Understanding the 110% Fire Rebuild Requirement
In the past year since the Palisades and Eaton Fires, the California Governor and Mayor of Los Angeles have both signed a series of Executive Orders (EO) with the express purpose of expediting the rebuilding and streamlining the building permit process managed by the City of Los Angeles Building Department. An important provision in the executive order(s) for receiving expedited approval is the provision of “like for like” by not exceeding 110% of the original building footprint. The original EOs signed in the days after the fires were later updated in the spring and summer, along with in January to try to bring clarity to what “like for like” meant. Having navigated the city’s process now on several projects, we are sharing what we’ve learned here.
First, What’s Considered Like for Like?
“Like for Like” does not refer to architectural style or the home’s floorplan. Both of these can be changed and your project can still receive expedited review and approval. If your previous home was a California Craftsman-style Bungalow, and you’d like to change to a Mediterranean inspired home or a California Modern home, that is allowed and does not change the timeline for review. You can change the layout and the floorplan of the home. You can move the kitchen from the back to the front. You can open up spaces where there were walls, or add in new walls to create a totally different floorplan than what you had before. You can change the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, this does not impact the timeline either. You can also change the geometry of the home including changing a pitched roof to sloped roof. “Like for Like” simply refers to the square footage of the previous building’s footprint, not the home’s style.
What is the Building Footprint?
The building footprint and the resulting calculated square footage is determined at the perimeter. This means that any formerly unused storage, attached garage, or unconditioned space that was under-roof before can be included in the ‘like for like’ calculation in a redesigned floorplan as finished interior space. If you had a guest house on the property or an in-law suite, these are considered part of the original footprint. If your home had a detached garage, this also counts toward the square footage of the original footprint too. This space can now be used as interior or you can considering “moving” the garage to be a new attached garage.
Understanding the 10% increase in Building Footprint
Once you’ve tallied up all the space that was considered part of the original building’s footprint, the EOs allow for an increase of up to 10%. If the original footprint was 2000 square feet (sq ft), the new home can be 2,200 sq ft. An important distinction, if the original footprint of the home was drastically below the allowable buildable area previously permitted, you can ‘max out’ the new footprint to this level; even if that’s greater than a 10% increase from the original home. A great example would be a small original home that hadn’t been added onto over the years and expanded, but was on an oversized lot. The plans for the rebuild of this home can be for a new home that reaches the allowable buildable size for this lot resulting in a much larger home than was there originally. These plans however can not be fast tracked as they aren’t considered “like for like.”
Understanding the 10% increase in building height.
Many of the home in Palisades had a partial second story or a high pitched roof, but were only a single story home. It is permissible to build an entirely new, full second floor as long as you stay within the square footage of the original building’s footprint. Going up does not change the footprint. However, you must stay within the home’s original massing (think roofline). If you had clearance for a second story under-roof before, this would be allowed again. In the case of a partial second story, this roofline can be extended across the entire structure to add a full second story. Neither of these cases is considered a factor in the 10% cap to adding onto the overall height of the home. The 10% added height cap refers to building higher than the previous tallest part of the home (at grade). As long as the new height doesn’t exceed 10% of the original structure this is allowed, and these plans can be fast tracked.
What if I Don’t Want to Change the Footprint or Height of my Fire Rebuid?
If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. You can keep everything the same and not maximize either the size or height and your project can still be fast tracked. It is worth considering though the longterm financial implications for this decision. Increased square footage can increase the overall value of the home over time and may be worth the investment now and may also serve your lifestyle better.
There is a caveat to increasing the height or size of the building as part of your fire rebuild, which is that you can exceed the 10% height variance or exceedthe original footprint by greater than 10%, but then all the “new” area must adhere to all the current zoning restrictions or current building code. If you exceed these limits, those plans will be subject to additional review, elongated the timeline. As with decided to take advantage of the 10% increases, if you were to exceed those, weighing the value of the investment for longer term gain for the slightly elongated timeline should be considered.
Important Considerations to Not Doing Like for Like
Is your property in a coastal zone? If so, it is advised that you stay within the “like for like” parameters because variations will mean the plan will have to comply with the coastal standards and be subject to the review of the coastal commission. Over time, the requirements in coastal zones have become much more rigid. It is highly likely that the home you had before would be considered “non-confirming,” and you would not have been able to build that new before the fires. Building “like for like” now is the only way to get the same type of non-confirming allowances.
Know your zoning designation. Is your property an R1V? R1 is a residential home designation. There was a big zoning overlay change in LA that divided R1 lots into R1V. The “V” meaning a residential variable zone. Specifically, the new encroachment plains and the distance you have to setback from the street and neighbors, and the overall height has has changed. There are now imaginary lines on the side and front and height restricting building that weren’t there in the decades prior when the home was most likely build. Building “like for like” in these zones means you do not have to comply with these newer, updated zoning rules.
