When 16 feet isn't 16 feet ... crazy ADU height rules!
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- Опубліковано 6 сер 2021
- The way you measure the height of an ADU isn't necessarily the same as how you measure your height. It's not always from top to bottom.
Even though the state said your ADU can be up to 16 feet high, cities and counties are the ones who decide how to measure the height of the ADU!
I go through some examples from the city of San Mateo and reference some San Mateo County rules as well (they're different).
While you might expect that ADU height is measured from the base to the highest peak, that is not always how they are measured. In the city of San Mateo Building Code, they measure Building Height as the distance between grade and the tallest plate. In San Mateo County, there are different definitions depending on the style of roofline (mansard, gable, flat, etc.)
In the example illustration, a house with a 16 ft. building height is 24 feet from grade to peak.
Here's a link to the San Mateo survey: www.opentownhall.com/10551
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I'm a CA builder. The reason we've seen these modern modular looking homes is to maximize space and height. In the most part of CA, the roof loads are such that they don't require snow load support - so shed style roofs allow for more building height.
You don't think Mansards are going to come back in 2022? ;D
Awesome info all around.
Thanks for the kind words. Feel free to ask questions in the comments and I'll try to get to them in future videos.
Very informative channel! I really appreciate your useful and timely information. If I would like to ask for specific advice, any way we can private message you? Thanks.
Thanks :) Yes you can email me at ryan@how-to-adu.com
@@HowToADU
Thank you!
@@HowToADU any recommendations for a contact person in Sacramento. Great info. Looking to convert detached garage with ada, senior living. 64 now but planning ahead to age at home.
Why do building departments have to wonder whether they should be more or less "generous" to the people? If they are more "generous" to the people, do the building departments lose something?
That's a great question. In my view, the planning and building departments have dual roles of keeping people safe and allowing community-members to grow and develop their communities in safe and constructive ways.
So, no, it's not like the building or planning departments lose funding if they allow for taller buildings.
That said, if the planning and building department allowed for very tall ten story buildings in a neighborhood that is only made of one story homes, this can cause a lot of controversy... understandably!
So planning and building departments end up somewhere in the middle. Some cities are great and allow very reasonable standards (for example, San Mateo suggests using the same standards for ADUs that they use for primary homes). Other cities are very restrictive because (in my opinion) they fear what would happen if they promoted any sort of ADU development at all.
Weirdly, in the US, a lot of these rules are governed by local city governments and they are elected by local people who already own houses and, sometimes, don't want their neighborhood to change much.
Complicated answer - but a complicated question!
I guess the short version is that it's about local politics sometimes!
Hi - is it normal for the builder, contractor not to update me with the permit they say they are going to submit to City of Long Beach in 2020? Is this a red flag ADU construction project? Thank you for sharing your videos. Learning a lot from it.
It depends. Without any context, I’d say a lot of builders would like to be trusted to get the job done and respond poorly to being managed very closely. Most of the time, they know how to get a permit and are not great at customer service. This is a conversation you should have with them about what sort of updates you should expect (through the rest of the project). Tell them you want to make sure you do your part on time and need a heads up to have payments ready at the right time.
If Long Beach has a way to check permit status online you can usually look it up with your street address. Or you can often email the planning department to check status of planning and building permits for your address.
I’d also note that sometimes this is a warning sign, but I don’t know enough about your specific situation to say that.
Whoever drafts the legislation doesn’t know anything about construction 😒
Amen. Don’t get me started on title 24 insulation requirements for small homes.
I was looking at Inglewood (in LA county) height rules and it says if you are replacing an existing building within the footprint then the height limit is the standard limit, the standard limit seems to be 40 feet does that actually mean you can build a 4 story ADU there? Have you ever seen an ADU more than 2 stories? I am interested in a townhouse style with garage and then 2 or even 3 stories above the garage, it seems like the most land efficient building style to me.
Fun! Love the vertical density when the neighborhood has resources to support it. Not sure I have enough experience to help you though.
This is a pretty complicated topic and it's further complicated by some new rules that may get signed into law later this month.
Broadly speaking, 4 story ADU is rarely going to be allowed through the typical non-discretionary process for ADUs. And I haven't had the pleasure of working on an ADU over 2 stories (unless it was the conversion of a small space in a very large building).
Having said that, if you're being allowed to use the underlying zoning and that lets you build up to 40 feet, that's pretty exciting and I imagine you might be able to fit 3 floors above a garage (depending on roof style, ceiling height, how they measure building height, and where your lot is compared to grade, amongst other things).
@@HowToADU Thanks for the input, I was not sure if there was some kind of rule specifically limiting ADUs to 2 stories that I just wasn't aware of since I have been completely unable to find any examples of 3+ story ADUs. I will look into getting some consultations/quotes and see. It looks like you live in SF area do you consult for LA area? Even if not if I end up doing something interesting I'll get back to you and maybe you'd like to come down to make a video.
@@probst9999999999 The state rules don't specifically have a height limit in them, but they allow local jurisdictions to impose a 16 foot height limit if they want (or any less restrictive height limit they want).
I consult down your way remotely; you can book paid calls on the website at how-to-adu.com/get-started-booking though making it down in person for videos is quite time consuming and expensive!! :) Love a good phone call though.
Hey there, new law on horizon that may raise height to 18' for freestanding ADU (under certain conditions), and 25' for attached to existing house.
Almost there :) not done yet
@@HowToADU will Gavin sign?
@@albertlopez2762 Fingers crossed. I hope he'll thoroughly enjoy making a lot of press about signing a boatload of zoning reform all at once. The legislative session is almost over so we'll wait and see. There are a LOT of good bills in this year's session. Surprisingly high number.
Is a basement an adu
You are in Marin correct. I'd like to buy you lunch.... a working lunch.....willing to pay for your time re ADU's. Send me a message if so. K
Aww thanks. Im in napa so not too far. You can email me at ryan@how-to-adu.com