Can you build an ADU in Encino?

How big are Encino lots, and how big an ADU can I build?

Encino has two kinds of lot, and which one you own decides most of the answer. We counted every City of Los Angeles single-family parcel on the LA County Assessor's parcel map in Encino's two ZIP codes ¹:

• 91436 (south Encino and the hills): 4,859 parcels, median lot 13,462 sq ft, half of all lots between 9,171 and 18,959 sq ft. About 22 percent are 20,000 sq ft or more, and 142 are an acre or larger.
• 91316 (central and north Encino): 5,096 parcels, median lot 6,438 sq ft, but a wide spread, with a quarter of lots under 5,700 sq ft and a quarter over 17,441 sq ft.

Zoning explains the split ³. In 91316, 3,054 homes sit in R1 zones with a median lot of 5,921 sq ft, and 1,773 sit in RA (suburban) zones with a median lot of 18,114 sq ft. In 91436, 2,346 homes are zoned RE15, with a median lot of 17,036 sq ft.

You have two paths. A State ADU is the protected 800 sq ft detached unit ⁶. An Ordinance ADU, under the city's own rules, can reach 1,200 sq ft and two stories ⁸, but floor-area limits (RFA in the R1, RE, RS and RA zones), front yard setbacks and lot coverage can shrink it ⁹. On a large lot those limits rarely bite. The real question is whether you may use the Ordinance path at all, and that turns on the fire zone. For the standard Valley tract lot, see our guide to what fits on a 6,600 sq ft lot.

Is my Encino lot in the fire zone or a Hillside Area?

If you live south of Ventura Boulevard, there is a good chance it is both. We tested the center point of every single-family parcel against the city's Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and Hillside Area map layers ²:

• 91436: 2,815 of 4,859 homes (58 percent) are in the fire zone, and 2,738 (56 percent) are in both the fire zone and a Hillside Area. Every hillside home in our count was also in the fire zone.
• 91316: 1,222 of 5,096 homes (24 percent) are in the fire zone, and 1,055 (21 percent) are in both.

The fire zone follows the big lots. In 91316, the median fire-zone lot is 18,043 sq ft against 6,002 sq ft for the rest; in 91436 it is 17,121 against 8,971 ¹². The owners with the most room face the most rules.

The map is also about to change. CAL FIRE issued new recommended fire hazard maps for the City of Los Angeles on March 24, 2025, state law requires the city to adopt them by ordinance, and LAFD expects more parcels to be affected ¹⁴. Check your own address on ZIMAS, which shows a parcel's zoning and permit history ²⁰.

My lot is in the fire zone and the hills. Can I still build an ADU?

Yes, but plan on the State ADU path. The city's ADU rules prohibit ADUs on any lot in both a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and a Hillside Area unless the unit meets a few listed exceptions, and City Planning says that restriction may not be enforced on State ADU types ¹⁰. In practice, a hillside fire-zone owner in Encino should design around the 800 sq ft detached unit, a conversion of existing space, or a JADU, rather than a 1,200 sq ft unit. State law also lets you have one ADU and one JADU on the same lot, not one or the other ¹⁹.

A fire-zone unit is built differently, too:

1. Materials. LADBS requires buildings in the zone to meet the wildfire construction rules of Chapter 7A ¹².
2. Brush clearance. Owners in the zone must keep native brush, grass and hazardous vegetation cleared within 200 feet of any structure, including structures on a neighbor's property ¹³. A new backyard house adds a structure that clearance is measured from.
3. Access. Long Encino driveways and flag lots can run into LAFD's 150-foot access rule, which we cover in our fire access guide.

Our Granada Hills fire zone guide compares the two ADU paths in the zone, and the Hillside Area guide covers grading, street width and floor area. Steep lots often need a soils report, and fire-zone owners ask about sprinklers.

Does the Mulholland Scenic Parkway plan affect my ADU?

It can, if you live near Mulholland Drive in the Encino hills. In 91436, 767 single-family parcels (16 percent) fall inside the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan area: 85 in the inner corridor and 682 in the outer corridor ⁴.

The plan has its own design review. Its text says no building or grading permit shall be issued for a project until the plans have been reviewed and approved by the Planning Director on the recommendation of its Design Review Board ¹⁶. In the outer corridor, the rules apply to projects visible from Mulholland Drive ¹⁵.

