Ending McMansions

Boxy, oversized houses on small lots would be banned in most areas of the city under a new mansionization ordinance approved by the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday. Kerry Cavanaugh in the Daily News.

The rule comes after three years of debate over whether the city should limit the size of new homes to protect neighbors and neighborhood character.

"The city of Los Angeles is a city of great neighborhoods and the only way to keep it that way is to protect it," said Councilman Tom LaBonge, who proposed the mansionization ordinance.