Permits+Timeline

Timelines are where rebuild conversations get vague, usually because nobody wants to own a number. Here is ours, phase by phase, with the county's published review commitments alongside it so you can see which parts we control and which parts we do not.

See your timeline

Adjust for your project. Like-for-like keeps the original footprint; expanding or adding an ADU adds review and site scope.

The five phases

1. Consultation and site assessment: 2 to 4 weeks

We walk the property, pull permit and assessor records, review your insurance position, and identify the site conditions that will drive both cost and schedule: slope, soil, septic versus sewer, utility status. This is also when we determine whether like-for-like is right for you, which is the single most consequential scheduling decision you will make.

2. Design and engineering: 2 to 4 months

Architecture, structural engineering, Title 24 energy compliance, and fire-hardening detailing developed together. Because Enhaus holds design, engineering, and construction under one contract, constructability review happens continuously rather than as a handoff, which is where most schedule slippage originates on split-contract projects.

3. Permitting and plan check: 2 to 4 months, overlapping design

Submittal through EPIC-LA or the Altadena One-Stop Permit Center. Plan check runs in rounds: county comments, we respond, resubmit. Two rounds is typical; a well-prepared like-for-like set can clear in fewer. This phase overlaps the tail of design, which is why the combined design-and-permitting window is 6 to 8 months rather than the sum of both.

4. Construction: 10 to 12 months

Demolition and site prep, foundation, framing, envelope and roofing, rough MEP, inspections at each stage, insulation and drywall, finishes, cabinetry, and exterior work. Inspection scheduling is the main external dependency; long-lead materials such as windows and clay tile are the main internal one, and we order those early.

Groundbreaking, framing, and envelope, three of the milestones you will see inside the construction phase.

5. Final inspection and certificate of occupancy: 2 to 6 weeks

Final inspections across trades, defensible space verification, and issuance of the certificate of occupancy. Note that defensible space landscaping must be complete before permit final: the county provides a final inspection report demonstrating compliance, and the CO confirms it. See the compliance requirements →

What the county has committed to

These are LA County's published review windows for fire rebuilds. They are commitments on review time once an application is complete, not the whole permitting phase, which includes your response time between rounds.

Review

Committed window

First review, complete application

Within 10 business days

Subsequent reviews

Within 5 business days

Regional Planning, like-for-like initial

Within 2 weeks

Regional Planning, like-for-like recheck

Within 2 weeks

Non-like-for-like applications

Additional review time may be required

The practical risk is not county speed. It is incomplete submittals: missing documents or upload errors restart the clock, which is why we manage submittal rather than leaving it with homeowners.

The Unified Permit

In August 2025, to streamline rebuilding and reduce the number of applications required per project, LA County implemented the Unified Permit. It consolidates previously separate applications into a single rebuild permit process, administered through the Unified Permitting Authority established within the Altadena One-Stop Recovery Permitting Center: a body empowered to make final permitting decisions without routing back through individual departments.

For homeowners, the effect is fewer parallel applications to track and fewer places for a project to stall between agencies.

EPIC-LA and the One-Stop Center

You have two submittal paths, and they are not mutually exclusive.

EPIC-LA: the county's Electronic Permitting and Inspection portal, open for submittal any time. Requires architectural plans and a completed Supplemental Form. First-time users register before applying.
Altadena One-Stop Permit Center: 464 W Woodbury Rd, Suite 210, Altadena, CA 91001, (626) 424-6743. Walk-in hours Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, last call for permits at 3:00 PM. Rebuild consultation appointments are available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. In-person submittal requires plans and an In-Person Application Form.

The One-Stop Center brings Regional Planning, Building and Safety, Fire Department, Public Health, and Geotechnical staff into one place, along with Southern California Edison planners by appointment. Homeowners receive property-specific packets including permit records, assessor records, and property attributes. If you are early and uncertain, start there.

