Building a custom home in Beverly Hills is a high‑stakes, detail‑heavy process. You want a clear path from concept to permit without surprises, delays, or rework. In this overview, you’ll learn how the City reviews custom estates, what documents you need, how long key steps usually take, and where smart coordination saves months. Let’s dive in.
Permit basics in Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills approvals run on two linked tracks: Planning and Building. Planning decides what you can build and how it fits the neighborhood. Building & Safety checks how you will build it to meet California codes.
Most custom estates also touch Public Works for grading and utilities, and Fire for access and water supply. If your site is hillside, historic, or involves major grading, expect additional review depth.
Planning Division
Planning confirms zoning compliance and manages design review. Staff determine whether your project is ministerial or discretionary. If a public hearing is needed, the Planning Commission handles it. Planning may apply residential and hillside design guidelines, tree protection rules, and General Plan consistency.
Building & Safety Division
Building & Safety performs plan check for structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, energy, and CalGreen. The Division issues building permits and schedules inspections that lead to final occupancy.
Other reviewers
- Fire reviews fire access, hydrants, and defensible space in hillside areas.
- Public Works reviews grading, drainage, curb cuts, street work, stormwater LID, and utility connections.
- Historic Preservation may be involved if your property is a designated resource.
- Other agencies can appear when specialty work applies, such as air quality for large grading or utility providers for service upgrades.
Ministerial vs. discretionary
Ministerial projects are faster because they meet all objective standards and do not trigger design hearings. These are often minor remodels.
Discretionary projects take longer. New large custom estates, significant additions in hillside areas, demolition of older structures, or anything needing a variance or conditional use permit typically enters a discretionary path. Historic resources and substantial grading also push a project into discretionary territory.
Early contact with Planning through a pre‑application helps you confirm the path and design within thresholds where feasible.
Sequence and milestones
Every project is unique, but the path below covers most custom estates in Beverly Hills.
1) Pre‑submittal due diligence
Start with zoning research, a boundary and topographic survey, preliminary geotechnical scope, utility checks, and title review. Schedule a Planning pre‑application to confirm the review path and initial checklist. Meeting lead times often run 2 to 6 weeks.
2) Concept design and pre‑application feedback
Prepare a concept site plan, massing, preliminary elevations, and a landscape concept. Submit these for informal staff feedback to surface design review triggers, privacy and shadow concerns, and required studies. Feedback commonly arrives within 2 to 8 weeks.
3) Formal entitlement submission
If your project is discretionary, file a complete planning application, drawings, notice list, and fees. The City checks completeness in 2 to 6 weeks. Design review or Commission hearings, if needed, typically add 6 to 12 or more weeks for review and scheduling.
4) Environmental review when required
Discretionary projects receive a CEQA check. If potential impacts exist, the City may require an initial study with a negative declaration or a full EIR. Timelines range from weeks to many months depending on the level of study and public comment.
5) Entitlement decisions and conditions
Approvals often include conditions that must be resolved before a building permit. Conditions can require plan refinements, public improvements, or landscape and mitigation details. Plan on 2 to 8 or more weeks per response cycle.
6) Building plan check submittal
Submit coordinated construction documents for architectural, structural, MEP, civil, soils, drainage, energy compliance, CalGreen, and accessibility. The City’s intake and completeness check often requires 1 to 4 weeks. Plan check cycles typically take 2 to 6 weeks per round, with 1 to 3 cycles for well‑prepared sets and longer for complex hillside estates.
7) Permit issuance
After all corrections are cleared and fees are paid, permits are issued. Final processing from last correction to permit issuance can take days to a few weeks, depending on finance and clearances.
8) Construction and inspections
City inspections track foundations, framing, MEP roughs, insulation, site improvements, and final work. For hillsides, expect inspections tied to geotechnical recommendations and tree protection. A Certificate of Occupancy or Final follows when all items are cleared.
Realistic timelines
Your calendar depends on scope, hillside factors, and whether hearings or environmental review apply.
- Simple ministerial remodel: about 1 to 3 months from complete submittal to permit.
- Typical custom estate with design review and plan check: often 6 to 9 months from pre‑application to permit, with a range of 4 to 12 months.
- Complex hillside or discretionary with CEQA: commonly 9 to 18 or more months, particularly if an EIR or appeals occur.
Factors that stretch timelines include discretionary hearings, significant grading, historic considerations, public opposition, incomplete submittals, multiple plan check cycles, and third‑party utility or agency clearances.
Submittal quality: what to include
A complete, coordinated package reduces plan check rounds. Focus on clarity and consistency across all disciplines.
- Architectural drawings: full site plan with legal description and accurate dimensions, floor plans, elevations, roof plan, and sections.
- Survey: boundary and topographic data with spot elevations and adjacent features.
- Civil: grading, drainage, sewer, utility connections, driveway apron and street improvements.
- Structural: stamped drawings and calculations that match each other and the architectural plans.
- Geotechnical: soils report with foundation and slope recommendations, retaining walls, and compaction criteria.
