Porter Ranch & the San Fernando Valley

One valley, several jurisdictions

Porter Ranch and most Valley neighborhoods — Northridge, Granada Hills, Chatsworth, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Woodland Hills and more — are part of the City of Los Angeles, so their permits run through the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS). But the Valley also contains independent cities such as Burbank, Glendale, San Fernando, Calabasas, and Hidden Hills, each with its own department. The jurisdiction follows the address, and it is settled before design starts.

Larger lots — and hillside edges

Much of the Valley offers larger, flatter lots than the LA basin, which makes additions and ADUs natural moves and leaves room to rethink how a house meets its yard. Along the northern and southern rims — the Santa Susana and Santa Monica foothills, and the newer hillside tracts above Porter Ranch — projects pick up the slope, drainage, and hillside-ordinance considerations that are a core part of the practice's work.

The full scope, under one process

Kevin Cohen Design is a design-build practice: architecture, interior and exterior design, and general construction coordinated together rather than split across separate contracts. That covers ADUs, home additions, whole-home remodels, kitchen and bath remodels, permit drawings and plan-check, and general construction — with a single point of accountability from the first sketch to the final inspection.

Working remotely, with visits as the project needs them

Most of the work — design, drawings, and coordination — is handled remotely, which is what lets the practice serve a region this large without thinning the attention any one project receives. On-site visits are scheduled when a project genuinely calls for them: reading the site at the start, checking key moments during construction, and resolving the things that are better seen in person. For many homeowners this is a practical way to work with an architect whose approach fits, regardless of where the lot sits.

Rules, zoning, and permit requirements differ from one jurisdiction to the next and change over time. Nothing here is a substitute for confirming the specifics for your exact address with the local building department early in the project — which is where every engagement starts, so the design is aimed at the right requirements from the first drawing.