Architects, engineers, design professionals or property owners may apply for "Pre-approval of ADU Plans" through the City's E-Z Permit Hub following the regular Building Permit submittal process.   

• Pre-approval process.

Once in the E-Z Permit Hub, applicants will select the Planning Division Portal and the "ADU Plan Pre-approval" application option. Applicants will be prompted to login (new applicants will have to create login credentials first) and follow the submittal process, including uploading their plans and paying the initial plan review fees. After the plans have been reviewed for compliance with applicable state and local codes, they will be "pre-approved" and assigned a Pre-Approved ADU Plan (PADU) number. A simplified version of the plans and renderings will then be posted on this webpage along with the applicant's contact information for use by the public.

• Submittal requirements and plans.

Applicants must submit a complete set of architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing plans for the ADU, as listed below: 

• Title sheet
• Exterior renderings/style options
• Cal Green Checklist
• General Notes
• Schedules and notes
• Floor plans
• Structural/Foundation Plans
• Structural Calculations/Details
• Mechanical/Plumbing/Electrical plans
• Exterior Elevations
• Building Sections
• Architectural Wall & Roof Details
• Title 24 Energy Calculations

For details on the contents of these plans you can visit the Building Division's plan check information page here.

Property-specific plans, such as site plans, surveys, grading, drainage plans, landscape and irrigation, etc. need not be included in a submittal for ADU Plan Pre-approval.  

• Fees.

Applications for ADU Plan Pre-approval will go through the regular plan review process. However, the review will be limited to certain departments only (building safety, planning, police, fire, and MEPs). As a result, the plan review fees will be lower than the typical building permit plan review fees.  The fees will be assessed at the time of the application submittal. 

No additional permit issuance fees or miscellaneous charges will be assessed beyond the plan review fees.

• Residential Sound Insulation (RSI) Program Areas

Be advised that the northwest portion of the city falls within special LAX Noise Contours/zones where additional sound insulation requirements may apply. A map of these special zones can be viewed on the City's website here. In addition, you can find the applicable regulations in the RSI zones on the Building Safety Regulations webpage here.

• No customizing

ADU plans that the City has pre-approved cannot be modified when they are submitted as part of a construction permit application.  If the plans are modified, they will be subject to the regular review process and the full plan check fees.  

• Design options

Instead of customizing pre-approved ADU plans during the construction permit process, architects can build alternative design options in the plans during the pre-approval process.  For example, alternative design options may include additional elevation and/or roof plans with different architectural styles or different exterior materials and colors.

• State Code Cycles - Pre-approval Expiration

Be aware that pre-approval of plans expires at the end of the relevant State Code Cycles (Building, Fire, Energy, etc.).  Applicants must resubmit plans for review for State Code compliance to pre-approve and post them again on the City website.  

• Separate/deferred permits

During the construction permit process, demolition, fire sprinkler, solar photovoltaic, and encroachment permits will be processed separately, if required. 

• Questions

If you have questions about the Pre-Approved ADU (PADU) program, you can contact us at planning@elsegundo.org or (310) 524-2350.

 

At this time, there are no pre-approved ADU plans for use by property owners. However, the pre-approved ADU Plan Program is now active, and architects, engineers and design professionals may submit designs for pre-approval.   As the City reviews and pre-approves ADU plans, they will be posted here for property owners to select from.  

Once a property owner selects a Pre-Approved ADU design from the City website, they may contact and work with the professional that produced it to prepare the property-specific site plan (and other plans) and apply for construction permits. 

• Submittal Process.  Applications for building permits for ADUs using Pre-Approved Plans can be submitted through the City's E-Z Permit Hub. When completing the application form, applicants need to select the option to use Pre-Approved ADU Plans and identify the PADU number.
• Plans. Applicants using Pre-Approved ADU Plans, must submit a complete set of plans, including the Pre-Approved ADU Plans as well as any applicable site-specific plans, such as:
  • Site Plan
  • Drainage Plan
  • Site Survey
  • Demolition
  • Landscape and Irrigation
  • Grading

For details on the contents of these plans you can visit the Building Division's plan check information page here.

•  Substantial Grading.

Projects that require substantial grading work that may result in changes to the pre-approved foundation and other structural plans may not use Pre-Approved ADU Plans. These projects must, therefore, follow the regular permit and plan check process and are subject to the regular plan check and permit fees.

• No customizing

ADU plans that the City has pre-approved cannot be modified when they are submitted as part of a construction permit application.  If the plans are modified, they will be subject to the regular review process and the full plan check fees.  

• Fees. Applicants using Pre-Approved ADU Plans, will be subject to all the applicable fees, with the exception of plan check (plan review) fees that will be discounted to reflect the reduced time and cost needed to review the Pre-Approved plans. 

• Expedited process.

The use of Pre-Approved ADU Plans reduces the time architects need to prepare plans, because most of the plans (floor, elevation, roof, etc.) have been pre-designed, and they only need to prepare site-specific plans, such as a site plan, a survey, a drainage plan, etc. In addition, the use of Pre-Approved ADU Plans reduces the time the City needs to review the plans, because most of the plans have been pre-approved. For these reasons, a property owner can save a substantial amount of time before and after submitting an application for an ADU building permit.  

• Reduced costs.

For architects, applying for and having their ADU plans pre-approved can result in substantial savings.  If their Pre-Approved ADU plans are used by multiple property owners, architects only need to prepare the site-specific plans for each permit, which saves them the substantial time and cost required for designing floor plans, elevations, roof plans, and MEP plans. 

For property owners. Architects can potentially pass the design cost savings on to property owners, especially when their Pre-Approved ADU plans are used multiple times.

In addition, property owners have reduced plan review costs when using Pre-Approved ADU plans, because the City focuses its review primarily on the site-specific plans, such as the site plans, drainage plans, landscape and irrigation plans, etc.   

Overall, once ADU plans have been pre-approved, the construction permit process can have significant time and cost savings for all parties involved.