Can I build an ADU in Sunland-Tujunga (91040, 91042)?

Can I build an ADU on my Sunland or Tujunga lot?

Almost certainly some kind of ADU, yes. Los Angeles allows ADUs in any zone where a house is a permitted use ⁷. By our count, about two in three single-family parcels in both 91040 and 91042 are zoned R1, and most of the rest are RA, RE or RS, all of which allow a house ⁵.

State law gives every single-family lot three options the city has to approve:

• A detached backyard house of up to 800 square feet with four-foot side and rear setbacks, which can be paired with a JADU ⁸.
• A garage conversion or conversion of another existing accessory building.
• A junior ADU (JADU) of no more than 500 square feet inside the house ⁹.

The city's own ordinance also allows a larger detached unit of up to 1,200 square feet and two stories ¹⁰. In flat parts of the Valley that bigger option is usually available. In Sunland-Tujunga it often is not, for the reason in the next section. Our JADU vs ADU guide explains the difference between the two small options.

My lot is on a hill in the fire zone. Is the bigger 1,200-square-foot ADU off the table?

Often, yes, but the 800-square-foot state-law ADU is not. The city code bars ADUs on any lot that is in both a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and a Hillside Area, and City Planning says that bar may not be enforced on state-law ADUs ¹¹. So the overlap mostly blocks the larger Ordinance ADU.

In Sunland-Tujunga the overlap is the rule rather than the exception. We tested every City of LA single-family parcel in both ZIPs against the city's map layers:

• 91040: 1,790 of 5,477 parcels (33%) are in a Hillside Area, and every one of them is also in the fire zone ⁴.
• 91042: 1,763 of 5,725 parcels (31%) are in a Hillside Area, and 1,754 of those are also in the fire zone ⁴.

That is 3,544 parcels, about 32% of the area's single-family lots, where the 1,200-square-foot option is generally off the table. For comparison, the same count in Sylmar is about 7% ⁴.

The fire-zone share is higher still: 3,118 parcels in 91040 (57%) and 3,134 in 91042 (55%) touch the zone ³. Treat that as a floor. The city layer was last edited in 2019, and CAL FIRE issued new recommended maps for Los Angeles on March 24, 2025, which the Fire Department said would affect more parcels ³¹³. What the fire zone changes in the build itself is covered in our fire zone guide; slope, street width and grading are covered in the Hillside Area guide.

Does the Sunland-Tujunga specific plan affect my ADU?

It can, if your lot is inside one. City Planning lists two specific plans in the Sunland-Tujunga community plan area: the San Gabriel/Verdugo Mountains Scenic Preservation Specific Plan and the Foothill Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan ¹⁸. By our count, 3,020 single-family parcels across both ZIPs (27%) are inside the scenic preservation plan, and 911 (8%) are inside the Foothill Boulevard plan ⁶.

The scenic preservation plan has its own ADU sign-off. City Planning's ADU administrative clearance form for that plan, dated April 2020, lists the plan sections an ADU has to clear ¹⁶:

• Prominent ridgelines. Compliance is required if the project is in a prominent ridgeline protection area.
• Oak trees. Any oak removal must meet the plan's oak tree rules, and the plans must show the trees or note that there are none.
• Plant materials. The plans must note that no prohibited plants from the plan's list are on the site.
• Scenic highways. Inside a scenic highway corridor, a project cannot exceed 30 feet or the height district limit, whichever is lower.

The city's ADU memo confirms that ADU height is measured under the rules of the applicable specific plan area, along with the zone and Hillside Area ²⁰. For oaks on the lot, our protected trees guide covers the citywide rules that apply on top.

The Foothill Boulevard plan mostly matters for lots on or near the boulevard. Its zoning information file tells LADBS not to issue building permits without a City Planning clearance, with exceptions that include additions to an existing single-family home ¹⁷. If your lot is in that plan, ask City Planning whether your ADU needs the clearance before you submit.

The community plan itself was last adopted in 1997 ¹⁸. We did not find ADU rules in the community plan; the specific plans and the citywide ADU memo are where the ADU rules live.

I keep horses, or my neighbor does. Does that stop an ADU?

No. City Planning says ADUs and JADUs are exempt from the city's distance rules between horse enclosures and homes, because state law does not allow those rules to be applied to them ¹⁵.

This comes up much more in Sunland than in Tujunga. City Planning names Tujunga and Sunland among the Valley neighborhoods where nearly all of the city's "K" Equinekeeping Districts are found ¹⁴. By our count, 1,443 single-family parcels in 91040 (26%) are in a K district, against 125 in 91042 (2%) ⁵.

The exemption protects your ADU, not the horse owner. Our Sylmar guide explains what an ADU built close to a legal corral can mean for the neighbor, and where the city's proposed fix stands.

How big are lots in Sunland-Tujunga?

The middle lot is close to 7,000 square feet, but the spread is wide. In 91040 the median single-family lot is 7,023 square feet, a quarter are under 5,752 and a quarter are over 17,554. In 91042 the median is 6,897, a quarter are under 5,443 and a quarter are over 10,085 ².

The smallest quarter of lots in both ZIPs are smaller than the typical Reseda tract lot ². On those, a garage conversion or a JADU may fit more easily than a new detached unit; our guide to what fits on a 6,600 sq ft lot walks through the layout. The large lots in 91040 have room for a bigger unit, but many of them sit in the hillside and fire overlap above, where the 800-square-foot state-law ADU is usually the ceiling ¹¹.

