CALIFORNIA BRIEFING / LOS ANGELES

Griffith Park was designated a historic-cultural monument Tuesday, making it one of the largest landmarks in the country.

The designation was approved unanimously by the City Council and puts major development projects in the park under the review of the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission. Some newer areas of the park, including the Los Angeles Zoo and the Autry National Center, are not subject to the same oversight.

The city Department of Recreation and Parks still owns and operates the 4,218-acre park.

Griffith Van Griffith, whose great-grandfather gave the park to the city in 1896, applied last summer for the park’s landmark status. At City Hall on Tuesday with his wife, Barbara, he said he was “ecstatic.” His great-grandfather, he said, would be “doing a little jig in his mausoleum” in celebration of the designation.

Park supporters said they hope the designation will protect the park from commercial developments, such as those briefly proposed in a 2005 master plan commissioned by the city.

“There was never an absolute threat to the park, but this absolutely protects the park,” said Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose district includes Griffith Park. A ceremony at the park to mark the designation is being planned for the spring, LaBonge said.

-- Joanna Lin