Introducing Casita Coalition’s ADUs and Fire Recovery Toolkit

The Altadena and Pacific Palisades fires in January 2025 caused devastating loss of life, homes and livelihoods for thousands of Los Angeles residents. In the first days following the fires, meeting the basic needs of affected residents for food, water, shelter and emotional support became the top priority, followed by clean-up efforts, replacing essential documents and assisting with insurance claims. 

In the current phase of recovery, hundreds of building permit applications have been submitted by homeowners who lost homes in both Altadena and Pacific Palisades, and the first projects are starting to rise, alongside restoration of critical public works and utility infrastructure. Homeowners are facing major life decisions, struggling to understand their options for rebuilding their homes and their lives.

This toolkit is for homeowners in the planning and decision phase of rebuilding their homes after the fires–to provide resources and answers about accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

In California, homeowners have multiple options for adding separate living spaces on their property to help meet their family’s needs. Understanding these options is the first step!

Casita Coalition, a statewide nonprofit working to relieve the housing affordability crisis, has partnered with Wells Fargo to host the ADU and Fire Recovery Toolkit, a resource hub to provide the need-to-know essentials for homeowners who are considering adding an ADU or JADU to their property as part of the rebuilding process following the Los Angeles fire disaster. 

Casita Coalition’s founders understood that our homes need to be flexible to meet our needs as they shift over time. We wrote the first statewide ADU laws so all Californians would have an easier, less costly path to adding accessory dwelling units to their home–an option that proves its worth in challenging times.

With clear, easy-to-follow process steps, the Toolkit will walk homeowners in Altadena and Pacific Palisades through the benefits that accessory dwelling units offer for returning home faster, creating rental income and rebuilding generational wealth. A living document, this page will grow in phases, adding new resources and information over time. But let’s start with the basics.

    • An Accessory Dwelling Unit is a separate, self-contained living space that contains all the necessities for living.

    • ADUs may be a detached structure, an addition to your home, or may be converted from existing space in your home or in a detached structure, such as a garage.

    • A Junior ADU, or JADU, can also be converted from existing space in a home. They only require a kitchenette and separate entrance–bath may be shared

    • ADUs may be added to multifamily properties as well–a duplex is allowed one ADU; properties with 8 or more units may add up to 8 detached ADUs and 25% of the unit count as conversion ADUs of existing non-habitable space

    • Built from the ground-up, using traditional site-built construction (typically wood framing)

    • Build off-site in a factory

      • Modular and prefab ADUs

      • Manufactured ADUs

      • Panelized construction

    • One detached ADU

    • One conversion ADU (may be converted from existing space in the main home or in a detached structure, like a garage

    • One Junior ADU (requires owner occupancy if the bath is shared with primary home)

  • From LA County:

    The term “like-for-like” is defined by the Zoning Code. A like-for-like replacement structure must be the same size, in the same location, and for the same use as the previous structure. In the Palisades Fire affected area, a like-for-like replacement structure may be approved with modifications that do not increase the floor area, size, height, or building footprint by more than 10%. In the Eaton Fire affected area, a like-for-like replacement structure may be approved with modifications that do not increase the floor area, size, height, or building footprint by more than 10% or 200 square feet, whichever is greater.

    If the above requirements are met, like-for-like replacement structures can have a different internal floor plan or be smaller than the damaged or destroyed structure.

    Like-for-like replacement structures do not need to comply with current Zoning Code requirements. However, they need to comply with current Building Code, Fire Code, and Health and Safety Code requirements.

    • ADUs have streamlined permitting and lower costs for permits

    • You can build and live in an ADU before you complete your main home rebuilding

    • They provide flexible options for multigenerational living

  • Executive Orders from the Governor and the Mayor of Los Angeles created special allowances in rebuild projects, including:

    • ADU may be built first

    • Homes may be built to 2022 building code standards

    • Solar panel and battery storage requirements are waived

    • Temporary housing allowed on fire-impacted sites

    • Permit and planning fees waived for rebuilding of homeowner-occupied properties

Rebuilding Basics

Temporary Housing: Know the Rules

Once your lot is cleared, you can get a permit to live on your property in temporary housing for up to 3 years.

