ADU rules in Moreno Valley

Detached new-construction ADUs are a permitted accessory use, approved ministerially, on lots zoned for single-family, multifamily or mixed use allowing residential that contain an existing or proposed dwelling. Applicants choose local development standards (Gov. Code 66314 to 66322) or the by-right pathway (Gov. Code 66323), and the two may be combined. The city also offers free pre-approved detached ADU plans for residential lots with an existing single-family home or duplex outside mapped geo-hazard, landslide, flood and wildland-urban interface areas.

An ADU may be attached to or located within the proposed or existing primary dwelling (including attached garages and storage areas), or created by converting an accessory structure. A JADU is allowed within the proposed or existing space of a single-family dwelling. On a lot with an existing multifamily building, at least one and up to 25 percent of the existing unit count may be created by converting non-habitable space.

Under local standards there is no minimum lot size and the minimum living area is 150 sq ft; detached units are limited to 20 ft in height under both pathways. Any local standard must still allow an 800 sq ft ADU with 4 ft side and rear setbacks (Table E-1 exceptions 1 and 3). The code does not say whether sizes are measured as interior livable space except for JADUs.

No owner-occupancy requirement applies to ADUs. For a JADU, the owner must sign a covenant that either the primary dwelling or the JADU will be owner-occupied only if the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the existing structure; owner occupancy cannot be required when the JADU has its own sanitation or the owner is a governmental agency, land trust or housing organization. The city's landlord page still describes a JADU covenant that 'requires owner-occupancy' without that qualifier; the code section governs.

Parking may go in rear and side setback areas, or in a paved front driveway if rear and side placement is not possible, subject to front-yard landscaping standards. The citywide parking table (MVMC 9.11.040) still lists ADUs at '1/bedroom', but 9.09.130.F and Gov. Code 66322 cap the requirement at one space per unit or per bedroom, whichever is less. Gov. Code 66322(a)(6) also bars parking for an ADU applied for with a new single-family or multifamily dwelling on the same lot, an exemption the local list omits, and applies whether or not the local ordinance says so.

Ministerial approval by the community development director, reviewed and processed with a building permit; ADUs on multifamily lots need an administrative plot plan plus a building permit, still ministerial. The city must determine completeness within 15 business days and approve or deny within 60 days of a complete application, or the application is deemed approved; a denial must list every deficiency and how to fix it (Gov. Code 66317).

Subsection K cites Gov. Code 66341 for condominium conveyance, but the condominium provision is Gov. Code 66342 (66341 is the nonprofit separate-sale provision), so K reads as a citation error; whether the city has formally opted into the 66342 condominium regime is not otherwise documented. The Municipal Code has no general short-term rental ordinance; its only short-term-rental bans are for SB 9 units and affordable housing in commercial zones.