What actually makes it faster

Rebuild like-for-like where it serves you: Keeping the original footprint qualifies for the expedited track, and like-for-like replacements are not required to meet current Zoning Code, which avoids variance work entirely.
Start during debris removal: You do not need to wait for debris removal to finish before submitting plans and applying. Overlapping these is the cheapest month you will ever save.
Consider a time-saving package such as Enhaus Collections. A Collections plan is already resolved, architecture, assemblies, and a curated selection catalog, so the design phase is shorter and the decisions that normally stall a schedule are made before construction starts.
Order long-lead items early. Windows, clay tile, and custom millwork drive construction schedule more than labor does.
Keep design and construction under one contract. Split contracts create handoffs, and handoffs create the gaps where months disappear.

Why this matters for you

FF&E is the line item that surprises families most, because it sits outside every per-square-foot figure and lands right when the money is thinnest. Ask us for the breakdown and we will send the categories, what falls inside a construction contract versus outside it, and the allowance ranges we see on Altadena rebuilds at each finish level.

What delays a rebuild once construction starts

Permitting gets most of the attention, and the sections above cover it. On the build side, delays are almost always a capacity problem: whether the contractor holding your contract can actually execute at the scale they signed for.

Lack of early planning and specialist alignment

This is usually described as subcontractors who were never locked in, but the real problem happens earlier: the trades were never planned and aligned before the contract was signed. When that step is skipped, the schedule attached to the contract is a statement of intent. Trades get priced and committed after the fact, in a market where the whole neighborhood is building at once. Every gap between trades is dead time on your lot, and those gaps compound: a framing crew that arrives three weeks late does not delay framing by three weeks, it moves every trade behind it.

Early planning and specialist alignment is an Enhaus specialty. Before a schedule is issued, our field team and every specialist trade, framing, rebar, electrical, masonry, millwork: sit down together over the actual plan set, sequence the work, and agree on dates. The trades meet each other before they meet your lot.

Alignment before groundbreaking. Our field team and specialist trades working the plan set and the field calendar together: sequencing the trades and committing to dates before construction starts, not after.

Whether your prime contractor is funded

A rebuild runs on phased payments. If the prime contractor cannot carry payroll and material between draws, work slows between payments. In the worse case, unpaid subcontractors and suppliers record a mechanic's lien against your property: your title, for someone else's cash-flow problem. It is a fair and direct question to ask any builder: can you carry the phasing on a project this size?

What vetting actually means

"Vetted" is used loosely in this industry. Here is what it should mean, for the prime contractor and for every trade under them.

Review

Committed window

License

Active, current, and the correct classification for the work: verified, not asserted.

Bonding

Bonded, with the bond in force for the duration of your project.

Workers' comp insurance

Active coverage for every crew on your lot. Without it, exposure lands on you.

Capacity for demand

Whether they can take your project on top of their current load, not whether they want it.

Business infrastructure

Project management, scheduling, procurement, and accounting sized for a project of this scale.

Craftsmanship

Verified completed work in the styles and assemblies your home requires.

Workforce

Crews actually available on your dates, not crews that exist in principle.

Financial capacity

Ability to carry phased payments without stopping work, or exposing you to a lien.

Why this matters for your rebuild

New construction has no phase-in period.

Existing homes get up to five years to comply. Building permit applications submitted after the effective date must meet every Zone 0 requirement immediately, which includes Altadena rebuilds still in permitting. If your plans are in plan check now, this is a live design question, not a future maintenance chore.

Zone 0: the first five feet

On August 19, 2026, the California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection unanimously approved the final Zone 0 regulations: the first statewide rule in the nation governing the five feet immediately around a home. As of September 2026 the approved rules are with the Office of Administrative Law for legal review, and are expected to become legally effective around the end of September 2026. Nothing is enforceable until then, but the content of the rules is settled.

Zone 0 is the ember-resistant zone, measured five feet out from exterior walls and from attached decks, stairs, and pergolas. It exists because post-fire research keeps finding the same thing: the majority of homes lost to wildfire are ignited by wind-blown embers that travel well ahead of the flame front, and the first five feet is where those embers land, collect, and find fuel. The Eaton and Palisades fires turned that research into rulemaking.

