ADU rules in Palmdale

Detached ADUs are allowed wherever homes are: PMC 17.91.010(B) allows ADUs in any zone where single-family or multifamily units are allowed, Table 17.35.020-1 lists ADUs and JADUs as an accessory use ('A', allowed as a secondary use alongside a primary use, with no use permit) in the ER, LDR, SFR 1-3 and RN 1-4 residential zones, and Table 17.54.020-1 permits them ('P') in the MU 1-3 mixed-use zones. A single-family lot may have one detached, new-construction ADU with 4-foot side and rear setbacks (17.91.010(D)(1)(b)), and a lot with an existing multifamily building up to eight detached ADUs, never more than the number of existing units (17.91.010(D)(2)(b), raised from two by Ord. 1658 in July 2025). New detached units need 4-foot interior side, street side and rear setbacks and, where feasible without precluding an 800 sq ft unit, the zone's front setback, 10 feet of separation from other buildings and a spot in line with or behind the home's front wall ((F)(4)-(5)); they also follow the objective 17.37.010 single-family design standards where applicable ((F)(7)). Governing text: 17.91.010 as amended by Ord. 1667 (adopted May 5, 2026, effective June 5, 2026); Gov. Code 66314 and 66323(a)(2) and (a)(4) give the same answer.

Attached additions and conversions are allowed on the same lots. Under 17.91.010(D)(1)(a) one ADU and one JADU may be created within an existing or proposed single-family home or accessory structure, with up to a 150 sq ft expansion for ingress and egress, and an attached addition is limited by floor area rather than barred ((F)(3)(a)). JADUs (up to 500 sq ft, entirely within a single-family residence, 17.16.100) are allowed only in single-family dwellings and not in multifamily developments, while on a lot with an existing multifamily building non-habitable space such as storage rooms, attics, basements or garages may become ADUs up to 25 percent of the existing units ((D)(2)(a)). Attached units may reach 25 feet or the zone's height limit, whichever is lower, and need not exceed two stories ((F)(9)(d)); a second-floor ADU on a single-family lot must have no open stairway and must be converted space, attached to a home that meets all primary-dwelling standards, or built over a code-compliant two-car garage ((F)(8)). Governing text: 17.91.010 as amended by Ord. 1667; Gov. Code 66314(d)(3)-(4) and 66323(a)(1) and (a)(3) give the same answer.

17.91.010(F)(3) caps a detached ADU at 1,200 sq ft and an attached ADU at the higher of 850 sq ft (zero or one bedroom) or 1,000 sq ft (two or more bedrooms) and 50 percent of the existing single-family home; a 150 sq ft ingress and egress addition to a converted accessory structure does not count, a JADU is capped at 500 sq ft (17.16.100), and lot coverage, open space and floor area ratio limits may not preclude an 800 sq ft ADU with 4-foot side and rear setbacks ((F)(12)). Heights under (F)(9) are 16 feet for a detached unit, 18 feet within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor plus 2 feet to match the main roof pitch, 18 feet on a lot with a multistory multifamily building, and 25 feet or the zone limit (whichever is lower) for an attached unit, exactly the Gov. Code 66321(b)(4) floors. Ord. 1667 struck the former 800 sq ft cap on detached ADUs beside existing multifamily buildings after HCD's February 11, 2026 Finding 4, so the general 1,200 sq ft detached cap now applies there (HCD reads Gov. Code 66323(a)(4) units as carrying no size cap at all). Governing text: 17.91.010 as amended by Ord. 1667; its caps equal the state defaults in Gov. Code 66314(d)(4)-(5) and 66321(b)(2), so the value holds under either the local text or the state standards.

