ADU rules in Hemet

Detached ADUs are allowed with a proposed or existing home in every zone whose use table lists them: the R-R and R-1 single-family zones (the 'Secondary dwelling unit' row), the A-1 and A-2 agriculture zones and the R-2, R-3 and R-4 multiple-family zones, all as permitted (P) uses governed by Sec. 90-321. Since Ord. No. 2072 (adopted 3-10-2026) a single-family lot may carry up to two detached ADUs, one attached ADU and one JADU, provided the lot holds no more than four homes in total. Lots with an existing multifamily building may add up to four detached ADUs under the local text (never more than the number of existing units), but Gov. Code 66323(a)(4)(A)(ii) allows up to eight and controls through Hemet's own state-law-prevails clause (Sec. 90-321(e)). A detached unit of 800 sq ft or less with 4 ft side and rear setbacks is the state-exempt type the city must approve ministerially.

Attached ADUs, including conversions of space inside the home or an attached garage, are allowed on the same lots as detached units (Sec. 90-321(c)(2)); a single-family lot may have one attached ADU plus one JADU inside the home. A JADU (150 to 500 sq ft, entirely within a single-family home) is limited to one per lot and may add up to 150 sq ft only for its entrance (Sec. 90-321(d)(1), (d)(4)). On existing multifamily buildings, up to 25 percent of the unit count (at least one) may be attached ADUs, and up to 25 percent (at least one) may be created by converting non-livable space such as storage rooms or garages. Approval is a ministerial building plan check with no hearing.

Hemet caps both attached and detached ADUs at the lowest ceilings state law permits: 850 sq ft of interior livable space for a studio or one-bedroom unit and 1,000 sq ft for two or more bedrooms, measured net of exterior walls and garages (Sec. 90-321(b), (c)(5)-(6)). An attached ADU that enlarges the home by more than 150 sq ft is also held to 50 percent of the existing home's floor area, but Gov. Code 66321(b)(3) bars a percentage cap that blocks an 800 sq ft unit; a detached unit built on the state-exempt (simplified) path is capped at 800 sq ft, and a JADU at 150 to 500 sq ft. Conversions of existing space under Gov. Code 66323(a)(1) carry no state size cap even though the local attached cap reads as covering them. Heights: 16 ft for a one-story detached ADU (18 ft within half a mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor, plus 2 ft for a roof pitch matching the house), 25 ft for a two-story detached ADU over a garage that keeps 10 ft from abutting single-family lots (reducible to accessory-structure setbacks) and meets the second-story privacy rules of Sec. 90-315(g), and 25 ft and two stories (or the zone's lower limit) for an attached ADU.

Hemet imposes no owner-occupancy requirement on ADUs, consistent with Gov. Code 66315. For a JADU, the owner must live in the main home or in the JADU only when the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the house; a JADU with its own bathroom, or one owned by a public agency, land trust or housing organization, needs no owner on site (Sec. 90-321(d)(5), matching Gov. Code 66333(b) as amended by SB 543 and AB 1154). Every JADU needs a recorded deed restriction before its certificate of occupancy (no separate sale, size limit), while an ADU needs one only if it is to be sold separately under state law (Sec. 90-321(c)(13)).

Sec. 90-321(c)(8) says no parking is generally required for ADUs or JADUs, but the city 'may' require one space per detached ADU or per bedroom, whichever is less, which can be tandem on the driveway or in a setback area. No space can be required when the ADU is within half a mile walking distance of public transit, in a designated historic district, part of 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 applied for together with a new home on the lot (the six Gov. Code 66322(a) cases). A garage, carport or uncovered space demolished or converted for the ADU need not be replaced, and a state-exempt detached unit of 800 sq ft or less cannot carry a parking condition under Gov. Code 66323(b). The code does not say when the city uses the 'may' option, so confirm with Planning for a larger detached unit more than half a mile from a bus stop.

ADU and JADU applications go to the Building Department for building plan check and 'shall be permitted ministerially without discretionary review or public hearing' when they meet Sec. 90-321 and the building and health codes (Sec. 90-321(a)(1)-(2)). The city must decide completeness within 15 business days and review resubmittals only for the listed items, and an application not acted on within 60 days is deemed approved; denials come with a full written list of deficiencies. Plans are submitted through the Building and Safety online portal. The city has no pre-approved ADU plan program yet (still a Planning Commission future agenda item on 10-6-2026, although AB 1332 (2023) required one by 1-1-2025), and its 2023 ADU Plan Check Guide still says a Planning Commission conditional use permit may be required for ADUs that miss the standards, which the current ordinance does not provide.

Sec. 90-321(a)(2)(c) says an ADU or JADU 'may not be used for short-term rentals' and, if rented, must be rented for a term longer than 30 days; Gov. Code 66323(e) and 66333(g) set the same rule for state-exempt units and JADUs, while for an ordinary ADU it is one day stricter than the 30-days-or-longer term Gov. Code 66315 lets cities require (Sec. 90-321(c)(16) repeats the state wording). Hemet's short-term lodging law separately excludes ADUs: Ord. No. 2075 (adopted 4-28-2026, replacing the 2025 Ord. No. 2060 version still printed in the code) defines a lodging unit as a dwelling unit and states that an accessory dwelling unit is not one, so no short-term lodging permit can be issued for an ADU. An ADU may be rented separately from the main home but sold separately only where state law allows (the Gov. Code 66341 qualified-nonprofit path); Hemet has not adopted a Gov. Code 66342 condominium ordinance. The rental registration program was repealed in 2021 (Ord. No. 1970), but the Chapter 18 business license covers the rental of any dwelling or part of one (Sec. 18-44).