Tarzana, from the flats
to the hills
A quieter stretch of Ventura Boulevard with hillside neighborhoods above it and family-sized ranch homes below.
I’m Matt Bissell
I live and work in the Valley and track Tarzana pocket by pocket. My planning background means I look at zoning, lot potential and where the neighborhood is headed — and I stay with you from the first tour through closing.
What’s on the market, and what just sold
Listings shown through the CRMLS public search. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. “ADU” and lot-size filters reflect listing data only, not legal status or what can be built.
Want Tarzana listings sent to you, with your own login?
I’ll set up a saved search for exactly what you’re after and follow up personally.
How Tarzana is zoned
The rules behind the streetscape. Tap any area to see its zone. Yellow is single-family, orange and brown are apartments and condos, red is commercial, green is open space.
Zoning from the City of Los Angeles (data.lacity.org), shown for the approximate Tarzana area. Zones can include overlays and conditions (Q, T, D, HPOZ, specific plans) that this map doesn’t show. Always confirm a specific parcel in ZIMAS.
What Tarzana is like
Tarzana grew out of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ ranch, and the name stuck. Today it’s a Ventura Boulevard district of offices, medical buildings and neighborhood retail, with residential streets fanning out on both sides.
South of the Boulevard, streets climb into the Santa Monica Mountains with views and larger, irregular hillside lots. North of the Boulevard, the grid flattens into post-war ranch homes on generous lots that remodel and rebuild well.
Know the micro-market
South of the Blvd
Winding streets into the mountains, larger and steeper lots, custom homes.
North of the Blvd
Post-war single-story homes on wide lots, strong remodel potential.
Boulevard edge
Walkable to Ventura Blvd services and dining.
Want current prices for a pocket? Ask for recent comps.
What’s shaping Tarzana
- Ventura Blvd Specific Plan. The Ventura/Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan governs height, use and parking along the Boulevard, so the commercial strip changes slowly.
- Hillside rules. South-of-Ventura lots often fall under LA’s Baseline Hillside Ordinance, which limits floor area by slope. Check before pricing an addition.
Project timelines change. I separate approved projects from proposals and verify status against city and Metro sources before advising on a deal.
Own in Tarzana? The official tools.
Understand your property
ZIMAS ↗The City’s parcel map: zoning, lot size, overlays, plus your council district and neighborhood council for any address.LA County Assessor ↗Assessed value, parcel number and property characteristics. Useful for Prop 19 and tax questions.Research permits & projects
LADBS building records ↗Permit history and building records for a property.City Planning case reports ↗Development applications and planning cases, including projects near you.Have a say
Find your neighborhood council ↗Your local neighborhood council, its meetings and how to weigh in.Your council office ↗Look up your address in ZIMAS. It shows your council district, then use that office’s official contact page.Fix a local problem
MyLA311 ↗Report potholes, graffiti, streetlights, illegal dumping and more.These are official public resources. They tell you what’s on record; they can’t confirm what you’re allowed to build or how a project will be decided. For a specific parcel, I’m happy to walk through it with you.
The Tarzana letter.
One short, readable email: what’s being built, what’s been proposed, what sold and what it means — written by someone trained in city planning. Pick the neighborhoods you care about.