Site Menu. An Accessory Dwelling Unit or ADU is an attached or detached residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more persons and is located on a lot with a proposed or existing primary residence. It must include permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation on the same lot as the primary residence.
A Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit or JADU is a unit that is no more than square feet in size and contained entirely within a single-family residence located in a single-family zone. A JADU may include separate sanitation facilities or may share sanitation facilities with the existing structure. The JADU or single-family residence must be owner-occupied.
There are no exemptions. Apply for a Building Permit. The maximum number of ADUs is only limited by the maximum floor area ratio and maximum lot coverage requirements of the underlying zone. Outside of sustainable development areas, where a project proposes qualifying on-site deed-restricted ADUs Table A , the maximum number of bonus ADUs is one.
Accessible units must meet the requirements of Chapter 11A of the California Building Code and must be located on an accessible route as defined by the California Building Code. Applications that utilize preapproved plans will be subject to a day review and must comply with the development regulations contained in the San Diego Municipal Code. Note: In order to utilize a preapproved plan, applicants must directly reach out to the ADU provider to find the cost to license the preapproved plan for their own ADUs.
Applicants may also apply to have their plans preapproved for use by others. Once a plan is preapproved, it will be posted on the DSD website with the applicant's contact information alongside other preapproved plans. If the side or rear property line are next to another premises that is residentially zoned or developed with exclusively residential uses, an ADU with a structure height that exceeds 16 feet or is multi-story must observe a 4-foot setback on the sides and rear.
