Can I build an ADU near a power line easement in Los Angeles?

Can I build an ADU next to a power line easement in LA?

Yes, in many cases, but LADWP gets a say before Building and Safety will issue the permit. The LADBS ADU plan check correction sheet tells applicants to obtain written approval from DWP for any work, including conversion to an ADU, located in or within 10 feet of a DWP easement ¹.

LADWP's own rules reach a little further. Its encroachments page says any construction within 10 feet of an LADWP easement, inside the easement, or within 15 feet of an LADWP pole line needs an encroachment clearance ². Its application instructions, revised in June 2026, say a landowner building within or near 15 feet of an easement, poles or LADWP equipment must apply ³.

So there are two numbers in circulation as of October 2026. The safe reading for planning is the larger one: if any part of your backyard house, garage conversion or even a deck sits within 15 feet of an easement line or a pole, plan on getting the clearance.

What is an LADWP easement, and what can LADWP stop me from building?

An easement is LADWP's right to use a strip of your land for its lines, not ownership of the land. LADWP describes these as Public Utility Easements (P.U.E.), waterline easements or rights-of-way, of various widths that vary from property to property, which give it the right to install, maintain, upgrade and reach its equipment ³.

The part that matters for an ADU is the next sentence in the same document: LADWP owns the easement, not the property, and it has the right to say what can or cannot be built on the easement ³. A city resolution from January 2026 shows what a typical one looks like on paper. It describes a 10-foot-wide strip granted to the City for public utilities, recorded on the tract map for the neighborhood ⁵.

Some easements are not written down anywhere you can look them up. LADWP says it holds easements both recorded and unrecorded ³, and that unrecorded power easements are enforced the same as recorded ones ³. A pole and wires crossing the back of the lot are the clue.

How do I find out whether my lot has an easement?

Check the paper record first, then the yard. No single public map settles it, so work through these in order:

1. Your grant deed. The County Registrar-Recorder mails the original to the owner after recording, and you can get a copy directly from the Registrar-Recorder without paying a third party ⁹.
2. A preliminary title report. Title companies list recorded easements in the liens and encumbrances section, including utility access rights that can restrict how the property is used ¹⁰. That description comes from a title company's own explainer, not a government source.
3. The tract map. Many Valley lots were subdivided with utility strips drawn right on the map, like the 10-foot strip in the January 2026 resolution ⁵. The City's parcel data records each lot's tract number and map book reference ⁷, and LA County Public Works lets you search and download recorded tract maps by tract number ⁶.
4. City easement data. The Bureau of Engineering publishes its official public right-of-way and easements layer as open data ⁸.
5. The yard itself. Look for poles, overhead wires, guy wires and transformers along the back or side fence. LADWP's clearance zone runs 15 feet from its pole line ², recorded easement or not.

Map lines are a guide, not the legal line. The City's own parcel layer notes that legal boundaries are determined on the ground by licensed surveyors and by recorded documents ⁷. When a design lands near the 10- or 15-foot mark, that is where a licensed survey earns its cost.

How do I get LADWP's written approval?

You file an encroachment application with LADWP Real Estate Services. Applications are accepted in person or by mail at 221 N. Figueroa Street, Suite 1600 ²; LADWP does not take online applications ³. Any owner or authorized representative can apply ³.

LADWP asks for two hard-copy sets of plans, drawn to scale, which it keeps ³:

• A plot plan showing the existing condition and the proposed project, with setback and easement dimensions if known.
• Elevations of everything in or near the easement, with all height dimensions, roof height and anything that comes close to the electrical lines.
• Survey and cross sections if the project has a basement or subterranean parking.

There is no cost for the clearance itself; relocating any LADWP equipment carries a non-refundable fee ³. LADWP says a standard application takes approximately four months from submittal to clearance, and it recommends submitting before you apply with Building and Safety ¹²³. Four months is long enough to be the slowest clearance on an ADU file, which is why our plan check timeline guide lists it among the things that stall projects.

Does this apply to a garage conversion or an existing unpermitted unit?

