We would like to provide an update regarding rebuilding guidelines for properties impacted by the recent fires and the newly enacted Civil Code Section 4752 (effective January 1, 2026). The new law is designed to allow owners to build a “substantially similar” home to that which was destroyed. The law provides that homeowners affected by the fire may rebuild a property up to 110% of their prior interior livable square footage. If you intend to rebuild under Civil Code Section 4752, then along with your architectural submission, please also include documentation verifying your prior interior livable square footage, your prior foot/area ratio and your prior height so that we can confirm you are within the 110% limitations. If you are within the 110% limitation of your prior interior livable square footage, the Board will grant a variance for the interior livable square footage. Consistent with the above variance, should you be relying on Civil Code Section 4752 and your current design exceeds the 63% footage/area ratio the Board will grant a variance to allow you to go up to the lesser of 110% of your prior footage/area ratio or 69.3%. Similarly, and consistent with the above variances, should you be relying on Civil Code Section 4752 and your current design exceeds the 28-foot height limit, the Board will grant a variance to allow you to go up to the lesser of 110% of your prior height or 30 feet, 9 19/32 inches.

The above three variances only apply to those homeowners relying upon Civil Code Section 4752 and will only apply while that law is in effect. You still must submit the standard architectural application which will be reviewed for compliance with all other applicable CC&R provisions and architectural guidelines. This allowance is intended to provide flexibility during the re-building process while ensuring consistency within the community. If you are seeking a variance under the new law, and to expedite the review of your architectural application, you are strongly encouraged to include all relevant information with your application, including evidence of the livable square footage of the home destroyed by the fire, as well as a comparison of the proposed and pre-existing locations, exterior dimensions, lot size, setbacks, and heights of all structures. We encourage homeowners planning to rebuild to contact management or attend the virtual Architectural Office Hours (every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30am) for guidance prior to submitting plans or during the planning process. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please do not hesitate to reach out.