Journal ·
Glendale Design Review for Single-Family Homes: When an Addition Needs a Hearing
In Glendale's R1, R1R and ROS zones, an addition of less than 700 square feet that adds no story and does not grow a street-facing facade by more than 200 square feet can be exempted from design review. Anything larger needs it. A rear second story usually stays with city staff, while a second story at the front of the house, a new house outside a historic district, or a remodel that replaces more than half of the exterior wall and roof area within five years goes to the Design Review Board.
Does a home addition in Glendale need design review?
Chapter 30.47 of the Glendale Municipal Code applies design review, under section 30.47.020(A), to new buildings and exterior remodeling whenever a building permit is required. Subsection G then lets the director of community development exempt certain work.
For the three single-family zones, R1, R1R and ROS, subsection G.4.b sets the test for an addition. It can be exempted when it adds less than 700 square feet of floor and garage area, adds no story, and does not change a facade directly facing a street in a way that adds more than 200 square feet of floor area, measured horizontally. The 700 square feet are counted cumulatively over two years. Two 400 square foot additions filed eighteen months apart are treated as 800 square feet.
Subsections G.4.c and G.4.d cover accessory buildings up to 500 square feet and detached garages, in both cases when they match the house in colors, materials, roof style and general architectural style. G.10 exempts accessory dwelling units, which must still meet the compatibility standard in section 30.34.080, and G.8 exempts solar equipment.
Subsection G.5 lets staff pull any project into review if they find it incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood character or with existing buildings on the lot. Subsection G.6 removes the exemption, regardless of size, for street-visible work in a historic district overlay zone, unless the director finds it consistent with the Historic District Design Guidelines. Subsection C also brings fences and walls over three feet of exposed height that are visible from the street under the chapter, though G.4.a lets the director exempt compatible ones of permitted materials.
The applicability section was most recently amended by Ordinance No. 6052 on May 19, 2026, according to the history note at the end of section 30.47.020.
Who decides: city staff or the Design Review Board?
Section 30.47.030 assigns the review authority. Outside the SR zone and the PPD overlay zone, it splits single-family work this way.
| Project on an R1, R1R or ROS lot | Review authority | Code section |
|---|---|---|
| Under 700 sq ft, no new story, street facade grows 200 sq ft or less | May be exempted | 30.47.020(G)(4)(b) |
| Larger addition or remodel, no new story | Director of community development | 30.47.030(F)(1) |
| New story in the rear half, compatible style | Director of community development | 30.47.030(F)(1) |
| New story outside the rear half | Design Review Board | 30.47.030(I) |
| New house, outside a historic district | Design Review Board | 30.47.030(I) |
| Remodel past the 50% walls and roof limit | Design Review Board, as new construction | 30.47.030(F)(1), (I) |
| Any project in a historic district overlay | Historic Preservation Commission | 30.47.030(E) |
The director handles a new story only where the addition sits in the rear 50 percent of the building and matches the existing house in colors, materials, roof style and general architectural treatment. A second story over the front rooms falls to the catch-all in subsection I, the Design Review Board. Under subsection F.4, staff can also send a project that would normally be theirs to the board if they find it incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood or with other buildings on the lot.
When does a remodel count as new construction?
Section 30.47.030(F)(1) says that a proposed addition or remodel of a single-family dwelling that does not meet the limitations of section 30.60.040(B)(2) shall be considered new construction.
Section 30.60.040(B)(2), written for nonconforming buildings, allows a maximum of 50 percent of the combined area of all exterior walls and roof to be replaced or abandoned in place in any five-year period. Operable doors and windows do not count as wall area, but enlarging an opening counts as demolishing the added area.
Because subsection F(1) points to that limit for single-family additions and remodels, a remodel past it is treated as new construction, which outside a historic district falls to the Design Review Board under subsection I. How planning staff apply the limit to a conforming house is worth confirming before a gut remodel is priced. The five-year window also means a seller's earlier renovation can count toward a buyer's later one.