- Landscape: planting, irrigation, water‑wise measures, and tree protection details.
- Arborist: protection and mitigation if trees are present or regulated.
- Energy and green: Title 24 energy calculations and CalGreen documentation.
- Accessibility: applicable code analysis and details.
- Stormwater: LID features and BMPs, erosion control for earthwork.
- Grading: grading permit and haul route when thresholds are met.
- Drainage: hydrology report and retention or detention if required.
- Construction management: noise, staging, and haul plans for larger or hillside sites.
- Materials: exterior materials and color boards or product data when requested for design review.
- Context: photos, neighborhood massing, and shadow or privacy studies if needed.
- Administrative: current City forms, mailing lists for notices, and fees.
Common correction triggers include missing studies, inconsistent plan sets, inadequate geotechnical data for hillside work, missing tree protection details, insufficient stormwater measures, incorrect energy forms, and unsigned or unstamped sheets. Avoid low‑resolution PDFs, unclear scales, or mismatched title blocks.
A clean index sheet and a response matrix for each plan check comment help reviewers find your changes quickly.
Coordination: build the right team
Assemble your core consultants early so design and engineering can progress in lockstep.
- Lead architect to coordinate the submittal and code analysis.
- Civil and geotechnical engineers to drive grading and foundation solutions.
- Structural engineer for retaining walls and seismic design.
- Landscape architect and arborist for planting and tree protection.
- MEP engineers and an energy consultant for Title 24 integration.
- Permit expediter if your team needs help with logistics, counter coordination, or hearing scheduling.
- Contractor involvement early for constructability feedback, cost planning, and haul or staging strategies.
Key touchpoints include the Planning pre‑application, entitlement design review, plan check coordination across disciplines, and implementation of approval conditions in the final set. Maintain a single point of contact to manage City communications and comment responses.
Risks and how to avoid them
You can anticipate and control most delays with early planning.
- Discretionary surprises: Confirm your path with Planning early and design within objective standards when possible.
- Incomplete submittals: Use the City’s latest checklist and include all required studies and signatures.
- Hillside complexity: Get geotechnical and civil engaged early and include detailed grading and erosion control plans.
- Protected trees: Order an arborist survey early and integrate protection into site logistics.
- Code and energy issues: Retain a Title 24 specialist and coordinate with MEP and structural to avoid late rework.
- Neighborhood concerns: Share clear massing visuals and consider privacy or shadow adjustments to reduce opposition.
Quick start checklist
- Confirm zoning, setbacks, lot coverage, and any hillside or tree overlays.
- Order a boundary and topographic survey and start preliminary geotechnical work.
- Schedule a Planning pre‑application to verify the entitlement path and required studies.
- Assemble your architect, civil, geotechnical, structural, landscape, MEP, energy consultant, and arborist.
- Prepare coordinated concept plans and request staff feedback before finalizing design.
- Build a complete submittal index that follows the City’s current checklist.
- Anticipate 2 to 3 plan check cycles and budget time for responses and revisions.
- Consider a permit expediter if your schedule is tight or a hearing is likely.
How Jensen helps move permits
You want a single accountable partner who understands Beverly Hills process and the technical demands of hillside and bespoke construction. As a boutique design/build firm, Jensen Construction coordinates architecture, engineering, and permitting in a unified workflow. Our team engages geotechnical, civil, and structural early, maintains one version of the drawing set, and provides organized response matrices that help shorten review cycles.
The result is fewer surprises and a smoother handoff from approvals to construction. If you value craft, discretion, and clear stewardship from pre‑application through occupancy, we can help you plan the right path.
Ready to map your permit strategy for a Beverly Hills custom home? Schedule a private consultation with Jensen Construction.
FAQs
What permits and approvals are required for a Beverly Hills custom home?
- Expect Planning design review or entitlements when discretionary triggers apply, followed by Building & Safety plan check and permit issuance, plus Public Works and Fire clearances as needed.
How long does building plan check usually take in Beverly Hills?
- Well‑prepared submittals often clear in 1 to 3 plan check cycles with 2 to 6 weeks per cycle, plus 1 to 4 weeks for intake and completeness review.
Can you submit for building plan check before entitlements are approved?
- If your project is discretionary, you typically submit for building plan check after Planning approvals and conditions are set to avoid redesign and repeated reviews.
Do hillside projects add steps to Beverly Hills approvals?
- Yes, hillside projects often require deeper geotechnical analysis, grading permits with haul routes, enhanced stormwater and erosion control, and additional Fire and Public Works coordination.
What documents are most often missing from first submittals?
- Common gaps include geotechnical reports, coordinated civil and grading plans, correct energy documents, arborist information for protected trees, and signed or stamped sheets.
What factors push a project toward the high end of the timeline range?
- Discretionary hearings, CEQA review, significant grading, historic review, public opposition and appeals, incomplete submittals, multiple plan check cycles, and third‑party utility clearances can all extend the schedule.