Datasets:

RENOLOGY
/

permittimelines

---
license: cc-by-4.0
pretty_name: Garage-Conversion and ADU Building Permit Timelines for Four U.S. Cities
language:
  - en
tags:
  - housing
  - building-permits
  - accessory-dwelling-unit
  - open-government-data
  - urban-planning
  - los-angeles
  - san-diego
  - san-francisco
  - seattle
size_categories:
  - 10K<n<100K
configs:
  - config_name: records
    data_files: permit-records.csv.gz
    default: true
  - config_name: cohorts
    data_files: permit-cohorts.csv
  - config_name: timelines
    data_files: permit-timelines.csv
---
# Garage-Conversion and ADU Building Permit Timelines for Four U.S. Cities

64,427 residential garage-to-ADU and garage-to-habitable-room conversion
permit applications for **Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and
Seattle**, with measured application-to-issuance waits, application-year
cohort completion rates, and small-cell-suppressed timeline aggregates.

Every number is reproducible from the committed, dependency-free build
script in the [source repository](https://github.com/asafichaki/permittimelines),
which fetches directly from each city's official open-data portal. No number
is typed by hand. Version 2026.1, retrieved 2026-08-24.

Record coverage follows each city's published history (San Francisco from
1980, Seattle from 2000, San Diego from 2001); Los Angeles begins in 2020 by
design, because its application dataset starts there.

Also available as an R package:
`pak::pak("asafichaki/permittimelines")`.

## Files

| File | Rows | What |
|---|---|---|
| `permit-records.csv.gz` | 64,427 | One row per unique application: city, public permit id, applied/issued dates, days to issue, project (`adu` / `habitable-room`), review track, permit type group |
| `permit-cohorts.csv` | 43 | Per city × application year: submitted, issued, resolved share, publishable flag |
| `permit-timelines.csv` | 72 | Per city × dimension × group: n, p25/median/p75/p90 days, within-30/60/90/180/365 shares, suppression flag |

## Method

1. Cohorts are formed on the **application year**, never the issue year.
2. Records are **deduplicated on the permit number** first.
3. Review tracks are **never pooled** into one median.
4. Any aggregate cell under 30 records is **suppressed**.
5. Only cohorts with roughly 75% of applications resolved enter the
   aggregates; younger cohorts are censored toward fast permits.

## Interpretation caveats

- The measured wait is the homeowner's calendar wait, **not** a statutory
  compliance measure: California Government Code 66317 runs its 60-day ADU
  clock from a *completed* application and tolls on applicant delay; these
  records carry only the submission date.
- An application with an empty `issued_date` had no issued permit when the
  records were retrieved. That may be a stalled review or an abandoned
  project; the records do not distinguish the two, and none are marked
  denied.
- Cross-city level comparison is not apples-to-apples; the trend within a
  city is sound.

## Privacy

No names, addresses, coordinates, or free-text work descriptions. Only
public permit identifiers, dates, and categorical fields.

## Sources and citation

DOI: [10.5281/zenodo.22079794](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22079794) (Zenodo, all versions)


Original sources, all public record: [LADBS](https://data.lacity.org/d/pi9x-tg5x)
([applications](https://data.lacity.org/d/gwh9-jnip)),
[San Diego DSD](https://data.sandiego.gov/datasets/development-permits-set1/),
[San Francisco DBI](https://data.sfgov.org/d/i98e-djp9),
[Seattle SDCI](https://data.seattle.gov/d/76t5-zqzr).

Prepared version: [Renology permit timeline data page](https://www.therenology.com/data/permit-timelines) (downloadable CSV and JSON), with an [interactive explorer](https://www.therenology.com/tools/permit-timeline).
No city endorses this preparation. Cite the city agencies as the original
sources and Renology as the prepared version.

	---
	license: cc-by-4.0
	pretty_name: Garage-Conversion and ADU Building Permit Timelines for Four U.S. Cities
	language:
	- en
	tags:
	- housing
	- building-permits
	- accessory-dwelling-unit
	- open-government-data
	- urban-planning
	- los-angeles
	- san-diego
	- san-francisco
	- seattle
	size_categories:
	- 10K<n<100K
	configs:
	- config_name: records
	data_files: permit-records.csv.gz
	default: true
	- config_name: cohorts
	data_files: permit-cohorts.csv
	- config_name: timelines
	data_files: permit-timelines.csv
	---

	# Garage-Conversion and ADU Building Permit Timelines for Four U.S. Cities

	64,427 residential garage-to-ADU and garage-to-habitable-room conversion
	permit applications for **Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and
	Seattle**, with measured application-to-issuance waits, application-year
	cohort completion rates, and small-cell-suppressed timeline aggregates.

	Every number is reproducible from the committed, dependency-free build
	script in the [source repository](https://github.com/asafichaki/permittimelines),
	which fetches directly from each city's official open-data portal. No number
	is typed by hand. Version 2026.1, retrieved 2026-08-24.

	Record coverage follows each city's published history (San Francisco from
	1980, Seattle from 2000, San Diego from 2001); Los Angeles begins in 2020 by
	design, because its application dataset starts there.

	Also available as an R package:
	`pak::pak("asafichaki/permittimelines")`.

	## Files

	\| File \| Rows \| What \|
	\|---\|---\|---\|
	\| `permit-records.csv.gz` \| 64,427 \| One row per unique application: city, public permit id, applied/issued dates, days to issue, project (`adu` / `habitable-room`), review track, permit type group \|
	\| `permit-cohorts.csv` \| 43 \| Per city × application year: submitted, issued, resolved share, publishable flag \|
	\| `permit-timelines.csv` \| 72 \| Per city × dimension × group: n, p25/median/p75/p90 days, within-30/60/90/180/365 shares, suppression flag \|

	## Method

	1. Cohorts are formed on the application year, never the issue year.
	2. Records are deduplicated on the permit number first.
	3. Review tracks are never pooled into one median.
	4. Any aggregate cell under 30 records is suppressed.
	5. Only cohorts with roughly 75% of applications resolved enter the
	aggregates; younger cohorts are censored toward fast permits.

	## Interpretation caveats

	- The measured wait is the homeowner's calendar wait, not a statutory
	compliance measure: California Government Code 66317 runs its 60-day ADU
	clock from a completed application and tolls on applicant delay; these
	records carry only the submission date.
	- An application with an empty `issued_date` had no issued permit when the
	records were retrieved. That may be a stalled review or an abandoned
	project; the records do not distinguish the two, and none are marked
	denied.
	- Cross-city level comparison is not apples-to-apples; the trend within a
	city is sound.

	## Privacy

	No names, addresses, coordinates, or free-text work descriptions. Only
	public permit identifiers, dates, and categorical fields.

	## Sources and citation

	DOI: [10.5281/zenodo.22079794](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22079794) (Zenodo, all versions)


	Original sources, all public record: [LADBS](https://data.lacity.org/d/pi9x-tg5x)
	([applications](https://data.lacity.org/d/gwh9-jnip)),
	[San Diego DSD](https://data.sandiego.gov/datasets/development-permits-set1/),
	[San Francisco DBI](https://data.sfgov.org/d/i98e-djp9),
	[Seattle SDCI](https://data.seattle.gov/d/76t5-zqzr).

	Prepared version: [Renology permit timeline data page](https://www.therenology.com/data/permit-timelines) (downloadable CSV and JSON), with an [interactive explorer](https://www.therenology.com/tools/permit-timeline).
	No city endorses this preparation. Cite the city agencies as the original
	sources and Renology as the prepared version.