About Ladu Adu Tools
Ladu Adu Tools is an MCP server for ADU research in Los Angeles County, intended for MCP-compatible AI assistants. It combines parcel regulations, city rules, and permit records for buildability checks and cost estimates.
Key features
- 01Address buildability checks
- 02Parcel zoning and overlay lookup
- 03ADU rules for 51 jurisdictions
- 04Permit counts, trends, and valuations
- 05Nearby ADU search
- 06Cost and timeline estimates
Use cases
- 01Assess whether an address can support an ADU
- 02Compare ADU rules in two cities
- 03Estimate a proposed ADU's cost and timeline
- 04Review a city's ADU permit trends
MCP support
It provides MCP clients with tools for querying Los Angeles County ADU parcels, regulations, permits, and costs through a remote server. The service is read-only and requires no authentication.
Configuration
Remote servers need no local install. Pick your client, then copy the config or install in one click.
https://www.ladu.co/mcpclaude mcp add --transport http ladu https://www.ladu.co/mcp{"mcpServers":{"ladu":{"type":"http","url":"https://www.ladu.co/mcp"}}}Open in Cursor{"servers":{"ladu":{"type":"http","url":"https://www.ladu.co/mcp"}}}Open in VS Code{"mcpServers":{"ladu":{"type":"http","url":"https://www.ladu.co/mcp"}}}{"mcpServers":{"ladu":{"serverUrl":"https://www.ladu.co/mcp"}}}Run commands in a terminal; paste JSON into the client’s MCP config and restart. Servers that need sign-in will prompt on first connect.
Tools
10| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| city | string | Yes | City slug (e.g. "los-angeles", "santa-monica", "pasadena"). Use list_cities to get valid slugs. |
| sqFt | number | Yes | Desired square footage. Clamped to 300–1200 (or 300–500 for JADUs). For prefab, snapped to 600 or 1200. |
| type | enum | Yes | ADU type: detached (new standalone unit), attached (addition to main house), garage-conversion, jadu (junior ADU, ≤500 sq ft), or prefab (modular unit at fixed price).detached | attached | garage-conversion | jadu | prefab |
| finishLevel | enum | No | Interior finish quality. Ignored for prefab. Defaults to "standard".standard | premium | luxury |
Details
From the project READMELADU MCP Server
Real ADU data for Los Angeles County, available to any MCP-compatible AI assistant.
Endpoint: https://www.ladu.co/mcp
Protocol: MCP JSON-RPC 2.0 (HTTP transport)
Auth: None — free, public, read-only
Docs: ladu.co/mcp-server
Quick start
Add to your MCP client config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline, etc.):
{
"mcpServers": {
"ladu": {
"url": "https://www.ladu.co/mcp"
}
}
}
No API key. No signup. Restart your client and the tools are available.
Tools
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
check_buildability | Buildability verdict for any LA County address — zoning, overlays (hillside, coastal, fire, flood, historic, fault), ADU rules, nearby permit count |
lookup_parcel_rules | Full regulatory detail for a parcel: zoning, lot size, all applicable overlays, governing jurisdiction's ADU rules |
get_adu_rules | Structured ADU rules for any of 51 supported cities: setbacks, max size, height, parking, permit fees, timeline |
compare_jurisdictions | Side-by-side rule comparison for two cities |
estimate_adu_cost | Cost range + timeline for a given city, square footage, ADU type, and finish level |
get_adu_permit_counts | Total permits, most-recent-year count, YoY change, and median valuation for a city |
get_adu_permit_trends | Year-by-year permit counts and median valuations (2018–present) for a city |
get_adu_permit_valuations | 25th/50th/75th percentile of declared permit valuations by city and optional year |
find_nearby_adus | Permitted ADUs near an address within a radius (default 2 miles) |
list_cities | All 51 supported LA-area cities with slugs, display names, and governing municipality |
Example questions
Once connected, ask your AI assistant:
- "Can I build an ADU at 1234 Main St, Los Angeles?"
- "What are the ADU rules in Santa Monica vs. Pasadena?"
- "How much would a 600 sq ft detached ADU cost in Culver City?"
- "How many ADUs were permitted in LA County in 2024, and what's the trend?"
- "Are people building ADUs near 456 Oak Ave, Pasadena?"
Data
- Permit records: 19,000+ LA County ADU permits from public LA County Assessor and LA City/County Building & Safety records, deduplicated by case number, covering 2018–present
- Parcel data: ~2.4M LA County parcels with zoning, overlays, and regulatory facts
- City rules: Structured regulations for 51 LA-area jurisdictions
Methodology: stats.ladu.co/methodology
Privacy
The server returns property characteristics, zoning, regulations, and aggregate permit statistics. It never returns owner names, contact information, financial details, or mortgage data. It runs against a least-privilege read-only database role — private information is not reachable at the database level.
Rate limiting
Tool calls are rate-limited per client. The server returns HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header and a JSON-RPC -32000 error when the limit is reached.
Built by LADU — Los Angeles ADU specialists.
Comments
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