Designing, permitting, and building detached ADUs, garage conversions, and Junior ADUs for Reseda homeowners. Office on Ventura Blvd since 2010. CSLB License #972213.
Hillstar Construction is a licensed Reseda ADU contractor. Our office is on Ventura Boulevard — which means when you call us about an ADU, your crew isn't commuting in from another region. We've worked with homeowners across Reseda, Tarzana, Encino, Canoga Park, and West Hills on detached ADUs, garage-conversion ADUs, above-garage units, and Junior ADUs (JADUs) — each one shaped around the zoning, hillside status, and buildable area of the specific lot.
Every project starts with a free on-site consultation, a clear written scope, and a straight answer about what your lot can actually support.
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ADUs are different from most residential work. They touch zoning, setbacks, utility service, and often the LA Baseline Hillside Ordinance — and those details vary block-by-block across Reseda. A contractor who doesn't know the area well tends to build the same ADU on every lot and then fight the city when plan check pushes back.
Because our office is at 22647 Ventura Blvd, we know the Reseda zoning mix — flat R1 parcels that make up most of the neighborhood, pockets of R2 and R3 near Sherman Way and Reseda Boulevard, and some larger lots toward the northern and eastern edges of the community. We've walked into the LADBS Valley branch office for our own projects more times than we can count, and we build ADUs that plan check can actually approve.
For homeowners who are deciding between a full ADU and a smaller expansion, our home addition option is sometimes the better fit when the lot can't support a detached ADU but can support a bedroom-and-bath extension.
ADU rules are set by California state law plus Los Angeles city rules. The baseline rules below apply to virtually every Reseda lot. The specific envelope on your property depends on zoning, hillside status, and existing structures — which is what the first site visit covers.
State law requires Los Angeles to allow a detached ADU of at least 850 square feet for a studio or one-bedroom, or at least 1,000 square feet for two or more bedrooms. LA permits detached ADUs up to 1,200 square feet. Attached ADUs and garage conversions follow the same state minimums.
State law limits required side and rear setbacks to no more than four feet for a new detached or attached ADU. No setback is required where you convert an existing garage to an ADU in its existing footprint.
No replacement or new parking is required for an ADU on any lot within a half-mile walking distance of public transit — a threshold that covers much of the Reseda area along the Orange Line and Ventura Boulevard corridor. Where parking is required, it's capped at one space per unit or bedroom, and tandem parking on an existing driveway counts.
State law requires the city to determine whether your ADU application is complete within 15 business days and to approve or deny a complete application within 60 days.
Reseda is largely a flat valley neighborhood. Most Reseda lots are not in a designated Hillside Area under the Baseline Hillside Ordinance, so the additional height and grading standards under that ordinance typically do not apply. If your lot is near the southern edge of the community close to Ventura Boulevard, we verify hillside designation before scoping. The Los Angeles permit guide covers the broader permit flow in more detail.
Because Reseda has a wider range of lot sizes than most LA neighborhoods — from tighter post-war R1 parcels near Oxnard Street and Sherman Way to larger lots with more rear-yard depth in the northern parts of the neighborhood — no single ADU configuration fits every property. Here's how we match ADU type to lot in practice:
The most common Reseda configuration. Works best on flat lots with enough rear-yard buildable area to place a 600–1,200 square-foot structure with state-minimum setbacks. Offers the most design flexibility and the highest long-term value, whether used as a rental, a home office, or housing for family.
A strong option on older Reseda lots with detached garages that aren't serving much purpose. State law allows garage-to-ADU conversions with no required setback from the existing structure's footprint, which makes them faster to permit than a new-build. We check for structural, foundation, and drainage issues before committing to a conversion.
Useful when yard space is tight but there's an existing or planned garage structure that can support a second story. LA allows ADUs above a garage with setbacks of no more than five feet from side and rear lot lines. Often the right call on narrower lots along side streets off Ventura Blvd.
A JADU is carved out of the existing primary home — up to 500 square feet — and typically fits best on lots where a detached ADU isn't realistic. JADUs continue to have owner-occupancy requirements under state law. Often paired with a broader home remodeling project when the main house is already being reworked.
A realistic Reseda ADU timeline from first site visit to certificate of occupancy is roughly 6 to 12 months. Permits move on the state-mandated 15-day / 60-day schedule when plans are submitted correct; hillside lots or lots requiring utility upgrades add time. Construction itself runs 3 to 6 months for most detached builds once ground is broken.
Cost depends heavily on ADU type, finishes, and site conditions. Our cost and ROI guide for building an ADU in Los Angeles lays out the numbers in detail. What we commit to on every Reseda project is a written scope, a clear price, no surprise change orders unless something is actually uncovered during construction, and direct access to your project manager from kickoff through final walkthrough.
The full ADU construction process — site evaluation, design, permit submission, build, final inspection — is covered step-by-step in our construction guide.
Hillstar was great! We did a garage conversion and Lior was the best. He helped us plan every detail.
— Jeffrey Rhodes, January 2019Lior was such a pleasure to work with for our guest house remodel. He was so easy to get in touch with, incredibly responsive and finished the job early.
— Amy Christine, February 2019Most Reseda lots do qualify. California state law requires cities to allow at least one ADU on single-family residential lots, and Reseda is predominantly zoned R1 (single-family), with some larger lots toward the edges of the neighborhood. What changes per lot is the type and size of ADU that fits — not whether you can build one. We confirm the exact zoning, setbacks, and buildable area during the first site visit.
Rarely in Reseda. Reseda is a predominantly flat valley neighborhood, and most Reseda lots are not in a designated Hillside Area under the Baseline Hillside Ordinance. The additional height limits and grading rules that ordinance imposes typically do not apply here. We verify hillside status on every lot before scoping the build.
Often, no. California state law waives ADU parking requirements for any lot within a half-mile walking distance of public transit. Much of Reseda along the Orange Line and major Ventura Boulevard bus corridors qualifies. Where parking is required, it's limited to one space per unit or bedroom, and it can be tandem on your existing driveway. Removing covered parking to build an ADU doesn't require replacement parking under state law.
State law requires the city to approve or deny a complete ADU application within 60 days, and to tell you within 15 business days whether your application is complete. In practice, most of our Reseda ADU permits move through LADBS on that timeline when the plans are submitted complete and correct. Hillside lots or projects requiring additional review can take longer.
California state law requires cities to allow a detached ADU of at least 850 square feet (studio or one-bedroom) or 1,000 square feet (two or more bedrooms). Los Angeles allows detached ADUs up to 1,200 square feet. On larger Reseda lots with flat buildable area, the full 1,200 square feet is usually achievable. Hillside lots or lots with tight buildable zones may support a smaller footprint, and we scope the realistic envelope during the first site visit.
California state law removed the owner-occupancy requirement for standard ADUs permitted between 2020 and the end of 2024, and owner-occupancy rules have been rolled back in most circumstances for ADUs built under current state law. Junior ADUs (JADUs) continue to have owner-occupancy requirements. We confirm the current rule that applies to your specific project at the consultation, because the law has been amended multiple times.
We also serve homeowners in communities near Reseda — tap a nearby area for local details:
Calabasas · Sherman Oaks · Pasadena · Los Angeles (citywide)
