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

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

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.

July 9, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Bend, Oregon

Bend, Oregon Zoning Reforms Prioritize Small-Scale Housing

The city altered its zoning code to allow multi-family housing and eliminated parking mandates citywide.

3 hours ago - Strong Towns

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

4 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

Green Skid Row mural satirizing city limit sign in downtown Los Angeles, California.

LA Denies Basic Services to Unhoused Residents

The city has repeatedly failed to respond to requests for trash pickup at encampment sites, and eliminated a program that provided mobile showers and toilets.

5 hours ago - Los Angeles Public Press