Yes. The LADBS item names conversions specifically: any work, including conversion to an ADU, in or within 10 feet of a DWP easement needs DWP's written approval ¹. An old garage that sits on the rear lot line under the wires is exactly the case it was written for.

The same applies to legalizing a unit someone built without permits. The LADBS bulletin for permitting unpermitted ADUs and JADUs under AB 2533, effective July 2026, says approval from LADWP will be required if the existing structure is in a Public Utility Easement or within 10 feet of one ⁴. The site plan for that process must show the location of any easements, with labels ⁴. If the garage itself is the question, start with our guide on checking whether your garage was permitted.

Can I get the easement removed or the pole moved?

Sometimes, but it is slow. If LADWP no longer needs a recorded easement on your lot, you can ask for it back through a quitclaim ³. LADWP's June 2026 instructions say approval and final recording may take approximately 24 months, because it goes through the LADWP board, a City Council committee and the full City Council, and the real estate cost once approved is $6,613 ¹³¹⁴. The January 2026 resolution for one 10-foot strip shows the earlier rate, $6,420 ⁵.

An unrecorded power easement works differently. LADWP says that when it removes its equipment, that kind of easement goes away automatically, with no quitclaim needed ³. Moving a pole or wires is a relocation request on the same application, and relocation carries a non-refundable fee ³.

If removal is not realistic, the easier path is usually to move the ADU. A smaller footprint outside the 15-foot zone, or a JADU inside the house, avoids the question. Our setbacks guide covers how close to the other lot lines you can go.

Are there rules about working near the wires during construction?

Yes, and they apply to the crew, not the permit. California's high-voltage safety order says any overhead conductor is to be treated as energized until the line's owner verifies it is not and it is visibly grounded at the work site ¹¹.

For lines from 600 to 50,000 volts, workers, tools and materials must stay at least 6 feet away, and cranes, boom equipment and stored materials at least 10 feet; higher-voltage lines need more ¹¹. A backyard house built right under a pole line may need the lines de-energized or covered for parts of the job, which is worth asking LADWP about when you file. Finding the easement, the pole line and the distances for one address before plans are drawn is the kind of thing a lot check settles.

Quick answers

Sources

1. Plan Check Correction List: Accessory Dwelling Units (PC/STR/Corr.Lst.20A, rev. 10/01/2025), LADBS. Facts checked 2026-10-10
2. Encroachments, LADWP. Facts checked 2026-10-10
3. Encroachment Application Process (rev. 06/05/26), LADWP Real Estate Services. Facts checked 2026-10-10
4. Information Bulletin P/BC 2026-161: Streamlined Permitting of Unpermitted Dwelling Unit as ADU/JADU Under AB 2533, LADBS. Facts checked 2026-10-10
5. LADWP Board resolution to quitclaim a public utility easement (Council File 26-0050), City of Los Angeles, Office of the City Clerk. Facts checked 2026-10-10
6. Land Records Information: Tract Maps, LA County Public Works. Facts checked 2026-10-10
7. ZIMAS Landbase Parcels layer description, LA City Planning (ZIMAS) / Bureau of Engineering. Facts checked 2026-10-10
8. Public Right of Way And Easements (dataset), City of Los Angeles, Bureau of Engineering (via AmeriGEOSS). Facts checked 2026-10-10
9. Notice to Home Owners: Mail Solicitation Alert, LA County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Facts checked 2026-10-10
10. The ABCs of Preliminary Title Reports in California (title company explainer), California Title Company. Facts checked 2026-10-10
11. Title 8, Section 2946: Provisions for Preventing Accidents Due to Proximity to Overhead Lines, California Department of Industrial Relations (Cal/OSHA). Facts checked 2026-10-10
12. Encroachment Application Process (rev. 06/05/26): processing time, LADWP Real Estate Services. Facts checked 2026-10-10
13. Encroachment Application Process (rev. 06/05/26): quitclaim process, LADWP Real Estate Services. Facts checked 2026-10-10
14. Encroachment Application Process (rev. 06/05/26): quitclaim cost, LADWP Real Estate Services. Facts checked 2026-10-10

Greenlight is not a contractor, architect or engineer, and this is not legal advice. Rules change; every fact here shows the date we last checked it.