ADU Builder & Contractor in Hollywood Hills, CA

In the Hollywood Hills the garage pad is often the only level ground on the lot, which makes a garage conversion or a unit over the garage the usual ADU answer; a detached unit on a slope needs grading, caissons or stepped footings and a geotechnical report, and the Baseline Hillside Ordinance governs both. No replacement parking is required for a conversion, units under 750 sq ft pay no City impact fees, and the ministerial review approves a code-compliant unit without a hearing, but the hillside rules on height, grading and the driveway apply to every design.

The typical site is a sloped canyon or ridge lot where the garage pad is often the only level ground, so a garage conversion or a unit over the garage is the usual answer. What decides between a garage conversion, a JADU and a detached unit is that lot, the sewer route and the main panel: 100-amp panels in most prewar and mid-century houses; a 200-amp LADWP upgrade is part of most full kitchens, and on a canyon lot the service drop itself is often the hard part. Every unit gets a full kitchen and bath, its own sub-panel and, for a detached unit, its own address.

One contract covers the whole job: a licensed architect draws the plans, a structural engineer stamps them, we file with LADBS and answer the corrections, and our own crew builds through final inspection and the Certificate of Occupancy. Our office is in Valley Glen, about 20–25 minutes away, and the project lead who does the feasibility visit runs the build.

The Hollywood Hills run along the south face of the Santa Monica Mountains from Laurel Canyon and Nichols Canyon on the west through Outpost Estates and Whitley Heights to the Cahuenga Pass, Lake Hollywood, Beachwood Canyon and Hollywoodland on the east, with Mulholland Drive along the ridge and the Hollywood Sign above it. Our office is in Valley Glen, about nine miles away over Laurel Canyon or the 101, a 20–25 minute drive; permits run through LADBS, with plan check at the Metro Development Services Center downtown, and nearly every parcel is under the Baseline Hillside Ordinance.

Two overlays add review on some parcels: the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan near Mulholland Drive, where a unit visible from the road goes through design review, and the Whitley Heights HPOZ, where exterior changes are reviewed by the preservation board. Nearly every Hollywood Hills parcel is also inside a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, so the unit is built with the fire-zone assemblies, vents and clearances the code requires. We check all of it on ZIMAS at the feasibility visit, along with the sewer route downhill and the LADWP service.

An ADU in Hollywood Hills is permitted through LADBS (City of Los Angeles) at the Metro Development Services Center under ministerial review, which approves a code-compliant unit without a public hearing, and the utility connections go through LADWP. Units under 750 sq ft pay no impact fees, a garage conversion needs no replacement parking, and the unit can be rented on leases of 30 days or more once the Certificate of Occupancy is issued.