  • LA County Recovers website  (Eaton fire)  https://recovery.lacounty.gov/

    LA Strong: Return and Rebuild website City of LA (Pacific Palisades) https://recovery.lacity.gov/

  • Altadena One-Stop Permit Center464 W Woodbury Rd. Suite 210Altadena, CA 91001

    Walk-In Hours:Monday – Friday: 8:00AM – 4:30PM


    City of Los Angeles One-Stop Rebuilding Center1828 Sawtelle Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90025 Hours: Monday - Friday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Saturday & Sunday: Closed 

    Representatives from the following departments are onsite:

    • Bureau of Street Services

    • Bureau of Sanitation

    • Department of Transportation

    • Housing Department

    • Department of Building and Safety

    • Department of City Planning

    • Los Angeles Fire Department

    • Bureau of Contract Administration

    • Bureau of Engineering

    LA DWP Unified Utilities Rebuild Operations Center

    This one-stop, full-service center was established to help customers and contractors coordinate directly with LADWP on the rebuilding and restoration of water and power services in Pacific Palisades.

    UUROC3931 South Topanga Canyon Blvd.Malibu, CA 90265Hours: M-F, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

  • Homeowners looking to rebuild due to the Eaton and Palisades wildfires may be able to use a pre-approved standard plan. Pre-approved standard plans and streamlined permitting processes can help homeowners rebuild more efficiently, safely, and affordably. 

    The benefits of using pre-approved plans include:

    • Shortened review timeframe

    • Predictable review process

    • Reduced design cost

    LA County preapproved plans https://planning.lacounty.gov/disaster-recovery/pre-approved-standard-plans/

  • CalAssist Mortgage Fund

    CalAssist Mortgage Fund is a state program that provides much-needed relief from mortgage payments for displaced families whose homes were destroyed or left uninhabitable by a California disaster such as the Los Angeles wildfires or floods.

    • 3 months of mortgage payments, up to a maximum of $20,000

    • Funds never have to be repaid and it’s free to apply

    • Grants paid directly to your mortgage servicer

    https://www.calassistmortgagefund.org/

    Steadfast LA

    Steadfast LA Foundation is committed to helping victims of the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County rebuild their home, lives, and communities. In collaboration with modular homebuilders such as Samara and program collaborators HomeAid OCLA, loanDepot, and Armanino Advisory LLC, through our Modular Housing Initiative we will provide financial assistance to eligible individuals and families who lost their homes during the wildfires by providing grants to help them obtain new modular homes.  Fire victims in Altadena, Malibu, Pasadena and Pacific Palisades who lack the economic resources to rebuild may be eligible for Modular Housing Grants. https://www.steadfastla.com/modular-home-application

    Office of: Office

    If you have been impacted by the fires in Los Angeles and need architecture, planning, or design support in rebuilding your home, please submitHERErequest with information on your property and needs.

    https://officeofoffice.com/projects/rebuilding-response-eaton-palisades/


    LA County Recovers

    The LA County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to waive and refund fees for qualifying property owners rebuilding single-family homes in unincorporated Los Angeles County following the Eaton and Palisades wildfires.

    To apply for a fee waiver, please fill out aRequest for Fire Rebuild Fee Waiver or Refund form and email it to recovery@planning.lacounty.gov. Print versions of this form will also be accepted at theOne-Stop Permit Centers.

    https://recovery.lacounty.gov/rebuilding/fee-waivers-and-refunds/

  • Both the City of Los Angeles and the County offer extensive FAQs that can help with common questions.

    • Los Angeles County Public Works FAQs on Rebuilding

    https://pw.lacounty.gov/rebuild/faq

    • LA County Fire Rebuilding FAQs

    https://recovery.lacounty.gov/rebuilding/#faq6

Coming Next: 

  • ADU development process steps from start to finish

  • Financing

  • Insurance considerations

  • Selecting and engaging with ADU professionals–fraud prevention, best practices

  • Lower-cost ADU options