Does Zone 0 apply to your parcel?

The rule covers roughly two million California structures in two categories: every property in a State Responsibility Area, where CAL FIRE handles fire protection, and properties mapped Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone inside city and county fire jurisdictions. Inside city areas, only Very High parcels are covered by the state rule: parcels mapped High or Moderate are not reached unless the local jurisdiction extends it. Much of the Altadena, Pasadena, La Cañada, and Sierra Madre foothill belt is mapped Very High, so most Altadena rebuilds should assume they are in.

What has to go, and what can stay

Early drafts read like a ban on landscaping. The final version is narrower: it targets what embers actually ignite, and it spells out what you can keep.

Has to go

Can stay

Mulch & debris

Bark mulch, wood chips, gorilla hair, fallen leaves and needles anywhere in the five feet

Decomposed granite, pea gravel, stone, concrete

Plants

Woody shrubs such as juniper, rosemary, and hedges. Any vegetation under eaves, within 2 ft of windows, doors, and vents, or within 5 ft of attached decks. No new trees in Zone 0.

Lawns and ground covers under 3 in. Non-woody plants 3–18 in in small, spaced plantings: poppies, bulbs, creeping thyme, non-thatching succulents.

Pots &
planters

Combustible planters, large pots against the wall

Noncombustible pots up to 5 gallons with plants under 18 in, spaced apart

Fences &
gates

Combustible fence or gate sections attached to the house, and any new combustible fencing within 5 ft

The rest of an existing wood fence, with a 5-ft noncombustible span where it meets the house

Trees

Dead or dying branches, branches under eaves, ladder fuels in the bottom 6 ft, anything within 10 ft of a chimney or 5 ft of the roof

Existing healthy trees pruned to those clearances. Mature shade trees do not have to be removed.

Storage &
structures

Firewood, lumber, stored combustibles, items under decks, combustible sheds under 120 sq ft

Noncombustible storage and noncombustible outbuildings

One open question: the final rule text does not address artificial turf either way, so treatment will come down to inspector judgment under the general combustibility definition. Be skeptical of anyone selling a definitive answer on turf.

How we design for it

Zone 0 is a landscape and detailing problem that has to be solved on the drawings, not after the certificate of occupancy. On our Altadena rebuilds that means hardscape, decomposed granite, gravel, stone, or concrete, in the first five feet, noncombustible fence and gate spans where they meet the house, planting schedules that keep vegetation clear of eaves, windows, doors, and vents, and no combustible storage designed into that band. Getting it into the permit set is also the cheapest way to do it, because it becomes part of the build rather than a change order.

Source: CAL FIRE defensible space guidance and the Board of Forestry Zone 0 rulemaking record. Requirements are administered locally: confirm current standards with LA County Fire before finalizing plans.

A conventional Altadena front yard, and what Zone 0 now rules out: mulch beds and woody shrubs against the walls and under the windows. Under the new rule the first five feet becomes gravel, decomposed granite, or low spaced planting, which is a landscape decision best made with the house rather than after it.

Where rebuilds get caught

Confusing like-for-like with a code exemption

Like-for-like status in LA County affects review. A like-for-like replacement is not required to comply with current Zoning Code requirements, but it must still be built to current fire-hardening standards. Two separate tracks, routinely conflated.

Inherited plans with open eaves

Plans drawn for a pre-fire home, or bought from outside the region, frequently carry open eaves and soffit vents. Both require redesign. Catching it in design costs nothing; catching it at plan check costs weeks.

Rear elevation during scratch coat. Enclosed eaves and protected soffits are designed in from the start rather than resolved at plan check.

Treating vents as a hardware detail

Vent placement is an architectural decision because the code restricts where vents may go, not just what they are made of. It affects roof form and attic ventilation strategy together.

