Los Angeles Streamlines ADU Permits with High-Design Templates

Los Angeles' ADU Standard Plan Program will offer homeowners a set of pre-approved designs that will save them time and money.

2 minute read

March 8, 2021, 12:00 PM PST

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


Accessory Dwelling Unit rendering

Redwood City-based Abodu Method Homes provides one of the pre-approved ADU designs. | Abodu Method Homes / Rendering of Abodu One Accessory Dwelling Unit design.

On the heels of legislation that legalized the construction of stand-alone residential units on lots traditionally zones for single-family homes, the Los Angeles mayor's office and the city's Building and Safety Department are launching an initiative aimed at reducing the red tape involved in securing permits for accessory dwelling units (ADUs), commonly known as "granny flats." By pre-approving a set of designs appropriate for backyard units, reports Carolina Miranda in the Los Angeles Times, the city is "shaving weeks off the permitting process" and providing property owners with more than a dozen "over-the-counter" designs for backyard units. Proponents of ADUs believe that looser regulations will help ease the housing crunch, add more affordable rentals to the market, and lower the barriers for moderate-income landowners to become landlords.

The ADU Standard Plan Program "will feature designs by a range of architectural studios, from the well-established to the up-and-coming, including Escher GuneWardena, Fung + Blatt, Taalman Architecture, Design, Bitches and wHY, the Culver City-based firm led by Kulapat Yantrasast that has had a hand in numerous museum expansions — most recently, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The New York-based SO-IL, the designers behind the well-reviewed Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis, contributed the flower-shaped-studio concept." The pre-approved designs range in style and function in keeping with some of L.A.'s most iconic styles, from a modernist flower-shaped pavilion to a Spanish-styled bungalow.

L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti praised the initiative for its combination of efficiency and style. "We want to solve the housing crisis; we want to stabilize our neighborhoods," the mayor said, "but we also want to see beautiful design."

Friday, March 5, 2021 in Los Angeles Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of "Apartment for rent" sign in red text on black background in front of blurred building

Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program

Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.

April 21, 2025 - Housing Wire

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 23, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

Millbrae BART station.

HSR Reaches Key Settlement in Northern California City

The state’s high-speed rail authority reached an agreement with Millbrae, a key city on the train’s proposed route to San Francisco.

6 hours ago - San Diego Post

Spiral ramp on exterior of parking garage in downtown Spokane, Washington.

Washington State Legislature Passes Parking Reform Bill

A bill that would limit parking requirements for new developments is headed to the governor’s desk.

April 24 - OPB

Missouri state capitol dome in Jefferson City, MO.

Missouri Law Would Ban Protections for Housing Voucher Users

A state law seeks to overturn source-of-income discrimination bans passed by several Missouri cities.

April 24 - Missouri Independent