By neighborhood

Eight neighborhoods, eight different rebuilds

The Alphabet Streets are permitting three times faster than anywhere else. The Highlands has sold more lots than it has pulled permits. Terrain, covenants and coastal review explain nearly all of it.

Reviewed July 27, 2026

Side by side

How they compare

Neighborhood	Terrain	Permit path	Permits	Lots sold
Alphabet StreetsThe fastest-moving neighborhood in the Palisades rebuild, and the one where framing is densest.	Flat grid	Most straightforward	29	11
Via BluffsSecond only to the Alphabet Streets in permits issued, with bluff-proximity adding drainage and setback review.	Flat to bluff-edge	Moderate	17	7
El Medio BluffsStrong permit volume paired with one of the highest vacant-lot sale counts in the Palisades.	Bluff-edge	Moderate	15	11
Huntington PalisadesThe largest flat lots in the Palisades, the highest-value rebuilds, and design review that shapes what gets approved.	Large flat lots	Moderate	—	—
Marquez KnollsRecorded view covenants still bind ground-up reconstruction here — the single biggest trap for owners planning a taller rebuild.	Hillside	Complex	—	7
Palisades HighlandsThe most vacant-lot sales of any Palisades neighborhood, and among the fewest permits. The gap is the story.	Canyon hillside	Complex	6	15
The RivieraEstate-scale hillside parcels where geotechnical coordination, not permit volume, sets the pace.	Estate hillside	Complex	—	5
Castellammare & Sunset MesaCoastal bluff with landslide history, where a Coastal Development Permit can add four to six months.	Coastal bluff	Complex	5	2

Permits are one month of issuance — a sample of 93 permits as of February 28, 2026, not cumulative totals. Lot sales as of March 31, 2026. Both via Westside Current. A dash means the neighborhood was not separately broken out in that dataset — not that the figure is zero. "Permit path" is our own reading of the terrain and review burden, not an official classification.

The detail

Each neighborhood in full

Flat grid

Most straightforward

Alphabet Streets

Nearly a third of all permits issued in the February 2026 sample went to the Alphabet Streets — more than any other neighborhood by a wide margin.

Read the detail

Flat to bluff-edge

Moderate

Via Bluffs

The Via streets recorded 17 issued permits in the February 2026 sample — the second-highest count in the Palisades.

Read the detail

Bluff-edge

Moderate

El Medio Bluffs

El Medio is rebuilding quickly and turning over quickly at the same time — 15 permits issued and 11 lots sold.

Read the detail

Large flat lots

Moderate

Huntington Palisades

Huntington’s constraint is not terrain — it is the deed restrictions and design expectations that govern what can be built on these lots.

Read the detail

Hillside

Complex

Marquez Knolls

A June 2026 ruling indicated Marquez Knolls view protections apply to ground-up reconstruction, not just remodels. Height is a legal question here before it is a design one.

Read the detail

Canyon hillside

Complex

Palisades Highlands

Fifteen lots sold — more than anywhere else in the Palisades — against just six permits issued in the February 2026 sample.

Read the detail

Estate hillside

Complex

The Riviera

Low permit counts here reflect project scale and complexity rather than owner hesitation — these are long-runway custom builds.

Read the detail

Coastal bluff

Complex

Castellammare & Sunset Mesa

This is where the Coastal Act matters most. Qualifying for the disaster exemption — or not — can swing your timeline by half a year.

Read the detail