Are people in Sunland-Tujunga actually getting ADU permits?

Yes, and at a faster rate per home than Sylmar. LADBS issued 82, 73 and 93 ADU and JADU permits in 91040 in 2023, 2024 and 2025, and 61 in 2026 through Oct. 4. In 91042 the counts were 61, 49 and 82, and 90 in 2026 through Oct. 4, which already beats all of 2025 ¹. Counts are permits, not units.

In 2025 that works out to about 17 permits for every 1,000 single-family parcels in 91040 and about 14 in 91042, compared with about 9 in Sylmar ¹². The overlays slow the bigger unit, not the state-law one. Our Valley permits by ZIP guide has the full ranking.

What should I look up first for my address?

Start with the city's free parcel report. Look up your address in ZIMAS, the city's mapping system for a parcel's zoning and permit history ¹⁹, and write down:

1. The zone string, including any "-K" for a horsekeeping district ⁵.
2. The fire zone and Hillside Area rows. If both say yes, plan around the 800-square-foot state-law ADU ¹¹.
3. The specific plan row. If it names San Gabriel/Verdugo Mountains, expect the ridgeline, oak, plant and scenic highway checks ¹⁶.
4. Lot size, compared with the ranges above ².

Then check what ZIMAS does not settle. Hillside streets raise the question of fire access (access guide) and, for an Ordinance ADU in both zones, a 20-foot street frontage requirement ¹². Slopes raise the question of a soils report, and many hillside lots raise the question of how far the sewer main is. Putting those answers together for one address is the kind of thing a lot check settles.

Quick answers

Sources

1. Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (N), dataset pi9x-tg5x, ZIPs 91040 and 91042 with Sylmar for comparison, LADBS via City of Los Angeles Open Data (Greenlight query). Facts checked 2026-10-12
2. LA County Assessor parcel layer (LACounty_Parcel), single-family parcels in ZIPs 91040 and 91042, City of Los Angeles, LA County Assessor (Greenlight analysis). Facts checked 2026-10-12
3. Greenlight parcel count: LA County Assessor parcels (City of LA single-family, ZIPs 91040 and 91042) intersected with the City of LA Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones layer, LA County Assessor parcel layer / City of Los Angeles GeoHub (Greenlight analysis). Facts checked 2026-10-12
4. Greenlight parcel count: City of LA single-family parcels in ZIPs 91040 and 91042 tested against the Hillside Area and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone layers, LA County Assessor parcel layer / City of Los Angeles GeoHub (Greenlight analysis). Facts checked 2026-10-12
5. Greenlight parcel count: City of LA single-family parcels in ZIPs 91040 and 91042 by zone, from the City Planning zoning layer, LA County Assessor parcel layer / City of Los Angeles GeoHub, City Planning zoning (Greenlight analysis). Facts checked 2026-10-12
6. Greenlight parcel count: City of LA single-family parcels in ZIPs 91040 and 91042 inside City Planning Specific Plan Areas, LA County Assessor parcel layer / City of Los Angeles GeoHub, City Planning Specific Plan Areas (Greenlight analysis). Facts checked 2026-10-12
7. ZA Memorandum No. 143, Revision 1 (LAMC Chapter 1): Implementation of the ADU Ordinance and State ADU Law, issued Aug. 1, 2025, Q.2, Los Angeles City Planning / LADBS. Facts checked 2026-10-12
8. ZA Memorandum No. 143, Revision 1 (LAMC Chapter 1), quoting Gov. Code § 66323(a)(2), Los Angeles City Planning / LADBS. Facts checked 2026-10-12
9. ZA Memorandum No. 143, Revision 1 (LAMC Chapter 1), section B (JADUs), Los Angeles City Planning / LADBS. Facts checked 2026-10-12
10. ZA Memorandum No. 143, Revision 1 (LAMC Chapter 1), Table 1 (detached ADUs), Ordinance ADU column, Los Angeles City Planning / LADBS. Facts checked 2026-10-12
11. ZA Memorandum No. 143, Revision 1 (LAMC Chapter 1), Q.42, Los Angeles City Planning / LADBS. Facts checked 2026-10-12
12. ZA Memorandum No. 143, Revision 1 (LAMC Chapter 1), Q.32, Los Angeles City Planning / LADBS. Facts checked 2026-10-12
13. 2025 CAL FIRE Fire Hazard Severity Zones Map Recommendation (Apr. 4, 2025), Los Angeles Fire Department. Facts checked 2026-10-12
14. Report back on recommendations relative to equestrian uses, CF 16-1468-S4 and CF 25-0096, June 24, 2026, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-12
15. Report back on recommendations relative to equestrian uses, CF 16-1468-S4 and CF 25-0096, June 24, 2026, Impacts on Equine Distancing Requirements, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-12
16. Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Administrative Clearance, San Gabriel Verdugo Mountains Scenic Preservation Specific Plan (form dated 4/22/2020), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-12
17. Zoning Information File ZI No. 2172, Foothill Boulevard Corridor Specific Plan, LADBS / Los Angeles City Planning (ZIMAS). Facts checked 2026-10-12
18. Sunland - Tujunga - Lakeview Terrace - Shadow Hills - La Tuna Canyon Community Plan, Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-12
19. Zoning Search (ZIMAS), Los Angeles City Planning. Facts checked 2026-10-12
20. ZA Memorandum No. 143, Revision 1 (LAMC Chapter 1), Q.5, Los Angeles City Planning / LADBS. 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.