AXE CONSTRUCTION INC · CSLB Lic #1069232 · Class B General Building · Licensed and insured since 2020 · Verify our license
Axe Construction builds new homes in Pasadena from the ground up: full Eaton Fire rebuilds, detached and two-story ADUs, garage-conversion ADUs and custom homes, delivered under one design-build contract. We prepare the plan set with licensed design partners, take it through the City of Pasadena Permit Center, and build to final inspection.
AXE CONSTRUCTION INC · CSLB Lic #1069232 · Class B General Building
A ground-up project in Pasadena has more moving parts than most homeowners expect. There is survey and soils work, a design that fits zoning and any hillside or historic rules, structural and Title 24 energy documents, plan check, utility coordination, and a sequence of inspections before the city signs off. When one company owns that whole chain, nothing waits in the gap between a designer and a builder.
Our design-build process runs in five stages:
The City of Pasadena issues its own permits. The Permit Center is part of the Building & Safety Division of the Planning & Community Development Department, at 175 North Garfield Avenue. It provides development review and permit services in one place. Pasadena uses concurrent plan review, so the required reviewers look at a submittal at the same time instead of one after another.
Two local review layers affect many new-construction projects:
We identify these requirements at the feasibility stage, so they are part of the schedule from the start instead of a surprise in the correction letter. As your general contractor we handle the submittals, corrections, inspection scheduling and close-out.
One distinction matters for Eaton Fire families: Altadena is unincorporated Los Angeles County, so Altadena rebuilds are permitted by LA County, not by the City of Pasadena. Addresses inside Pasadena city limits go through the Pasadena Permit Center.
The Eaton Fire destroyed 185 structures inside Pasadena city limits. According to the city, the overwhelming majority were single-family homes and accessory structures in Upper Hastings Ranch, Victory-Rose, Dundee Heights and NATHA. City inspectors posted 133 red placards.
Pasadena responded with a rebuild ordinance and fee relief. Here is what the city has published:
By January 2026 the city had received 81 rebuild plan checks and issued 24 building permits, and the first rebuilt home received occupancy approval in November 2025. The state’s LA fires dashboard tracks Pasadena’s rebuild permits, average review times and certificates of occupancy, and it is updated as the city reports.
What this means for your project: a rebuild that stays within the like-for-like limits is the fastest path. A larger home or added second story can trigger full hillside review, which takes longer. We map your options against the ordinance before design starts. See our full fire rebuild services for how we run a rebuild from cleared lot to finished home.
We rebuild homes that were destroyed. That means foundation, structure, systems and finishes, built to current code, with the plan set prepared for Pasadena’s rebuild ordinance. Debris removal and cleanup are handled by others before we start.
A detached accessory dwelling unit is a separate home on your lot, with its own kitchen, bathroom and entrance. Where the lot and rules allow, a two-story ADU adds living space without using more yard. See our ADU construction services.
Converting an existing garage into a legal ADU reuses a structure you already have. We handle the structural, energy and fire-separation work the conversion needs, and the permit that makes it a legal unit. See our garage conversion ADUs.
On a vacant lot or a cleared site, we build a new custom home designed around your lot, your budget and Pasadena’s zoning. See our new home construction in Los Angeles page for how that process works across the region.
Every project above can run as design-build: one contract and one team responsible for design coordination, permits and construction.
We are not a remodeling company. We do not take remodels, renovations, repairs, room additions or handyman work, and we do not do fire cleanup or smoke and water restoration. Our work is new construction: rebuilds, ADUs and custom homes.
Pasadena updated its ADU and junior ADU regulations on May 20, 2024. The city’s own ADU Standard Plans expired on December 31, 2025, because of updates to the California Building Code. Since January 1, 2026, those plans may be used only on properties that were red-tagged in the Eaton Fire, and any change to a plan sends it to full plan review.
For most homeowners, that means a new ADU in Pasadena needs a custom plan set designed for the lot. The city also runs the Pasadena Second Unit ADU Program, which offers assistance with financing, design, permitting and construction for owners who agree to rent the ADU as an affordable unit. If you lost a garage or guest house in the fire, ask us whether an ADU should be part of your rebuild, and remember that the fee waiver does not cover structures that did not exist before the fire.
