New Construction in West Hills
New West Hills houses sized against Los Angeles floor area limits, checked by LADBS for structure and energy, with an ADU drawn on the same submittal.
Floor area gets totaled room by room when LADBS reviews a new West Hills house, because the city's single-family zoning ties the allowed size of a house to the size of its lot. The reviewer also checks height and the setback from each property line. State ADU law limits how far a city's size rules can restrict an ADU, so drawing both early shows how much of the lot each one can use.
What the plan checker reads
Floor area is only one line on the zoning review. The reviewer also measures the height envelope from grade, checks covered parking and confirms the house stays out of the side and rear yards. Structural review then follows the bracing that resists earthquake loads, and the energy review compares the forms with the drawings. For an ADU on the same submittal, the reviewer checks its height, its distance from the property lines and the path a visitor follows from the sidewalk to its door.
Getting through corrections
Each plan check comment is answered on the revised sheets with a note saying where the change appears. Before submittal we review our own set for the mismatches that draw the most comments, such as a window drawn at one size on the plan and another on the schedule, or a beam that the framing plan and the structural notes describe differently. Answering the whole list in one resubmittal keeps the review moving, and inspections then run from foundation to final.
New Construction in West Hills: common questions
West Hills parcels zoned to allow a second dwelling are worth planning with one from the outset. The house can be sized under the floor area limit with the unit's place already known, and the trench, driveway and window plan can serve both.
Survey and soils work come first, since the floor area and setback numbers depend on an accurate lot. Design and engineering follow, then LADBS review. If a house is already there, its utilities are shut off and it is razed under permit, and footings wait for approval.
Single-family zoning from the City of Los Angeles governs floor area, height and setbacks in West Hills. State building, energy and green building codes cover construction, and grading and stormwater rules cover the site. State ADU law and the city's ADU rules apply to a second unit.
New Construction in other cities
More we build in West Hills
Start your new construction in West Hills
Tell us about the property and the project. We reply with what it involves and how we would price it.