Industrial district

Los Angeles M3 Zoning: Heavy Industrial Zone

Heaviest industrial zone permitting all M2 uses plus chemical/petroleum manufacturing, smelting, blast furnaces, oil drilling, quarries, and other potentially obnoxious heavy industrial operations.

9,521 ac

mapped in this district

3.9%

of Los Angeles's districted land

governing sections

shared rules that apply

Where M3's rules live

The district's own sections in Los Angeles Municipal Code, Chapter 1 (General Provisions and Zoning):

§12.20

Shared rules that apply in M3

General Provisions - Use §12.21 A31 of 34 districts

Exceptions to Area Regulations §12.22 C29 of 34 districts

General Provisions - Area (Yards, Lot Area, Height) §12.21 C26 of 34 districts

Loading Space Requirements §12.21 C.617 of 34 districts

Off-Street Automobile Parking Requirements §12.21 A.414 of 34 districts

R4 Zone Yard, Density, and Loading Standards §12.11 C13 of 34 districts

R5 Zone Yard and Density Standards §12.12 C3 of 34 districts

Other industrial districts in Los Angeles

M1 Limited Industrial Zone M2 Light Industrial Zone MR1 Restricted Industrial Zone MR2 Restricted Light Industrial Zone

Is your parcel in M3? Check an address and ask what you can build, with the section behind each answer.

Check an address

Sources: Los Angeles Municipal Code, Chapter 1 (General Provisions and Zoning); City of Los Angeles, Department of City Planning “Zoning” layer, last edited Nov 5, 2026. Research only, not legal advice. Back to Los Angeles zoning.