Planning & Zoning for Your Rebuild

After you’ve found your planning department, you can begin exploring the specific policies that shape your property. Like many jurisdictions, properties in LA County are categorized into specific “zones.” Your property has a specific “zoning.” Zoning refers to the specific regulations that govern how you develop your property, what you are allowed to build, and how it needs to be designed. You may be familiar with some zoning words already, like “residential zoning,”“single-family zones,” or “industrial zones.”

Your property was likely located in a “Residential Zone” because you were allowed to have a residence/home on it.

• Looking Up Your Zoning
  Each jurisdiction creates and monitors its own zoning! Again, you can identify your specific zoning by visiting your local government’s property or zoning look up tool and entering your property address or Parcel Number, found on your tax bill.
  • LA County: Z-Net is an online web-based mapping tool to help residents of unincorporated LA County identify their zoning based on their address. If you are not in unincorporated LA County and live in one of the County’s 88 cities, you have to find that city’s specific zoning.
  • LA City: ZIMAS is a web-based mapping tool that provides planning and zoning information for the City of Los Angeles. It offers parcel-specific information like allowable land use and zoning designations.

They also include links to other resources like the LA Department of Public Works Building Permit Viewer. These portals will provide you more comprehensive information on your specific property. For LA County, you can navigate to the LA County Assessor Portal and see a page with details on your property, including:

• Use Type
• Number of Units
• Beds/Baths
• Building Square Feet
• Land Square Feet
• Year Built

These details of your property are important to know and to refer to when determining what you can build. For example, you may be limited in the number of units you are able to rebuild depending on what you previously had. You also may be able to add more square footage (area) to a new home based on the previous size.

Once you know your planning, zoning, and property information, you have the power to navigate many of the rebuilding policies. To make it easier to rebuild your home, LA City and County have streamlined the process of building back similar to what you initially had. One important note to consider is that while you may be allowed to rebuild larger, you additions may trigger tax reassessment. If you have low property taxes because of the length of time you have owned your property, you need to consider the financial implications of major changes.

Please review Your Rebuilding Options to understand some of these tax implications!

Some of the relevant policies you may encounter around what you can rebuild, what steps you have to take, and what it could cost you are outlined below:

• Like-for-Like Rebuilds
  If you want to rebuild your home like it was, it could be considered a “like-for-like replacement” and not trigger a tax reassessment and expedited permitting. For a rebuild to be “like-for-like” it must match the damaged or destroyed structure’s size, location, and use. Limited modifications are allowed as long as they do not increase the floor area, height, or building footprint by more than 10% or 200 SF, whichever is greater. Like-for-like rebuilds are exempt from current zoning code standards, but still must meet current building, fire, and health and safety code requirements.
• Potential Reassessment Triggers
  With increased square footage, the additional portion is reassessed at market value; the original portion retains its prior assessed value. Substantial additions or renovations exceeding 50% of the structure may be considered new construction and fully reassessed.
• Additional Structures
  For many homeowners wanting to rebuild with more living space, options for renting, or a separate unit to age in place, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are a great option.
  • An ADU is a permanent livable unit that has a full kitchen and bathroom and is additional to a primary unit or structure. ADUs can be attached, detached, within a main structure, or a conversion of an existing accessory structure like a garage. ADUs in LA County are required to be at least 150 SF with varying maximum SF depending on the type. For more information, homeowners interested in building ADUs can visit the County’s Planning site.
  • Similar to an ADU, a Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) is a residential space within the primary structure that has its own entrance and kitchen facilities. It does not need to include a separate bathroom, but there must be access to the primary’s bathroom. Different from ADUs, JADUs are considered part of the main structure, must be 500 SF or smaller, and the owners must reside on-site.

There are many other planning policies that apply to specific zones, including the ability to subdivide your lot, reconstruction of existing structures that may not be allowed under current planning rules, or new upgrades to be more resilient. These topics should be discussed with a professional architect, contractor, or project manager that can help you navigate the policy implications for your specific project!

Policies can change, so it is important that you bookmark your local planning department website to revisit for information regularly!