Eaton Fire Rebuilds

Design 1 Studio is designing eight homes lost in the Eaton Fire, seven of them now in construction. One went from building plan-check acceptance to issued permits in 150 calendar days, with a changed footprint, a detached ADU and a regraded site. The work runs from the first County recovery application to the day the permit prints, with a licensed structural engineer coordinated throughout.

Los Angeles County’s recovery path lets a lost home be rebuilt as it was, with the same size, location and purpose, under the Zoning Code that applied to the original, while the Building, Fire, and Health and Safety Codes apply as they stand today. In the Eaton Fire area the County allows the rebuilt home to grow by 10 percent of the original floor area or 200 square feet, whichever is greater, and still be treated as like-for-like. Beyond that the current Zoning Code applies, including a 20-foot front setback in most of Altadena.

Every area figure has to agree across the plans, the permit descriptions and the planning approval. When they do not, review stops.

Regional Planning cleared the recovery application in July 2025 as a like-for-like rebuild with a detached ADU, and Building and Safety accepted the plans for plan check on September 2, 2025. In October, Building and Safety found that the floor areas in the plans, the permit descriptions and the planning approval did not match. In November the planner cited County Code section 22.04.050, which measures gross floor area from the exterior walls, and offered to process the project as a non-like-for-like rebuild. We brought the planner and the building staff into one exchange, supplied the earlier planning approval, asked for supervisory review, and reworked the site to replace a large retaining wall with balanced cut and fill. Planning stamped the amended approval in December 2025, and the County issued the building permits on January 30, 2026. The house is in construction.

• The recovery application with Regional Planning, with the original floor area documented from County records, assessor data and any plans that survived.
• The like-for-like decision made on paper before design: what the family wants against what the 10 percent or 200 square feet allows, and what a changed design costs in review time.
• The Altadena Community Standards District, the fire hazard zone, hillside rules and any historic overlay read before the first line is drawn.
• Complete plans, structural coordination, and County plan check managed to issuance, with every area figure reconciled across every document.
• A detached ADU placed in the rebuild where the lot and the owner’s plans support one.

Can I change the design and still use the recovery path?

Yes, within the 10 percent or 200 square foot allowance in the Eaton Fire area. Beyond it the project is reviewed under the current Zoning Code, which in most of Altadena means the 20-foot front setback and sometimes more.

Do the new codes apply to my rebuild?

The Zoning Code that applied to the original home governs a like-for-like rebuild. The current Building, Fire, and Health and Safety Codes apply to every rebuild.

Can I add an ADU?

Yes. Several of our rebuilds include a detached ADU, and the recovery application can carry it.

How long does it take?

Our fastest was 150 days from building plan-check acceptance to issued permits, with planning work before that. Reconciled numbers across the plans, the permit descriptions and the planning approval are what keep a rebuild on that schedule.