New Construction in Lomita, Measured from the Garage
Before pricing a new Lomita house, we measure how far the old garage sits from the rear and side lines. Why that number decides the ADU options.
How far the old garage sits from the rear and side lines is the number we take before quoting a new Lomita house. If the garage is kept, or rebuilt on its footprint as an ADU, state law lets it hold that position. A new detached unit elsewhere on the lot can be held to side and rear yards of up to 4 feet. That difference can decide where the house itself goes.
Measuring before design
We tape the garage walls to the fences and check the survey for the true lines, since a fence does not always sit on one. The garage height, roof pitch and slab condition are recorded too, because a rebuild in the same place has to match those dimensions to keep the setback relief. Any eave that reaches over the line is noted, along with windows that face a neighbor. These figures go onto the base plan, and the main house is then placed around whichever unit position works.
Four types against one lot
A garage conversion uses the existing shell and position. A new unit on the same footprint keeps the position with new framing. A detached ADU in another spot gains flexibility but gives up yard space to the required setbacks. An attached unit and a JADU sit against or within the main house and leave the garage for parking or storage. We sketch each one on the base plan, and the building department serving Lomita confirms the parcel's zoning before the design is fixed.
New Construction in Lomita: common questions
Timing protects the garage's setback relief, so where zoning allows a unit, its position is decided before the house is drawn. Once a new house claims the yard, that option may be gone. Utility trenches, the electrical service and the driveway are then planned for both buildings together.
Garage measurements come first, joined by the survey, soil tests and a look at the street utilities. Design follows, and the building department reviews the structural, energy and site drawings. If the garage stays, it is protected during demolition of the old house. Footing excavation starts after the permit is issued.
For the house itself, the California residential, energy and green codes require solar, interior sprinklers and water-saving fixtures. Height, yard depth and coverage limits come from Lomita zoning. For the unit, state ADU law limits how much setback, size and parking a city can demand, and it protects the position of a converted garage.
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