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Without Us, You’re Stuck.
With Us, You’re Approved.

Navigating LA County’s zoning and permit process without an expert isn’t just frustrating—it’s a risk. Miss a step, misinterpret a code, or hit the wrong bureaucratic wall, and your project could stall for months.

Architects are visionaries, but even the best struggle with the relentless grind of approvals…

That’s where Whitestone comes in.

Pre-construction Management

We don’t just manage permits—we remove roadblocks, cut through red tape, and get projects approved. While others get lost in the process, we live it, breathe it, and master it. It’s why top architects trust us to handle the bureaucracy, ensuring their designs become reality without delays, headaches, or costly mistakes. Skipping Whitestone isn’t just inefficient—it’s bad strategy.

Diligence &
Feasibility

  • Agency Negotiation
  • Case Management
  • Complex Strategy
  • Pointed Research

Conservative
Analysis

  • Risk Level Transparency
  • Timing Transparency
  • Inspector Liaison
  • Order to Comply
  • Supervisor Escalation

Consulting &
Liaison

Land Use
Filing
  • Adaptive Reuse
  • Coastal Development
  • Conditional Use (CUB, CUP, CUX)
  • Density Bonus
  • Design Overlay
  • Easement Vacation
  • ED1
  • ENV / EAF
  • Fence Height Cases
  • HPOZ
  • Private Streets
  • SB9
  • Sign District
  • Small Lot Development
  • Specific Plan
  • Subdivision of Land (Parcel / Tract)
  • Urban Lot Split
  • Yard Cases
  • Zoning Adjustments
  • Zoning Determinations
  • Zoning Variance
Plancheck
Management
  • Addition
  • New construction
  • Remodel
  • Site work
  • Tenant Improvement
  • Raw Land
Consultant
Advice
  • Arborist
  • Attorney
  • Biologist
  • Civil engineer
  • Contractor
  • Developer
  • Draftsman
  • Geo technical engineer
  • Interior designer
  • Investor
  • Preservationist
  • Real estate agent
  • Structural engineer
  • Surety bonds
  • Surveyor
  • Tax specialist
  • Therapist
  • Title company

Our Projects

THEATRE AND VENUE PROJECTS

MIXED USE MULTI-FAMILY

COASTAL DEVELOPMENT

SINGLE FAMILY ESTATES & HILLSIDE DEVELOPMENT

INDUSTRIAL / COMMERCIAL TI

PARCEL MAPS & TRACT MAPS

SB9, LOT SPLIT, SMALL LOT, ADUS

NATIONAL REGISTER HISTORIC LANDMARKS

COMMERCIAL RETAIL

Hundreds of Unique Projects...

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Hundreds of Unique Projects Where Whitestone has Consulted or Obtained Approvals

Testimonials

On a wide variety of projects - from new buildings to adaptive re-use, and historic preservation projects - Jake Malott and his company Whitestone have become an invaluable help to our office. His efficiency, expertise and connections make working with him productive and smooth at all levels of a project. In the end, our clients are the main beneficiaries of Jake's precise input.
Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena​ Principals,Escher GuneWardana Architecture
We've been working with Jake Malott at Whitestone for a couple of years now. No one else offers the rigor and attention to detail that Jake and his team provide. If you want something done - Whitestone will make it happen.

Andre Herrero, AIA, NCARB Principal, Charlap Hyman & Herrero
Jake has been an invaluable resource when it comes to navigating municipal processes and approvals. His team is extremely knowledgeable, responsive and efficient with everyone’s time. We are wrapping up a project that would’ve have taken significantly longer without his involvement, and will be cutting him loose on another one shortly. Highly recommend Whitestone!
Ross Thompson
Director, Cypress Real Estate Advisors
My experience working with Whitestone has been outstanding. Through their knowledge of the permitting process and their responsive and professional communication Whitestone helped us deliver more value to our clients. I look forward to working with Jake and his team in the future!
Arshia Mahmoodi Principal, Arshia Architects

Streamlined Process

Initial Consultation

We’ll help you understand what’s possible on your property, and get clear requirements defined.
(60 minutes complimentary)

Build the Team

Once contracted we help you select the right architect, engineers, and consultants to design and permit your project.

Agency Approval Process

We project manage the entitlements and permitting, keeping the design team on track and interfacing with the city as a liaison for you and your project.

Permits Issued

We are in your corner all the way to "Permits Issued" and we'll keep a digital backup of all your files so you can pick back up where you left off.

