The City of Los Angeles ADU “Standard Plan” Program
an AIA LA GO! Roundtable Discussion

In midst of LA’s current housing crisis, ADUs have become critical to the City’s ability to expand and diversify the supply of housing. In fact, over the last 3 years, ADUs have made up 22% of newly permitted housing units, or more than one in five. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety’s ADU Standard Plan Program is one way the City is streamlining the permitting of new, detached accessory dwelling units. The Standard Plan Program provides customers in L.A. easy access to a range of pre-approved ADUs, offering them a user-friendly process to find a design suitable for their property. All submitted ADU standard plans will then be reviewed and pre-approved by the LADBS for compliance with the Building, Residential, and Green Codes for future use when obtaining a building permit.

After a year of development (including a 7-month pilot phase), the ADU Standard Plan Program launched Friday, March 5th. The program rolled out with designs from 14 firms with final and pending standard plan approvals. Now, the program is open to all firms who meet the basic requirements.

During this roundtable discussion, representatives from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office, as well as, staff from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety will outline the genesis of the ADU Standard Plan Program as well as provide an overview of how the program is currently being implemented.

More information on the City of LA’s ADU Standard Plan Program can be found here.

Participants:
Christopher Hawthorne – Chief Design Officer, Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles
Theadora Trindle – Planning and Development Manager, Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles
Binh Phan – Assistant Chief , Permit and Engineering Bureau, LA Department of Building and Safety
Celeste Nguyen – Structural Engineering Associate, LA Department of Building and Safety

REGISTER HERE.  (Free w/ advance RSVP)

Christopher Hawthorne – Chief Design Officer, Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles

Christopher Hawthorne is the first Chief Design Officer for the City of Los Angeles, a position appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti. In that position he works to improve the quality and efficiency of architecture, urban design, and public art across Los Angeles. Prior to joining City Hall, he was architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2004 to 2018. With Alanna Stang, he is the author of The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture (Princeton Architectural Press). His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Atlantic, Slate, Architectural Record, Architecture, Harvard Design Magazine, Architect, and many other publications. From 2018 and 2020 he was an AIA-LA Public Director.

Theadora Trindle – Planning and Development Manager, Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles

Theadora Trindle is a Planning and Development Manager for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Office of Economic Development. In her role she serves as the Mayor’s liaison to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning and the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety in order to advocate for critical citywide policy initiatives, advance mayoral directives, and implement development services reforms. Prior to beginning her work in the Mayor’s Office, Thea began her career in the private sector as a land use consultant where she facilitated entitlement approvals for businesses in the hospitality sector.

Binh Phan – Assistant Chief , Permit and Engineering Bureau, LA Department of Building and Safety

Binh Phan has over 20 years of experience managing and directing various functions and operations within the Building and Safety Department. He currently oversees the structural plan check division.

Celeste Nguyen – Structural Engineering Associate, LA Department of Building and Safety

Celeste Nguyen has worked with the Department of Building and Safety for over 17 years. She has experience in zoning, plan check review and permitting as well as new program development. She spent five years implementing and working with the Soft-Story Retrofit Unit. She currently works with the Department’s Government and Community Relations Division.