Timeline
Related documents
What is Being Proposed?
The Planning and Land Use Management (PLUM) Committee is recommending that the Los Angeles City Council designate the Gelb House as a Historic-Cultural Monument. The Gelb House is located at two addresses: 12450 West Rochedale Lane and 736 North Rochedale Way. If approved by Council, the property will be added to the city's official list of protected historic sites.
Why?
The Cultural Heritage Commission (CHC) reviewed the property and determined it meets the definition of a Monument under Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 22.171.7, making it worthy of historic protection. The PLUM Committee considered the CHC's findings at its October 28, 2025 meeting and recommended approval after allowing for public comment.
Key Details
Owner: Landis Green, Trustee of the Landis Green Living Trust Applicant/Architect: Cory Buckner Case Numbers: CHC-2025-3509-HCM (historic case) and ENV-2025-3510-CE (environmental) Committee Vote: 4-0 in favor (Blumenfield, Hutt, Lee, and Raman voted YES; Nazarian was absent) Deadline: The City Council must take action by December 12, 2025
Impact
Designating this property as a Historic-Cultural Monument will protect it from demolition and require any future modifications to comply with historic preservation guidelines. This affects the property owner and any future developers, ensuring the building's historic character is maintained for the community.
What is Being Proposed?
The Cultural Heritage Commission is recommending that the City Council designate the Gelb House, located at 12450 West Rochedale Lane and 736 North Rochedale Way (Council District 11), as a Historic-Cultural Monument. This designation would add the property to Los Angeles's official list of protected historic properties.
Why?
The Commission determined that the Gelb House meets the definition of a Monument under Los Angeles Administrative Code Section 22.171.7, meaning it possesses significant historical, cultural, or architectural value worthy of preservation. The proposed designation has been determined to be categorically exempt from environmental review under California law.
Key Details
The Cultural Heritage Commission voted unanimously (5-0) on September 18, 2025 to recommend this designation. The motion was moved by Commissioner Kennard and seconded by Commissioner Barron, with Commissioners Buelna, Rubio, and Milofsky voting in favor.
What Happens Next and Impact
The City Council now has 90 days from the Commission's public hearing to approve or disapprove the designation. If approved, the Gelb House would receive legal protections that typically restrict major alterations and demolition. The property owner can extend the Council's decision timeline by up to 60 additional days with written consent. If the Council takes no action within the timeframe, the designation will be automatically denied.
What is Being Proposed?
The City of Los Angeles is designating the Gelb House, located at 12450 West Rochedale Lane and 736 North Rochedale Way, as a Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM). This designation will protect the property from incompatible alterations and require that any future construction activities comply with historic preservation standards established by the City.
Why?
The Gelb House meets two key criteria for designation. First, it exemplifies significant contributions to the broad cultural, economic, and social history of the nation and community as an excellent example of a residence built as part of the Mutual Housing Association postwar cooperative housing development—a notable effort to bring Mid-Century Modernism to the masses with utopian ideals. Second, it embodies distinctive characteristics of Mid-Century Modern architecture using post-and-beam construction, featuring exposed wood beams, floor-to-ceiling windows, and horizontal massing typical of the style popularized after World War II.
Key Details
Of approximately 85 residences originally constructed in the Mutual Housing Association development, only 34 intact homes remain today, making this one of a dwindling number of surviving examples. The Gelb House has experienced only minor alterations and retains high integrity across all preservation criteria: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. The property is located in the Brentwood-Pacific Palisades Community Plan Area.
Impact
Residents of the Gelb House will need to obtain approval from the City before making significant alterations or demolishing structures. The designation ensures that any future work must comply with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, protecting the architectural and historical significance of this important Mid-Century Modern residence for future generations.
What is Being Proposed?
The Los Angeles Department of City Planning recommends that the Cultural Heritage Commission declare the Gelb House at 12450 W. Rochedale Lane an Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM). This designation would protect the property from incompatible alterations and demolition by subjecting future construction activities to regulatory review based on the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Historic Preservation.
Why?
The Gelb House, completed in 1950, is significant as an excellent example of Mid-Century Modern residential architecture and represents the vision of the Mutual Housing Association (MHA)—the only successful large-scale housing cooperative in the West. Designed by master architects A. Quincy Jones and Whitney R. Smith with structural engineer Edgardo Contini, the home exemplifies post-and-beam construction methods and innovative design principles that brought quality modernist housing to average families. Of the approximately 85 original MHA homes built, only 34 remain intact today, making this one of a rapidly disappearing collection representing an important chapter in Los Angeles's postwar social and architectural history.
Key Details
The one-story, 1,197 square-foot residence features distinctive characteristics including exposed wood posts and beams at seven-foot spacing, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, concrete masonry block walls, and a low-pitched shed roof—all hallmarks of the Mid-Century Modern style. Built for approximately $14,000 in 1950, the home was the first of the original 30 MHA houses constructed. The property is located in the Brentwood-Pacific Palisades community plan area and is zoned RE15-1-H (Very Low Residential). The designation qualifies under two HCM criteria: exemplifying significant contributions to postwar housing and representing distinctive Mid-Century Modern architectural characteristics.
Impact
This designation protects the property's historic integrity and ensures that any future renovation or construction work must comply with preservation standards. For the current owners and future residents, it means architectural review will be required for exterior modifications and major renovations, though routine maintenance is permitted. The broader community benefit includes preserving an important example of democratic, cooperative housing design that helped define Los Angeles's postwar identity.