Sun Valley

City of Los Angeles — one permitting path

Because Sun Valley is part of the City of Los Angeles, projects here run through the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) and the city's planning rules — a single, consistent path rather than the patchwork some Valley projects face. Knowing that from the start lets a design be prepared to the standard the city's reviewers expect.

Room to build

Parts of Sun Valley and neighbouring Shadow Hills keep deeper, semi-rural lots — in places with an equestrian character — which opens up options that tighter neighbourhoods don't: a detached ADU, a generous addition, or a reworked relationship between house and land. The right move depends on the lot, the zoning, and how the household actually wants to live, which is where the conversation begins.

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.