Where
Unincorporated Los Angeles County in the Santa Monica Mountains coastal zone, Calabasas postal address.
The project
Replace a house lost in the Woolsey Fire with a new home, keeping the project inside the County’s rebuild and lot-coverage framework while resolving what survived: the foundation and the septic system.
What the County said
Planning directed the project through the Woolsey Fire rebuild checklist and the coastal development permit exemption, and set the lot coverage ceiling at 3,176 square feet. On April 7, 2022, Building and Safety approved the building plans but held issuance for the other agencies. Environmental Health then found discrepancies in septic tank capacity, the bedroom-equivalent count, leach field dimensions and water line locations. An office with a door and a closet counted as a bedroom.
What we did
We cut a pergola from 1,066 to 567 square feet to bring coverage under the ceiling, carried fuel modification and foundation testing through their reviews, and when Health counted rooms differently than the drawings did, we redrew the layout and reduced the bedroom count rather than argue the label. In December 2024 the owner reported construction under way; through 2025 we coordinated the updated structural drawings, shear walls and stair details, and the site plan for the new electrical service.
Status as of October 2026
Building plans approved April 2022; construction reported under way since December 2024.
What it shows
On a septic lot, a room label is a design decision with a permit attached. Plan approval was the middle of this project, not the end, and the agencies that come after Building are the ones that set the schedule. See the custom homes service page →
Unincorporated LA County projects need sign-offs from several agencies before the permit issues. See how each one works: Unincorporated LA County Permits, Agency by Agency.
Next case: A house and a barn in Acton, where the barn changed the rules →
Have a project like this one?
Send us the address and what the city has said so far, or call (626) 214-8651.