Founder Tomer Fedida earned his law degree at Loyola Law School and spent 14 years in Los Angeles real estate development before leading Axe Construction. He is a licensed California attorney as well as the qualifying general contractor on CSLB License #1069232. That background shows up in three places most builders leave to chance: the contract you sign, the ordinances and permits your project depends on, and the insurance scope that funds a rebuild. Axe Construction does not provide legal services; it builds with the fine print already read.
What that means for you over the life of the project:
Most construction disputes start in the contract, not on the job site. I went to law school before I became a contractor, so every agreement we write spells out scope, allowances, change orders and the schedule in plain terms. When nothing is left vague, there is nothing to argue about later.
A rebuild ordinance is a legal document first. I read it the way I was trained to, line by line, before we draw anything. That is how we know what a lot allows and what it does not, and it is why our plan checks run with fewer surprises.
Axe Construction has completed a project in Pasadena and has taken plans through the Pasadena Permit Center first-hand, so the city’s review steps, correction letters and inspection sequence are familiar ground. Ask us about our Pasadena work when you schedule a consultation and we will walk you through the process we followed.
Learn more about Axe Construction.
The City of Pasadena issues building permits through its Permit Center, part of the Building & Safety Division of the Planning & Community Development Department at 175 North Garfield Avenue. Pasadena reviews plans concurrently across departments. Altadena addresses are different: they are unincorporated Los Angeles County, so those rebuilds are permitted by LA County rather than the city.
Yes, within limits. Pasadena’s rebuild ordinance lets you exceed the previous footprint or floor area by 10% or 200 square feet, whichever is greater, without a land-use permit, provided setbacks are met or match the prior home. A bigger home or added second story usually needs full planning review, including hillside review where it applies.
For eligible properties, yes. In August 2025 the City Council waived plan-check and building-permit fees for red-tagged Eaton Fire sites and reduced the waste-management deposit to $1,000 per site. Water service fees are not waived, and new structures that did not exist before the fire are excluded. We confirm eligibility with the city before submittal.
You can, but the city treats it as a new use. Pasadena’s fee waiver specifically excludes converting a destroyed structure to another use, such as reconstructing a garage as an accessory dwelling unit, so normal plan-check and permit fees apply to that portion. Many owners still choose it for rental income or family housing.
Only for fire-affected properties. The city’s ADU Standard Plans expired on December 31, 2025, after California Building Code updates. Since January 1, 2026, they can be used only on properties red-tagged in the Eaton Fire, and plans cannot be modified. Other homeowners need a custom ADU plan set reviewed through standard plan check.
Usually, yes. Pasadena has 30 designated landmark districts, plus its National Register historic districts. New construction in those districts requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before the city issues a building permit. Smaller projects are reviewed by staff and larger ones by the Historic Preservation Commission. We check your parcel’s status during feasibility.
The city set a goal of reviewing a first rebuild submittal within two weeks and later submittals within one week. The state’s dashboard reported Pasadena averaging 135 calendar days from application to permit issuance across all rebuild applications. Clean, complete plan sets with fewer correction rounds move fastest.
A Class B license from the California Contractors State License Board lets a contractor manage and build structures that involve multiple trades, such as new homes and ADUs. The general contractor runs the job, schedules subcontractors and inspections, and is responsible for building to the approved plans. Axe Construction holds Class B License #1069232.
Use the license lookup on the Contractors State License Board website. Enter the license number to see the business name, classification, status, bond and workers’ compensation information, and any complaints. For Axe Construction, search License #1069232. The CSLB points fire survivors to its Disaster Help Center to verify a license or file a complaint.
Planning a fire rebuild, an ADU or a new custom home in Pasadena? Call (323) 729-3140 or Schedule a consultation through our contact page. We will review your lot, the rules that apply to it, and the path to a building permit.
AXE CONSTRUCTION INC · CSLB Lic #1069232 · Class B General Building
8383 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 363, Beverly Hills, CA 90211 · (323) 729-3140