![\"Architect](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779446835_759_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nAndri Luescher isn\u2019t complaining. He\u2019s just tired.<\/p>\n
In 2022, the architect bought a small vacant lot in the hills of Mount Washington with plans to build a modest home for his family of four. He still hasn\u2019t broken ground.<\/p>\n
For the last few years, he\u2019s been mired in a complex web of mounting fees and permit nightmares, getting punted back and forth between city departments like a fraying football. Before a single shovel hit the dirt, he spent $5,000 on reports documenting native trees on the property \u2014 all three of them. He paid $17,000 applying for exemptions so he doesn\u2019t have to widen his future neighbors\u2019 streets for them. And he sat through hours in public meetings where those same neighbors weigh in on what they like and don\u2019t like about his project.<\/p>\n
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Architect Andri Luescher has faced challeges trying to build a house in Mount Washington.<\/p>\n
(Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
A 1,400-square-foot house, mind you. Three bedrooms. Two bathrooms. <\/p>\n
The local homeowners\u2019 group doesn\u2019t seem to want it no matter what it is. The city does \u2014 at least in theory \u2014 but a quirky zoning rule makes it seem otherwise.<\/p>\n
The bane of the project is the Mount Washington\/Glassell Park Specific Plan<\/a>. Adopted in 1993, the ordinance dictates development in the neighborhood in order to maintain its identity<\/a> as a quiet, verdant retreat in the hills northeast of downtown L.A.<\/p>\n Specific plans are a crucial component of responsible development in L.A. The city has 52 of them<\/a> in areas such as Crenshaw, Mulholland Scenic Parkway and Pacific Palisades, and they serve as a vital tool in an era of mansionization, where profit-hungry developers build bigger and bigger houses \u2014 sometimes so big<\/a> that they\u2019re in danger of sliding down hills and crushing the homes beneath them.<\/p>\n But in Luescher\u2019s neighborhood, the plan was adopted to solve a problem that, in many ways, has since been solved. Years ago, the city adopted two streamlined ordinances that regulate hillside buildings: scaling back home sizes, protecting trees, setting design standards, etc.<\/p>\n But since the Mount Washington plan was adopted before those, it supersedes them.<\/p>\n Andri Luescher wants to reuse these vintage bricks for his new house development in Mount Washington.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cIf I was building this house in the hills of Silver Lake or Echo Park, approval would take six months,\u201d Luescher said. \u201cBut under this plan, it takes anywhere from two to five years.\u201d<\/p>\n The plan itself isn\u2019t even that restrictive, Luescher said. Smaller square footage, wider streets, protect trees, yada yada yada. The holdup is the process itself, and the myriad permits and approvals required from a litany of officials.<\/p>\n A typical project primarily goes through the Department of Building and Safety, so all of your permits and plans are checked by a single department. But since the Specific Plan throws another layer of zoning onto the property, review checks are scattered across multiple departments: Building and Safety, Planning, Bureau of Engineering, etc.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing into this, I was aware of how complicated the process is,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody warned me. But I was still shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a breakdown of the things Luescher has done to get his home approved that had little to do with the house itself.<\/p>\n First up, trees.<\/p>\n Luescher\u2019s lot is fairly standard at 5,400 square feet. But since the lot features three protected trees, including a live oak and a black walnut, he first had to hire a certified arborist to make a report identifying the trees he\u2019ll need to safeguard during construction.<\/p>\n The 18-page report cost $2,600. However, by the time the report was ready, the city changed its tree-reporting format, rendering it useless. He paid the arborist $2,337 to draft a new one.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s good to protect trees, but the report is telling you everything you already know,\u201d Luescher said. \u201cThere are trees on the property, and you need to put an orange plastic fence around them during construction.\u201d<\/p>\n After that, streets.<\/p>\n Andri Luescher bought the property in Mount Washington after the previous house burned down.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Stacking more homes on L.A.\u2019s hillsides means that during emergencies, traffic clogs and emergency responders can\u2019t get through. This played out during the Palisades fire, when bulldozers had to clear<\/a> abandoned cars so firetrucks could drive past them.<\/p>\n As a result, L.A. forces developers to widen the streets of hillside properties to at least 20 feet. Luescher\u2019s street is roughly 17 feet wide, so zoning law technically requires him to widen it by 3 feet not just along the property line, but also all the way down the hill, he said.<\/p>\n Obviously, widening streets that far isn\u2019t feasible, since it would interfere with neighboring properties, so the city grants exemptions. However, in order to get an exemption, you need to get a determination from a zoning administrator. Luescher paid $17,422 for his hearing, which also granted an exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act and confirmed his compliance with the neighborhood\u2019s specific plan.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go through a hearing just for the city to tell you that you don\u2019t have to do this thing that no one ever does,\u201d Luescher said.<\/p>\n He hired a civil engineer for $6,640 to draw up plans to widen the street in front of his property. Then, he submitted the plans to the Bureau of Engineering \u2014 their review cost him $14,393 \u2014 all before paying a contractor to actually widen the street, which he expects to cost $20,000 to $25,000, plus an extra $16,960 for inspection costs during construction.<\/p>\n \u201cThe work to widen the street costs less than the permit from the city to widen the street,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Next up, neighbors.<\/p>\n![\"Andri](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779446837_225_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Andri](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779446838_49_.jpeg\")
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