ADU rules in Burbank

Detached ADUs are a permitted use in the R-1, R-1-H, R-2, R-3, R-4, MDR-3 and MDR-4 zones and on any other lot with an existing or proposed single-family or multifamily dwelling where state law requires it (§ 10-1-620.3(B); Tables 10-1-602 and 10-1-627 list ADUs as P, and Table 10-1-502 marks them S, allowed when state law requires, in the commercial, industrial and mixed-use zones but not in the OS, AP, RR and AD zones). New detached units need 4-foot side and rear setbacks, may go in the front setback only when an 800 sq ft unit is otherwise physically infeasible, and may be built as a second story over a detached garage (§ 10-1-620.3(G), (H)). The code's one-ADU limit on single-family lots yields to Gov. Code 66323(a), which allows a new detached unit of up to 800 sq ft together with a conversion ADU and a JADU, and HCD told the city in April and May 2026 that one locally permitted ADU may be added to those; the 7-28-2026 staff report says staff already processes applications consistent with state law. Two local limits still bite: the R-1-H horsekeeping (Rancho) zone allows no new-construction ADU at all, only conversions of a permitted garage, a permitted guest unit or space in the house, and R-1 and R-1-H lots in the hillside Mountain Fire Zone may have only one ADU of up to 800 sq ft or one JADU (§ 10-1-620.3(M), (N)), both of which conflict with Gov. Code 66323(a) for state-exempt units (see caveats).

Attached ADUs (joined to the house by a shared wall, or by an abutting wall along at least half the ADU wall's length or 5 feet, whichever is greater) and conversions of existing space are allowed in the same zones, and they follow the height limits for the house in Table 10-1-603(A) (in R-1, 20 feet to top plate and 30 feet to a pitched roof) (§ 10-1-620.3(B), (G)(1)). One JADU of up to 500 sq ft may be created within the walls of a single-family home or its attached garage, with a separate entrance and an efficiency kitchen (§ 10-1-620.3(P)(1)-(8)). On multifamily lots, ADUs may be carved out of non-livable space such as storage rooms, garages and basements, up to 25 percent of the existing units and at least one (§ 10-1-620.3(O)(2)). In the R-1-H zone, additions to or conversions of the main house are allowed only outside the rear 35 feet reserved for horsekeeping (§ 10-1-620.3(N)(1)(d)). The code bars a JADU on a lot with more than one detached single-family house (§ 10-1-620.3(P)(2)), a limit HCD's April 2026 preliminary review called inconsistent with Gov. Code 66333(a).

Section 10-1-620.3(F)(2) caps every new attached or detached ADU at 850 sq ft, or 1,000 sq ft with more than one bedroom, measured from exterior wall to exterior wall (to the midpoint of a shared wall), and (F)(3) and (G)(5) count space taller than 12 feet, and attics over 5 feet in a one-story ADU, twice; since 1-1-2026 Gov. Code 66321(b)(2) sets the 850/1,000 sq ft floors in interior livable space, so the exterior-wall measurement cannot push a unit below those interior figures, and HCD's April 2026 review of the city's draft flagged both the measurement and the double counting. A permitted accessory structure may be converted at its full size if larger, plus up to 150 sq ft for ingress and egress, while a permitted guest unit converts at its approved size or 850/1,000 sq ft, whichever is less; one ADU per lot may grow by up to 120 sq ft when an extra on-site parking stall beyond the minimum is provided and deed-restricted (§ 10-1-620.3(F)(4), (F)(7)-(9)). ADUs are exempt from FAR, lot coverage and open space limits (F)(1); front-yard ADUs and ADUs in the Mountain Fire Zone are capped at 800 sq ft ((H)(2)(b), (M)(1)(a)), and JADUs at 500 sq ft ((P)(1)). Heights: detached 17 feet, or 18 feet within one-half mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor (plus 2 feet for a roof pitch matching the house) or beside a multistory multifamily building, and 20 feet to top plate and 23 feet overall for an ADU above a garage or accessory structure ((G)(2)-(3)). The figures are low confidence because HCD's records show no Burbank ordinance newer than 2020: if Ord. 23-4,002 is void under Gov. Code 66326(d) or 66316, the state standards (1,200 sq ft detached, 50 percent of the house attached with an 800 sq ft floor) would apply instead (see caveats).

