Los Angeles Permit Expediters & Zoning Experts
Local Knowledge. Personalized Guidance. Technical Expertise.
The Permit Lab is a boutique zoning consulting and permit expediting firm serving Los Angeles County and its many cities — including City of Los Angeles, Pasadena, Glendale, La Canada, San Gabriel, Arcadia. We specialize in helping property owners, architects, and contractors navigate the region’s intricate development approval process with clarity, strategy, and confidence.
From small residential remodels to complex hillside rebuilds, multifamily to commercial projects, every permit journey in Los Angeles is shaped by a patchwork of local rules, state codes, and agency procedures. The Permit Lab was founded to simplify that journey — turning confusion into coordination, and delays into steady progress.
Our Approach to Permit Expediting and Consulting
At The Permit Lab, we believe that efficient permitting begins long before plans are submitted. It starts during the design phase — when early research and smart coordination can make or break a project’s timeline. Our team takes a proactive approach: reviewing zoning regulations, identifying potential red flags, and aligning the design with jurisdictional requirements before it reaches Building & Safety.
This method saves our clients time, money, and stress. Whether you’re planning an ADU, adding a second story, rebuilding after a wildfire, or preparing a subdivision, we help you move forward with accurate information and a clear understanding of what agencies will require.
We see ourselves as a bridge between design and regulation — translating technical requirements into practical solutions. By focusing on coordination, timing, and clear documentation, we help teams submit plans that anticipate agency comments instead of reacting to them — creating a process that’s proactive, efficient, and dependable. The result is an overall experience that feels less bureaucratic and more collaborative.
About the Founder: Carolina Santoro
The Permit Lab was founded by Carolina “Cacá” Santoro, an urban planner and architectural professional with over a decade of experience in Los Angeles–area planning and permitting. Originally trained as an architect in Brazil (BA in Architecture and Urbanism) and holding a Master’s in City and Regional Planning from Georgia Tech, Carolina combines technical precision with a designer’s eye — understanding both the creative vision behind a project and the regulatory framework that governs it.
Before launching The Permit Lab, Carolina spent six years with Los Angeles County’s Department of Regional Planning, where she served in the Special Projects Section. During her tenure, she worked on a wide variety of planning and entitlement cases — including subdivisions, Conditional Use Permits (CUPs), environmental reviews (CEQA), zoning amendments, and complex and many times controversial development projects. This experience gave her an inside perspective on how agencies interpret regulations, process applications, and coordinate across departments — knowledge she now applies directly to her clients’ advantage.
Her role at the County required balancing technical review with community considerations — ensuring that projects complied with zoning codes while responding to neighborhood concerns and broader policy goals. That same balance guides The Permit Lab today: every project deserves both regulatory accuracy and contextual sensitivity.
In addition to her County experience, Carolina also served as a Historic Preservation Commissioner for the City of Pasadena, where she reviewed projects within Pasadena’s historic districts. That experience strengthened her understanding of how design, heritage, and regulation intersect — a key asset when advising on projects in Pasadena, South Pasadena, or other jurisdictions with design review boards or historic preservation programs.
Why Choose The Permit Lab
Los Angeles is not a single permitting system — it’s a network of 80+ jurisdictions, each with its own checklists, submittal standards, and internal review culture. What works in Glendale may not apply in Pasadena or within unincorporated Los Angeles County. Navigating these nuances requires more than paperwork management — it requires insight, relationships, and a working fluency in how local governments operate.
That’s where The Permit Lab stands out. We’re not simply “runners” submitting plans; we’re strategic partners helping you build smarter from the start. Our work goes beyond tracking submittals — we review code interpretations, coordinate responses to agency comments, and ensure your plans tell a clear, compliant story before they reach a counter or portal.
Our services include:
Zoning and Code Consulting – Early research to confirm what’s allowed on your property and identify potential challenges before design development.
Permit Expediting – Streamlined coordination with Building & Safety, Fire, Public Works, and Planning departments across Los Angeles County.
Project Strategy and Submittal Management – Tailored guidance to ensure your plans meet agency standards the first time, reducing the need for costly revisions.
Fire Rebuild and ADU Support – Specialized experience with post-fire reconstruction and accessory dwelling unit permits, including complex sites and hillside lots.
Our Philosophy
Every project tells a story — not only through its architecture, but through the process that brings it to life. At The Permit Lab, we approach permitting as an extension of the design process: strategic, structured, and transparent. We advocate for clarity at every step, helping clients make informed decisions grounded in code and context.
Our boutique scale allows us to offer personalized attention that larger firms often can’t. Clients work directly with Carolina and her team throughout the process — ensuring that every question is answered, every submittal is tracked, and every detail is managed with care.
As Carolina often says: “Permitting doesn’t have to be mysterious. It’s important to design with regulation and the agency in mind — staying proactive instead of reactive.”
Moving Projects Forward
Whether you’re an architect seeking to align design intent with zoning parameters, a homeowner planning an ADU, or a developer preparing a subdivision, The Permit Lab helps turn your vision into approved plans. We combine the insight of a planner, the eye of a designer, and the efficiency of an expediter — creating a process that’s grounded, transparent, and efficient.
With roots in Los Angeles and an eye on every evolving code update, we bring both technical rigor and local intuition to every project we touch.
The Permit Lab — bridging design and regulation across Los Angeles.
THE PERMIT LAB
THE PERMIT LAB