Forgetting the ADU and garage

Accessory structures within defined proximity of the dwelling are covered. If you are adding an ADU, as many Altadena families are, it carries the same envelope requirements as the main house. See how that affects your budget →

When the design comes back over budget

This is the most expensive mistake on the list, and it has nothing to do with vents. A homeowner hires an architect, spends four to six months in design, falls in love with the drawings, then sends them out to bid, and the numbers come back well above the settlement. Fire-hardened assemblies are part of why: Class A roofing, ember-resistant vents, ignition-resistant walls, and fire-rated glazing carry real cost, and a set drawn without construction pricing alongside it absorbs them invisibly.

What follows is redesign. Square footage comes out, the roof form gets simplified, window schedules get cut, and the drawings go back through plan check. Months, and design fees, spent twice.

The people who price the drawings are the people who build them. Constructability and cost get resolved on paper, before they become change orders.

Already working with an architect?

Keep them. You do not have to move your design to us to get the budget checked. Bring us a set at any stage, schematic, design development, or a completed permit set, and we will price it as drawn and tell you where it lands against your number, alongside the compliance review of the assemblies above. Earlier is better: a schematic-stage review costs you nothing to act on, while a permit-set review means changes go back through plan check.

Free · Any stage · Any architect

Book a plans and budget review.

We price your set as drawn, flag the fire-code items plan check will catch, and show you what would have to change to bring it inside your budget. You keep the review whether you build with us or not.

Book a plans review

or see what a rebuild costs →

Not sure where to begin?

Most families start with a Rebuild Assessment: a structured walkthrough of your lot, your insurance position, and your options. You leave with a scoped budget, a dated schedule, and a straight recommendation on like-for-like versus expanding. Free, and yours to keep whether you build with us or not.

Book a Rebuild Assessment →

Frequently asked questions

Is Chapter 7A still in effect in California?

The technical requirements are still in effect, but they have moved. Under the 2025 Title 24 cycle effective January 1, 2026, the Building Standards Commission deleted Chapter 7A from the California Building Code and relocated the provisions into Part 7, the new California Wildland-Urban Interface Code. The Chapter 7A technical content carries forward almost unchanged into CWUIC Chapter 5, so the assemblies your rebuild must meet are essentially the same. Only the citation changed.

Does my Altadena rebuild have to comply with the WUI code?

Yes. Wildfire construction requirements are mandatory in State Responsibility Area lands classified Moderate, High, or Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and in Local Responsibility Area Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Altadena rebuild parcels fall within this footprint. Confirm your specific parcel's current zone with LA County Building and Safety, since CAL FIRE updated its maps in 2024 and 2025.

What building components does the WUI code cover?

The code addresses the exterior components most vulnerable to wildfire: roof coverings including valleys and gutters, exterior walls and siding, windows and glazing, exterior doors, decks and appendages, eaves and soffits, and vents. It requires ignition-resistant or noncombustible materials and ember-resistant vents with 1/16 to 1/8 inch mesh screening.

What are the vent requirements for a fire rebuild?

Attic and foundation ventilation openings must resist ember intrusion. Vents must be covered with noncombustible corrosion-resistant mesh with openings between 1/16 inch and 1/8 inch, or use a listed ember-resistant vent assembly. Vents are prohibited in soffits, eave overhangs, and other locations where they would be directly exposed to flame or embers, unless a listed assembly is used.

Do I need defensible space to get my final permit?

Yes. Prior to building permit final approval, the property must comply with the vegetation management requirements of California Fire Code Section 4906, including Public Resources Code 4291 or Government Code Section 51182. Defensible space landscaping is a condition of closing out your permit, not an optional upgrade, so design and budget it alongside the house.

Does like-for-like rebuilding exempt me from fire code requirements?

No. Like-for-like status in LA County affects zoning review, not building code compliance. A like-for-like replacement structure is not required to comply with current Zoning Code requirements, but it must still be built to current fire-hardening building standards. These are two separate tracks and homeowners frequently conflate them.

What is Zone 0 and does it apply to my Altadena rebuild?