Burbank does not require the owner to live on a lot with an ADU: § 10-1-620.3(I) keeps its owner-occupancy covenant text in the code but suspends it by a Special Note stating that the City shall not impose it, with a clause reviving it if state law ever allowed it, and Gov. Code 66315 now bars owner-occupancy conditions on ADUs outright. For JADUs the code still requires owner occupancy and a recorded covenant in every case (§ 10-1-620.3(P)(13)) and the city's July 2024 FAQ repeats that, but since 1-1-2026 Gov. Code 66333(b) allows the requirement only where the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the house, so a JADU with its own bathroom carries no owner-occupancy rule; government agencies, land trusts and housing organizations are exempt either way. A JADU still needs a recorded deed restriction barring separate sale and fixing its size and attributes (§ 10-1-620.3(P)(3)-(4); Gov. Code 66333(c)).

Section 10-1-620.3(C)(1) limits ADU parking to one space per ADU or per bedroom, whichever is less, and the city's FAQ says one on-site space is provided when no exemption applies; spaces may be tandem, in an existing driveway or in setback areas, and a new curb cut is allowed when no compliant stall exists ((C)(3)-(5), (D)). No parking is required within one-half mile walking distance of public transit, in a historic district, for an ADU inside the house or an existing accessory structure, where on-street permits are required but not offered, within one block of a car share vehicle, or when dimensioned plans show no feasible on-site location (§ 10-1-620.3(E)); Gov. Code 66322(a)(6) adds ADUs filed with a new house or multifamily building, which the local list omits. JADUs need no parking ((P)(9)), state-exempt units cannot be given a parking requirement (Gov. Code 66323(b)), and a garage, carport or covered space demolished or converted for an ADU need not be replaced ((C)(2)), which state law extends to uncovered spaces (Gov. Code 66314(d)(11)). Providing an extra stall beyond the minimum earns up to 120 sq ft of added ADU floor area ((F)(9)).

ADU and JADU permits are ministerial: § 10-1-620.3(A) requires complete applications on lots with an existing single-family or multifamily dwelling to be approved or denied ministerially within 60 days, with a written list of deficiencies on denial, and lets the city hold an ADU filed with a new house until that house is decided. Applicants file an ADU and/or JADU Permit application with the Planning Division (plans, elevations, a copy of the deed and the fee), and a garage demolition permit is issued together with the ADU building permit (§ 10-1-620.7); building plan check runs through ProjectDox, and the Burbank Preapproved ADU Program offers accepted plans with a 30-day permit target. State law adds the 15-business-day completeness determination and the appeal process the code does not mention (Gov. Code 66317). No hearing applies to ADUs, although the Hillside Development Permit (an Administrative Use Permit with view findings) is written to reach 'any other structure' in the hillside area that meets its grading or 16-foot height triggers without mentioning ADUs (§§ 10-1-606(H), 10-1-607; see caveats).

Section 10-1-620.3(Q) provides that rented ADUs and JADUs 'shall be rented for terms longer than 90 days', matching the zoning definition of a transient as someone housed for 90 days or less (§ 10-1-203); Gov. Code 66315 lets a city require only 'rentals of terms 30 days or longer' and HCD's March 2026 handbook describes the allowable local term as longer than 30 days, so the 90-day minimum exceeds the state allowance on a plain reading, while Gov. Code 66323(e) and 66333(g) require terms longer than 30 days for state-exempt units and JADUs. Burbank has no short-term rental permit or registration: STRs are barred by omission because the residential use tables prohibit any use they do not list (§§ 10-1-602(B), 10-1-627(B)), the city's 9-24-2024 staff report said so, and on 2-24-2026 the council asked staff for a report on a full prohibition and its enforcement. ADUs may be rented separately but not sold or conveyed separately (§ 10-1-620.3(R)), apart from the Gov. Code 66341 nonprofit exception; on 7-28-2026 the council told staff to bring back an option for selling ADUs as condominiums under Gov. Code 66342, which is not drafted yet. Rented units covered by the state Tenant Protection Act also get Burbank's just-cause and higher relocation-assistance rules (BMC 5-4-100 to 5-4-105).