State law pulls the other way. City Planning says State ADUs are exempt from local zoning, design and development standards ¹¹, and HCD says local agencies may only impose objective standards on ADUs, which involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official ¹⁷. How the two fit together for your lot is a question for City Planning before you draw anything. If your parcel is inside the plan, ask whether your ADU type goes to the board.

Will a bigger ADU on my big lot cost more in city fees?

It can. State law bars impact fees on an ADU of 750 sq ft of interior living space or less. Above that, impact fees must be charged in proportion to the size of the ADU compared with the main house ¹⁸.

Encino houses are large, which softens this. The median single-family house in the Assessor's records is 2,927 sq ft in 91436 and 1,959 sq ft in 91316 ¹. A 1,000 sq ft ADU is about a third of a typical 91436 house, and the fee is scaled by that ratio. At 750 sq ft or under, no impact fee applies. School district fees are a separate charge, covered in our LAUSD school fee guide.

Are other Encino homeowners actually getting ADU permits?

Yes, at a steady pace, though fewer than in the flat Valley ZIPs. Here are LADBS ADU and JADU building permits by year of issue ⁵:

• 91316: 47 in 2023, 50 in 2024, 64 in 2025, and 44 from January 1 through October 3, 2026
• 91436: 31, 26, 40, and 33 so far in 2026

Scaled to a full year, 91316 is running about 9 percent below 2025 and 91436 about 9 percent ahead ⁵. Since January 2025, 29 of the 73 permits in 91436 carried the city's hillside flag, against 19 of 108 in 91316. Work inside existing buildings leads in 91316, with 62 of the 108 permits filed as alterations to an existing building, 29 as new buildings and 17 as additions. Only 5 were for JADUs, all in 91316 ⁵.

These count permits, not homes: one project can carry more than one permit. For the rest of the Valley, see our ZIP-by-ZIP permit count.

What should I check first for my Encino address?

Start with the free lookups, then the ones that cost money.

1. ZIMAS: your zone, and whether the parcel is in the fire zone, a Hillside Area or the Mulholland plan ²⁰.
2. Which path: if you are in both the fire zone and a Hillside Area, plan around a State ADU ¹⁰.
3. Size and fees: whether 750 sq ft or less keeps you clear of impact fees ¹⁸.
4. The site: slope, driveway length to the street, brush within 200 feet, and any protected oaks where the unit would go ¹³.

This is the kind of thing a lot check settles in one pass, before you pay for plans.

Quick answers

Sources

1. LA County Assessor parcel layer (LACounty_Parcel), City of Los Angeles single-family parcels in ZIPs 91316 and 91436, LA County Assessor (Greenlight analysis). Facts checked 2026-10-12
2. LA City GeoHub Special_Areas layers 11 (Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones) and 6 (Hillside Ordinance), tested against Encino single-family parcels, City of Los Angeles GeoHub (Greenlight analysis). Facts checked 2026-10-12
3. LA City Planning Generalized Zoning layer (City_Planning_Department layer 8), Encino single-family parcels, Los Angeles City Planning via GeoHub (Greenlight analysis). Facts checked 2026-10-12
4. LA City Planning Specific Plan Areas layer (City_Planning_Department layer 19), Encino single-family parcels, Los Angeles City Planning via GeoHub (Greenlight analysis). Facts checked 2026-10-12
5. Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (N), dataset pi9x-tg5x, ZIPs 91316 and 91436, LADBS via City of Los Angeles Open Data (Greenlight query). Facts checked 2026-10-12
6. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-12
7. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-12
8. ZA Memo No. 143, Revision 1: Accessory Dwelling Units, Los Angeles City Planning, Office of Zoning Administration. Facts checked 2026-10-12
9. ZA Memo No. 143, Revision 1: Accessory Dwelling Units, Los Angeles City Planning, Office of Zoning Administration. Facts checked 2026-10-12
10. ZA Memo No. 143, Revision 1: Accessory Dwelling Units, Los Angeles City Planning, Office of Zoning Administration. Facts checked 2026-10-12
11. ZA Memo No. 143, Revision 1: Accessory Dwelling Units, Los Angeles City Planning, Office of Zoning Administration. Facts checked 2026-10-12
12. ADU Plan Check Correction Sheet, Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS). Facts checked 2026-10-12
13. Brush Clearance Requirements, Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). Facts checked 2026-10-12
14. 2025 CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zones Map Recommendation, Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). Facts checked 2026-10-12
15. Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-12
16. Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-12
17. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-12
18. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-12
19. Accessory Dwelling Unit Handbook, California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Facts checked 2026-10-12
20. Zoning Search (ZIMAS), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-12

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.