Zone 0 is the ember-resistant zone: the first five feet measured out from a home's exterior walls and from attached decks, stairs, and pergolas. The California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection unanimously approved the final Zone 0 regulations on August 19, 2026, the first statewide rule in the nation governing that band, and the rules are expected to become legally effective around the end of September 2026. The rule covers every property in a State Responsibility Area and properties mapped Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone inside city and county fire jurisdictions. Much of the Altadena, Pasadena, La Cañada, and Sierra Madre foothill belt is mapped Very High, so most Altadena rebuilds should assume Zone 0 applies.

Does Zone 0 have a phase-in period for new construction?

No. Existing homes phase in over five years, with day-one duties covering roof and gutter debris, dead and dying branches, and chimney clearances, then further requirements at three years and a Phase 2 window that local fire agencies can extend to five. New construction gets no phase-in: building permit applications submitted after the effective date must meet every Zone 0 requirement immediately. That includes Altadena rebuilds still in permitting, which makes Zone 0 a live design question rather than a future maintenance chore.

What plants and materials are allowed in Zone 0?

Bark mulch, wood chips, and fallen leaves or needles must be removed from the first five feet, along with woody shrubs such as juniper, rosemary, and hedges, any vegetation under eaves or within two feet of windows, doors, and vents, combustible planters, firewood and stored combustibles, and combustible fence or gate sections attached to the house. Permitted instead are decomposed granite, pea gravel, stone, and concrete; lawns and ground covers under three inches; small spaced non-woody plants three to eighteen inches such as poppies, bulbs, creeping thyme, and non-thatching succulents; and noncombustible pots up to five gallons. Existing healthy trees can stay if pruned clear of eaves, ten feet from chimneys, five feet above the roof, with ladder fuels removed.

This guide is general information for Altadena homeowners, not a code interpretation for a specific parcel. Confirm requirements for your property with LA County Building and Safety or your design professional.

Timeline Guide

How long an Altadena rebuild actually takes

Enhaus Design Build

Updated August 2026

10 min read

The short answer

on this page

See your timeline

The five phases

1. Consultation and site assessment: 2 to 4 weeks

2. Design and engineering: 2 to 4 months

3. Permitting and plan check: 2 to 4 months, overlapping design

4. Construction: 10 to 12 months

5. Final inspection and certificate of occupancy: 2 to 6 weeks

What the county has committed to

Review

Committed window

First review, complete application

Within 10 business days

Subsequent reviews

Within 5 business days

Regional Planning, like-for-like initial

Within 2 weeks

Regional Planning, like-for-like recheck

Within 2 weeks

Non-like-for-like applications

Additional review time may be required

The Unified Permit

EPIC-LA and the One-Stop Center

What actually makes it faster

Why this matters for you

What delays a rebuild once construction starts

Lack of early planning and specialist alignment

Whether your prime contractor is funded

What vetting actually means

Review

Committed window

License

Active, current, and the correct classification for the work: verified, not asserted.

Bonding

Bonded, with the bond in force for the duration of your project.

Workers' comp insurance

Active coverage for every crew on your lot. Without it, exposure lands on you.

Capacity for demand

Whether they can take your project on top of their current load, not whether they want it.

Business infrastructure

Project management, scheduling, procurement, and accounting sized for a project of this scale.

Craftsmanship

Verified completed work in the styles and assemblies your home requires.

Workforce

Crews actually available on your dates, not crews that exist in principle.

Financial capacity

Ability to carry phased payments without stopping work, or exposing you to a lien.

New construction has no phase-in period.

Zone 0: the first five feet

Does Zone 0 apply to your parcel?

What has to go, and what can stay

Category

Has to go

Can stay

Mulch & debris

Plants

Pots &planters

Fences &gates

Trees

Storage &structures

How we design for it

Where rebuilds get caught

Confusing like-for-like with a code exemption

Inherited plans with open eaves

Treating vents as a hardware detail

Forgetting the ADU and garage

When the design comes back over budget

Already working with an architect?

Book a plans and budget review.

Not sure where to begin?

Frequently asked questions

Is Chapter 7A still in effect in California?

Does my Altadena rebuild have to comply with the WUI code?

What building components does the WUI code cover?

Pots &
planters

Fences &
gates

Storage &
structures