Maybe it's Ldrawn vs Leffective. Maybe it's a rules "push"
that got blessed after the process flow was named (based
on original plan). You can always draw an arbitrary L, the
question is whether or how long it will work out as thought.
As one example, in RF ICs you may see special devices like
a zero-VT FET allowed to run at Lmin-0.1u because their
application does not apply the same reliability-limiting stress
that the "normal" (digital, most likely, or general purpose)
FETs must withstand - RF is ground referred, periodically
reversing in switch applications where zero-VT helps a lot
(in an amplifier, more care must be taken because the biasing
may be not-that-unlike an analog (Class A) or digital (Class E)
application.
In any case, many possibilities - to the point that you are
asking the wrong end of the horse for wisdom.