Woodland Hills ADU: Regulations, Costs & Permits

• Who permits it: Woodland Hills is part of the City of Los Angeles, so LADBS issues ADU permits, submitted online through ePlanLA. City Planning steps in when a specific plan, the Coastal Zone, or a historic overlay requires its sign-off.
• Two tracks: LA sorts ADUs into State ADUs (such as conversions, JADUs, and a detached unit up to 800 sq ft with 4 ft side and rear setbacks), which skip local standards, and Ordinance ADUs, which follow the city's own ADU ordinance.
• Timeline: state law gives the city 15 business days to decide an application is complete and 60 days to approve or deny it.
• Standard Plan Program: LADBS pre-approves privately designed ADU plans. You license a plan, add site-specific drawings, and LADBS reviews only zoning, foundation, and clearances for your lot.
• Fees: no impact fees at 750 sq ft of living space or less, and ADUs are exempt from the city park fee and affordable housing linkage fee. LAUSD school fees apply above 500 sq ft.
• Renting: a new detached ADU is generally not rent-stabilized, but adding one to a pre-1978 house can bring that house under the RSO. New ADUs outside the RSO generally fall under the Just Cause Ordinance. Home-sharing is only allowed if the ADU is the host's own primary residence.

• Community plan: Woodland Hills is in the Canoga Park-Winnetka-Woodland Hills-West Hills Community Plan Area, which names the Santa Monica Mountains and the Chalk Hills as its dominant landforms and calls for adequate sewers, drainage, and fire protection before hillside development.
• Baseline Hillside Ordinance: hillside parcels get slope-band floor area limits, grading and hauling limits, and hillside height rules. The city generally can't require street widening for an ADU.
• Fire zone: LAFD lists parts of Woodland Hills in the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. ADUs there follow the 2025 Wildland-Urban Interface Code, need an LAFD hydrant and access clearance, and need 200 ft of brush clearance.
• Fire plus hillside: LA's rule restricting ADUs on lots in both zones can't be applied to State ADUs, such as an 800 sq ft detached unit, under current city guidance.

The southern edge of Woodland Hills meets Mulholland, and lots within half a mile of it can fall under the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan:

• Pre-review: a meeting with Mulholland staff is required before filing.
• Review level: projects adding more than 900 sq ft since 1992 go to the Design Review Board, and smaller ones may clear at staff level unless they're near parkland, a ridge, or a stream.
• Standards: limits on ridgeline visibility from Mulholland, grading near streams, and no new driveways onto Mulholland.
• Confirm for your unit: the city's clearance template predates state rules exempting State ADUs from local standards.

• Protected natives: oaks, black walnut, sycamore, bay laurel, elderberry, and toyon at 4 inches of trunk diameter need an Urban Forestry permit to remove or build near, with 4 to 1 replacement.
• Ventura-Cahuenga Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan: its Woodland Hills segment runs from Corbin Avenue west to the Dry Canyon-Calabasas Flood Control Channel. It mainly governs commercial frontage.
• No HPOZ: Woodland Hills has no historic preservation overlay.

Can I build an ADU on a hillside lot in Woodland Hills?

Yes. Hillside lots follow LA's Baseline Hillside Ordinance, and many are in the very high fire zone, which brings wildfire construction and brush clearance. State ADUs, like a detached unit up to 800 sq ft, aren't subject to LA's fire plus hillside restriction.

Does Mulholland review apply in Woodland Hills?

Only for lots inside the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan, within about half a mile of Mulholland Drive. Check your parcel in ZIMAS.

Who issues ADU permits in Woodland Hills?

LADBS. Woodland Hills is part of the City of Los Angeles, and applications go through ePlanLA.

Do protected trees affect ADUs in Woodland Hills?

They can. Native oaks, walnuts, sycamores, and several native shrubs are protected citywide, and work near them needs an Urban Forestry permit.

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