Average Plan Check Timeline
We know that strong organization & communication on our end makes life a breeze on yours. We pride ourselves on walking with clients through each step of the plan check process, no matter your project—so you can enjoy more & stress (way) less.
We know that strong organization & communication on our end makes life a breeze on yours. We pride ourselves on walking with clients through each step of the plan check process, no matter your project—so you can enjoy more & stress (way) less.
Average Discretionary Timeline
A city’s bureaucratic processes can be stressful, and yes, Los Angeles is tougher than most. Setting expectations and communicating process helps. Lucky for you, we do both.
A city’s bureaucratic processes can be stressful, and yes, Los Angeles is tougher than most. Setting expectations and communicating process helps. Lucky for you, we do both.

Typical Phases In Detail

PHASE I
Diligence & Analysis

  1. We gather all available records to determine what exists legally.
  2. We review legal zoning and building code to determine what you can build legally.
  3. We identify any exemptions, or exceptions in the law, which help you build more.
  4. We work with your architect to interpret the legal code to design a compliant project.

PHASE II
Submittal & Plan Check Management

  1. We conduct a preliminary review of the blueprints before submitting to the city.
  2. We prepare applications and forms that will be expected, to reduce the amount of corrections.
  3. We submit to the city for building and zoning review. 
  4. While we wait for your 1st round of city comments, we begin applying to known agency reviews (i.e. Fire, Public Works, Planning) so that we shave weeks or months from your overall timeline.
  5. When we receive your 1st round of city comments, we annotate them, organize them, and review with your architect, so they focus on the right deliverables.
  6. While your architect addresses city comments, we file paperwork, research city comments and complete other agency reviews – so you have two teams addressing city comments in parallel.
  7. During this process we act as an agent of both owner and architect to negotiate with city officials for a faster approval.
  8. We continue this review cycle (usually 3 times) of addressing city comments, until approval.

PHASE III
Approved Drawings
We're Your Expert on Call

  1. In construction, occasionally changes are made which require city communication.
  2. Your building team stays on site, working, while we obtain city answers quickly.
  3. If your inspector requires an engineer to sign off on changes, we respond on your behalf.
  4. We are experts in regulatory compliance so your team makes good decisions quickly.

Why Use a Land Use
Consultant / Expediter

Q - Shouldn't my architect be an expert at all of this? Why do I need you?

A – A single jurisdiction may have hundreds of pages of building code, and architects work all over your county or state, or even nationally. It would be nearly impossible for them to have expertise in every local jurisdiction’s hundreds of pages of legal code. This same process varies with individual projects.

We work locally not nationally, so we know the local codes as expert.

Q - But can't my architect just go to the city and ask where the answers are?

A – Every jurisdiction has a different submittal process, different standards, and different procedures for getting an approval. These local processes can also vary for every individual project.

Do you want your architect spending a few days a week trying to navigate unique problems for each one of their projects?

Your project is likely not their only one.

Q - How long does it really take to learn these processes and procedures? I could do it myself, to help the architect, and save some money.

A – The old school way of training an apprentice day by day to become an expert in city process takes 3 – 4 years. At Whitestone we have built a training platform that streamlines the knowledge process for our staff to 9 months. This amounts to over 1500 hours of training.

Do you really have the time or patience to manage this yourself?

Q - I can just go with a smaller architect who has less projects, they'll be able to balance this time.

A – In our experience, small shops over promise and under deliver, without hiring us. It’s a professional and pragmatic decision to hire a land use consultant. We have many small shops who come to us months later when they realize they are in over their head. They begin taking on new work to pay their bills, and your project gets moved to the back of their queue.

Q - I am somewhat convinced but I'm having a hard time justifying the costs.

A – In Real Estate Development you pay for time. Every month of delays costs you tens of thousands of dollars in holding costs. Contractors may leave their commitment if your project doesn’t arrive on schedule, and building materials costs can rise 10% on average annually.

Our expertise shaves months off your approval process, justifying the costs quickly.

Q - Okay I believe you but how do I know you can manage my project efficiently?

A – We have developed proprietary systems and processes that leverage project management software allowing us to create alerts, and stay organized across dozens of projects. With our system, a single project manager can effectively manage 20-30 projects. With our staff we effectively manage hundreds of projects annually.

Our Team

Jake Malott

Principal / Founder

Elizabeth Optholt

Sr Planning Consultant

John Warner

Sr Project Manager

Gabriella Carrillo

Project Manager

Karla Mora

Associate Project Manager

Aylar Ebrahimi

Office Manager / Admin

Kristan Lagman

Project Manager

Peter Liu

Project Manager
Accepting Applications

Contact Us To Start Your Journey Today