Sun Valley
A City of Los Angeles community: permits through LADBS, with the Stonehurst historic overlay and horse-keeping lots shaping many projects.
Building in Sun ValleyService areas
Homes across the Los Angeles foothills.
From our office on Lincoln Avenue in Pasadena, ROAM Design Studio LLC and ROAM Builders Inc. (CSLB Lic. #1151324) design and build custom homes, remodels, and fire rebuilds along the foothills, from Sun Valley and Burbank east to Arcadia. Every city here has its own permit office and its own rules for hillsides, design review, and fire zones. Each guide below covers who issues permits for that community and what tends to shape projects there.
Sunland-Tujunga
City of Los Angeles foothill neighborhoods: LADBS permits, hillside lots, and wildfire-resistant construction near the Angeles National Forest.
Building in Sunland-TujungaBurbank
Its own building department and single-family standards, with extra hillside review on R-1-H lots in the Verdugo foothills.
Building in BurbankGlendale
Its own permit center and design review board, historic districts like Rossmoyne, and large areas newly mapped as very high fire hazard.
Building in GlendaleLa Crescenta-Montrose
Unincorporated LA County: County permits and a Community Standards District, with mostly pre-1979 homes on sloping foothill lots.
Building in La Crescenta-MontroseLa Cañada Flintridge
A contract city where the whole city is a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, with hillside and second-story review common.
Building in La Cañada FlintridgeAltadena
Unincorporated LA County, at the center of the Eaton Fire rebuild, with its own Community Standards District.
Building in AltadenaPasadena
Our home base: the Pasadena Permit Center, landmark districts, hillside overlays, and Eaton Fire rebuilds in the city's northeast.
Building in PasadenaSierra Madre
A small foothill city with its own planning department, a Hillside Management Zone, and a 2025 ordinance easing Eaton Fire rebuilds.
Building in Sierra MadreArcadia
Its own Development Services department, with association Architectural Review Boards in place of City design review in five neighborhoods.
Building in ArcadiaFire rebuilds
For homes lost in the January 2025 fires, see our Altadena fire rebuild guide for the Eaton Fire and our Palisades fire rebuild guide for the Palisades Fire. Both cover the like-for-like pathways, permits, and what to ask any rebuild contractor.
Outside these communities, we take projects throughout Greater Los Angeles. Tell us where you're building.