 8.5 before the code’s fraction rule. Under Section 12.21 A.16(b), a fraction up to and including one-half may be disregarded, so the half drops and the requirement is 8 short-term spaces, not 9 (the two-space minimum is met). Confirm the final accepted count with City Planning.

That is roughly 85 secure long-term spaces to fit into the building, which is the number that drives the bike-room conversation and is why the bike program belongs in the plan before the floor plate is locked. Confirm the exact count, the marginal calculation, and the rounding with City Planning, because individual private garages, guest rooms, and the CALGreen handoff above 100 spaces can all change the result.

How Chapter I relates to CALGreen

Section 12.21 A.16 sets the local minimums and connects to the statewide green building code (CALGreen) at a specific point. Per Section 12.21 A.16.(a)(2)(ii): “After the first 100 bicycle parking spaces are provided for uses listed in Table 12.21 A.16.(a)(2), additional spaces may be provided at the minimum number required by the California Green Building Standards Code Section 5.106.4, as that section may be amended from time to time.” In plain terms, Chapter I applies its own use-based table up to the first 100 spaces, then lets the lighter CALGreen 5.106.4 minimum govern the spaces beyond that. For the statewide CALGreen framework, see the California multifamily bike parking overview. Confirm current CALGreen thresholds and the Los Angeles tables at permit time.

Chapter 1A rules: Division 4C.3 (Downtown and newly updated areas)

For parcels under the new code, bicycle parking is set in Chapter 1A, Article 4, Division 4C.3, in Sections 4C.3.1 through 4C.3.3. Per Section 4C.3.1, the requirement “applies to new construction, a major remodel, a site modification, or a use modification.”

The good news for planning: Chapter 1A uses the same marginal residential tiers as Chapter I. A residential building with more than three dwelling units is sized off the identical table, so the 120-unit worked example above produces the same result under Chapter 1A: about 85 long-term and 8 short-term spaces. The differences are in the details around it.

What is different under Chapter 1A:

  • Supportive housing gets its own rule: short-term parking at one space per 10,000 square feet of floor area and long-term at one space per 5,000 square feet, minimum two of each.
  • Non-residential uses are organized into Chapter 1A’s own use groups, not the Chapter I list: Public & Institutional, Open Space & Recreation, Transportation, General Commercial, Heavy Commercial, Light Industrial, Heavy Industrial, and Agricultural. Common ratios: Office is 1 short-term per 10,000 square feet and 1 long-term per 5,000 square feet (minimum 2 each); Retail (All) and Eating & Drinking (All) are 1 per 2,000 square feet short-term and long-term (minimum 2 each); many “all other” categories are 1 per 10,000 square feet for both tiers, and some uses require none.
  • Long-term parking must be “fully enclosed and covered” under Section 4C.3.3, which is a touch more explicit than the Chapter I wording. Acceptable forms are the same: bicycle lockers, bicycle rooms, bicycle cages, or commercially operated attended facilities.
  • Fractions: Section 4C.3.1.D.2 carries the same rule as Chapter I, fractions up to and including one-half may be disregarded, with rounding taken after summing across uses and calculated separately for short-term and long-term.
  • Adaptive reuse: projects under the Downtown or Citywide Adaptive Reuse Programs (Sections 9.4.5 and 9.4.6) are not required to provide additional bicycle parking.
  • Chapter 1A’s Division 4C.3 tables do not carry the Chapter I “first 100 spaces, then CALGreen” handoff; counts come from the Chapter 1A tables. Confirm any CALGreen interaction for a Chapter 1A parcel with City Planning.

How Los Angeles compares to San Francisco

Both cities split parking into a secure long-term tier and a visible short-term tier, but the numbers and the method differ. San Francisco uses Class 1 and Class 2 labels and a flat one-Class-1-per-unit residential baseline; Los Angeles uses short-term and long-term labels and a tiered table that ramps down as the building grows. For the same 120-unit building, Los Angeles works out to about 85 long-term spaces under the marginal method, while San Francisco lands near 105 Class 1 spaces. The detailed San Francisco rules are in our San Francisco bicycle parking code guide. For another large California city, San Diego sizes bicycle parking per dwelling unit by size; see our San Diego bicycle parking code guide.

See all our California bike parking code guides for the other metros and the statewide CALGreen layer.

Where each tier goes in a Los Angeles building

  • Long-term usually lands as a ground-floor or garage-level bike room near the entry, a wall of bike lockers, or a long-term bike room layout using high-density vertical or two-tier racks, sized to Chapter I’s 6-foot length and 4-by-6 vertical dimensions.
  • Short-term is visible bike parking racks at the entrance, frame-and-wheel style, with at least half under a roof or overhang once you pass 20 short-term spaces.

What to send Ground Control Systems for a compliant layout

We do not set your code count. The count is the project team’s call with City Planning and your code consultant, starting with which code governs the parcel. What we do is make the layout work once the count is known. Send us:

  • The project address and the use (residential unit count, or commercial floor area).
  • The floor plan or a program sketch showing where a bike room or rack zone could go.
  • Whether the project is pursuing LEED, which can set its own bike-parking threshold.

We come back with a bike-room layout, the product mix that fits the floor plate (vertical, two-tier, lockers, floor-mount racks, and scooter racks where relevant), the short-term and long-term split on the plan, and a quote. Reach us at 800-630-7225, info@groundcontrolsystems.com, or the contact page. The Download Center has CAD files and product specifications. For layout and code-support help, see services.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Why does Los Angeles have two different bike parking codes?

LA is replacing its original zoning code (Chapter I) with a new one (Chapter 1A), phased in one Community Plan area at a time. Until the rollout finishes, both are in effect. Chapter I, Section 12.21 A.16, governs most of the city; Chapter 1A, Division 4C.3, governs Chapter 1A parcels, starting with the Downtown Community Plan Area. Confirm which code applies to your parcel before counting spaces.

Q: How many bike parking spaces does a Los Angeles multifamily building need?

Both codes size residential buildings over three units from the same tiered table by building size. The first 25 units need one long-term space per unit and one short-term space per ten units; larger unit brackets need progressively fewer, counted by marginal increment. A worked 120-unit example comes out to about 85 long-term and 8 short-term spaces after the fraction rule. Confirm the count with City Planning.

Q: What is the difference between short-term and long-term bicycle parking in Los Angeles?

Short-term is bicycle racks that support the frame at two points, the visible visitor parking near the entrance. Long-term is parking that is secured from the public, enclosed, and weather-protected, such as bike lockers, bike rooms, or bike cages. Most projects need both. The definitions are nearly identical in Chapter I (Section 12.21 A.16) and Chapter 1A (Division 4C.3).

Q: How is commercial bike parking sized in Los Angeles?

By floor area, with a minimum of two short-term and two long-term spaces. Office, for example, is one short-term space per 10,000 square feet and one long-term per 5,000 square feet under both codes. The use categories differ between Chapter I (Table 12.21 A.16.(a)(2)) and Chapter 1A (Division 4C.3), so use the table for the code that governs your parcel.

Q: Is this legal advice?

No. This is a plain-language overview of how Los Angeles structures its bicycle parking requirements. It is not legal or permit advice and is not a substitute for the current code text. Confirm specifics with the Los Angeles Department of City Planning and your project’s code consultant, including which zoning code applies to your parcel.

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