What do the reviewers look at?
Section 30.47.040(D) defines the neighborhood for a single-family project as the existing development pattern within 300 feet of the property, with special attention to the adjacent lots and the same block. The director can choose a different area. Reviewers weigh massing, scale, height, setbacks, landscaping, window placement and garage location, plus the impacts of average slopes over 50 percent and grading over 1,500 cubic yards, where section 30.47.030(J)(1) also allows conditions such as haul routes.
For any project of more than one story, section 30.47.040(B)(3) adds light and privacy, judged from the new building's main living rooms and balconies larger than 25 square feet, looking into neighboring buildings and back yards.
On privacy, light and window placement, section 30.47.030(J)(1) requires the review authority to consider other arrangements of windows, massing or site layout, but for those reasons alone it may not reduce the size or scale of a project or prohibit a reasonable number or size of windows. It can still condition size and bulk for compatibility.
The written standards are the city's Comprehensive Design Guidelines, adopted November 29, 2011, with chapters for single-family homes and for hillside lots. Hillside rules are covered in the Glendale hillside guide.
How notice, redesign and approval periods work
Before a design review case first goes to a public hearing, section 30.61.010 requires mailed notice at least 10 days ahead to owners and occupants within 500 feet, and a sign on the property, three feet high by four feet wide, posted for the same period. For later meetings the director may repeat the notice.
At a board meeting, section 30.47.075(D) gives three outcomes on the first review: approve, approve with conditions, or return for redesign. A returned project has to be refiled within 180 days, or the case is considered terminated. On the third review the board must approve or deny.
Under section 30.41.050, a design review approval is valid for two years. Section 30.41.015 allows one extension of up to one more year, on a written request showing that a reasonable effort to act on the approval began within the two years.
Approval also leaves an obligation behind. Section 30.47.050 requires the approved building colors, materials and landscaping in the R1, R1R and ROS zones to be maintained substantially as approved for five years after the building permit is finaled. Changes in that window go back to the director or to the body that approved the plans.
How do you appeal a Glendale design review decision?
Section 30.47.100 sets two routes. A director decision can be appealed to the Design Review Board, and any review authority decision can be appealed to the City Council, both de novo. The applicant or any aggrieved party may appeal.
The council route follows the uniform procedure in Chapter 2.88, which requires the appeal to be filed no later than 15 days after the decision and requires the appellant to pay the appeal fee.
What should a buyer check before an offer?
These questions are worth answering before an offer on a Glendale house in the R1, R1R or ROS zone when the plan includes an addition:
- Is the lot in a historic district overlay zone? If so, design review goes to the Historic Preservation Commission, as covered in the Glendale historic district guide.
- Was any addition filed in the last two years? It counts toward the 700 square foot exemption limit.
- Was exterior wall or roof area replaced in the last five years? It counts toward the 50 percent limit that turns a remodel into new construction.
- Was a building permit for a design-review-approved project finaled in the last five years? The approved colors, materials and landscaping must still be maintained.
- Does the plan add a story, and where? Rear half and compatible style stays with staff; elsewhere goes to the board.
- Would an ADU serve better? ADUs are exempt from design review but must meet the 30.34.080 compatibility standard; see the Glendale ADU guide.
Permit history and prior approvals for an address belong in the due diligence described on the buyer's page.
Q: I am selling. What design review records help?
Approved plans still within their two-year life and a documented remodel history are worth having for a home valuation and in the materials on the seller's page.
This article is general information drawn from the Glendale Municipal Code and City of Glendale publications, not legal advice. Codes change, and a specific lot can carry conditions or prior approvals not discussed here. Confirm current requirements with the City of Glendale Community Development Department. Call Alla at (818) 699-5367 or use the enquiry form.
Looking at homes in Glendale? Start with the Glendale area guide and current Glendale listings.