Eastside / NELA · FAQ

Eastside / NELA ADU questions, answered

Questions we get on almost every Eastside / NELA site walk. If yours isn't here, ask us — we answer everything before you commit.

Is my Highland Park / Angelino Heights house in an HPOZ?

Most of historic Highland Park (along Figueroa) and all of Angelino Heights are designated HPOZs. We pull the parcel against the City of LA HPOZ map during the first site walk.

Do I need a hillside permit in Silver Lake?

Many Silver Lake blocks fall inside the Hillside Construction Regulation overlay. If yours does, we add a haul-route permit and stricter truck-size limits to the schedule.

Can I convert a basement or garage in NELA?

Yes — JADU rules allow up to 500 sqft inside the existing footprint, and an attached ADU can run larger. Conversions are the fastest permit path on the Eastside.

What about the legal-but-undocumented unit on my lot?

Common in NELA. State SB-1211 lets us legalize many of these as part of the ADU permit, often without bringing the entire structure to current code.

Will an ADU trigger a property tax reassessment?

California reassesses only the new construction, not the underlying property. Your existing Prop 13 base stays intact.

Reference

Terms and guides for this page

Glossary terms

HPOZ (Historic Preservation Overlay Zone)
City of LA designation that imposes design review on alterations within a historic neighborhood.
BHO (Baseline Hillside Ordinance)
City of LA rules governing residential construction on hillside lots — height, grading, haul routes.
LADBS (LA Department of Building and Safety)
The City of Los Angeles agency that issues building permits and conducts inspections.
ePlan
LADBS's fully electronic plan-check portal for residential and commercial permits.
Soils Report
Engineering study of subsurface soil conditions, required for hillside and certain ADU lots.
Soft-Story Retrofit
Mandatory seismic strengthening of older multifamily buildings with weak ground floors.

Field guides

The Los Angeles ADU permit process, step by step
Permitting an ADU inside the City of Los Angeles takes about 8–11 weeks of plan check (LADBS) plus 2–4 weeks of pre-submittal prep. State law caps ministerial review at 60 days from a complete submittal. Total city + utility fees for a 700 sqft detached ADU typically run $13,000–$26,000.