No: nothing in 17.91.010 requires the owner of a lot with an ADU to live there, and Gov. Code 66315 bars owner-occupancy conditions on ADUs. For JADUs, Ord. 1667 rewrote 17.91.010(G)(1) to track Gov. Code 66333(b) as amended by AB 1154: the owner must live in the house or the JADU only when the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the primary dwelling, and never when the owner is a governmental agency, land trust or housing organization. Ord. 1667 also limited the recorded covenant in (E)(4) to JADUs (no separate sale, no rentals under 31 days, compliance with (G)), answering HCD Findings 5 and 7 of February 11, 2026; before June 5, 2026 the code required a covenant for every ADU and owner occupancy for every JADU, and the city's ADU handout still says a JADU owner must always live on site. Governing text: 17.91.010 as amended by Ord. 1667, which matches Gov. Code 66315 and 66333(b).

17.91.010(F)(6)(a) requires one space in addition to the primary home's parking unless the ADU has no bedrooms (a studio needs none), and the space may be tandem on an existing driveway or in a setback area where the city finds that feasible. No space is required within one-half mile walking distance of public transit, in an architecturally and historically significant district, for an ADU that is part of a proposed or existing primary residence or accessory structure, where on-street permits are required but not offered, within one block of a car-share vehicle, or when the ADU is filed with a permit for a new single-family or multifamily home ((F)(6)(b)), mirroring Gov. Code 66322(a). Garages, carports and covered or uncovered spaces demolished or converted for an ADU need not be replaced ((F)(6)(c); Ord. 1658 added uncovered spaces in 2025), JADUs need no parking ((G)(3)), and 17.87.020(C) and Table 17.87.060-1 defer to 17.91.010. Governing text: 17.91.010 (unchanged by Ord. 1667); the one-space rule sits at the Gov. Code 66314(d)(10) ceiling of one space per unit or per bedroom, whichever is less, so the value holds under either text.

ADUs and JADUs are approved ministerially: 17.91.010(E)(1) says an application meeting the section's standards 'shall be approved pursuant to PMC § 17.26.030 (Zoning clearance review) and Government Code Section 66323, as applicable', and 17.20.010(A)(2) and Table 17.20.010-1 make zoning clearance an administrative decision by the Director, which may be made without notice to neighbors, with appeals to the Planning Commission and City Council. The city's Standard ADU Plans page gives the sequence (an Accela account, a Zoning Clearance Review with Planning, then a building permit with Building and Safety) and offers free pre-approved conceptual plans of 608, 749, 1,000 and 1,106 sq ft that still need full construction documents. The code does not restate the Gov. Code 66317 clocks (a completeness decision within 15 business days, approval or denial within 60 days of a complete application, deemed approved otherwise), which apply directly. Governing text: 17.91.010 as amended by Ord. 1667 together with Gov. Code 66316 and 66317; the permit path is ministerial under either.

ADUs and JADUs may be rented, but 17.91.010(E)(3) bars rental periods of less than 31 days and the JADU covenant repeats the rule ((E)(4)(b)); Palmdale has no separate short-term rental ordinance. Gov. Code 66315 lets a city require rentals of 'terms 30 days or longer' for ADUs approved under Gov. Code 66314, so the local floor is one day stricter than that authority, while Gov. Code 66323(e) and 66333(g) themselves require terms longer than 30 days for state-exempt units and JADUs. A rented ADU or JADU is a 'residential rental unit' under the Comprehensive Residential Rental Unit program (PMC 8.40.015, as amended by Ord. 1634 in 2024): the owner must register it within 60 days of the property first including a rental, schedule an inspection, obtain a certificate of compliance and hold a City business license, with newly built units exempt from the registration fee (8.40.020 to 8.40.035). ADUs and JADUs may not be sold or conveyed separately from the primary residence except as Gov. Code 66340 et seq. allow ((E)(2)), which leaves the Gov. Code 66341 qualified-nonprofit path; the city has adopted no Gov. Code 66342 ADU-condominium ordinance. Governing text: 17.91.010 as amended by Ord. 1667; if that ordinance were held void under Gov. Code 66326(d), only the state over-30-day terms for 66323 units and JADUs would remain.