ADU rules in West Covina

Detached ADUs are allowed by right (marked X, 'Allowed by Right') in the R-A, R-1, MF-8, MF-15, MF-20 and MF-45 zones (Table 2-2, Sec. 26-45) and in the OPMU, NMU, RMU and SMU mixed-use zones (Table 2-12, Sec. 26-51); the M-1 and O-S zones do not list them, and Specific Plan (S-P) areas follow their own plans. Since Ord. 2525 (adopted 3-18-2025) changed 'or' to 'and' in Sec. 26-140(b), a single-family lot may combine a converted ADU and a JADU with one new detached ADU of up to 800 sq ft with 4-ft side and rear setbacks, matching the Gov. Code 66323(a)(1)-(2) combination; the older one-ADU-plus-one-JADU cap still printed in 26-140(k)(1) and on the city ADU page is overridden by 66323(a). On lots with an existing multifamily building, 26-140(c)(2) now allows up to eight detached ADUs or one per existing unit, whichever is less, although 26-140(k)(2)b still says two; Gov. Code 66323(a)(4) controls. A new detached unit must sit 10 ft from the house and every other structure under 26-140(h)(4), a rule HCD says cannot be applied to state-exempt units.

Sec. 26-139(a)(1) allows attached ADUs built as new construction sharing a wall, floor or ceiling with an existing or proposed home, and 26-139(a)(3) allows conversions of space inside a single-family home or an existing accessory structure (attached or detached garages, storage areas, studios, pool houses) with up to 150 sq ft of expansion for ingress and egress. An attached unit must join the home's living area by a common wall or floor/ceiling, not merely a breezeway, porch or patio (26-140(s)(5)), and on multifamily lots ADUs may be created in non-livable space such as storage rooms, attics, basements or garages, at least one and up to 25 percent of the existing units (26-140(c)(1)). JADUs of up to 500 sq ft are allowed entirely within a single-family residence, an attached garage counting as part of the house (26-139(a)(4), 26-142). All of these are allowed by right in every residential and mixed-use zone; HCD's findings 2 and 3 (2-24-2026) ask the city to separate the attached and conversion definitions and to recognize multifamily conversions in the conversion type.

Sec. 26-140(g)(2) caps a detached ADU at 1,200 sq ft of living area, and (g)(1) sets the attached cap at the greater of 850 sq ft (studio or one bedroom) or 1,000 sq ft (two or more bedrooms), or 50 percent of an existing single-family home but no more than 1,200 sq ft, with conversions of existing space free of size and setback limits. The state-exempt detached unit in 26-140(b)(2) is limited to 800 sq ft, detached units on lots with an existing multifamily building to 1,000 sq ft each (26-140(c)(2)), and JADUs to 500 sq ft (26-142(b)); one covered patio or porch of up to 30 sq ft is not counted (26-140(u)). Height is 16 ft, 18 ft for a detached unit within a half mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor or on a lot with a multistory multifamily building, and up to 25 ft (or the zone's limit for the house, if lower) for an attached unit (26-140(s)(2)); Gov. Code 66321(b)(4)(B) adds 2 ft near transit for a roof pitch matching the house, which the local text omits (HCD finding 15). HCD's 2-24-2026 findings also say the 66323(a)(4) multifamily detached units carry no size cap, and because no city response is on record, the division may be void under Gov. Code 66326(d), in which case the state default of 66314(d)(4)-(5) applies: attached up to 50 percent of the existing home and detached up to 1,200 sq ft, never below the 66321(b) floors (850/1,000 sq ft, and an 800 sq ft unit with 4-ft setbacks).

Division 2 imposes no owner-occupancy requirement on ADUs, and Gov. Code 66315 forbids one; the owner-related conditions are only that the owner files the Second Unit Review application with notarized permission (26-138(b)) and records the 26-140(q) covenant (no separate sale, size limit), which HCD says cannot be required of ADUs at all (finding 12). For JADUs, Sec. 26-142(c) and the (j) deed restriction still require the owner to live in the house or the JADU in every case, but Gov. Code 66333(b), as amended by AB 1154 and SB 543 effective 1-1-2026, requires owner occupancy only when the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the house, with exemptions for public agencies, land trusts and housing organizations (HCD findings 4 and 16). The city's Second Unit Review application (Last Updated 03/2026) already follows the state rule, asking for three proof-of-residency documents only for a JADU that shares sanitation facilities, while the ADU / JADU Guidelines handout (Updated 05/2025) still prints the universal rule.

Sec. 26-140(n)(1) requires one 10 by 20 ft space unless the ADU has no bedrooms, which may be tandem on an existing driveway or in a setback area; (n)(2) waives it within one-half mile walking distance of public transit, in an architecturally and historically significant district, where the ADU is part of the proposed or existing primary residence or an accessory structure, where on-street permits are required but not offered, or within one block of a car-share vehicle. The list omits the Gov. Code 66322(a)(6) waiver for an ADU applied for together with a new single-family or multifamily dwelling (HCD finding 11), which applies anyway because 66322 operates whether or not a local ordinance exists. No replacement spaces are required when a garage, carport or covered parking structure is demolished for or converted to an ADU (26-140(o)), and 66314(d)(11) extends that to uncovered spaces. JADUs need no added parking (26-142(h)), and a unit approved on the Gov. Code 66323 state-exempt pathway, including the 800 sq ft detached unit, cannot be given a parking requirement because 66323(b) bars standards the section does not authorize; the city's 05/2025 handout reads the transit waiver as within a half mile of a public bus stop or transit station.

Sec. 26-138(a) says an ADU meeting the division's standards 'shall be approved ministerially by the City ... without a public hearing'; the vehicle is a Second Unit Review (26-256), a Community Development Director approval letter treated as a zoning clearance, followed by Building and Engineering plan check, with a 60-day deemed-approved clock (fees per the 03/2026 application: $1,022.42 for new construction or added floor area, $654.99 for a conversion, $990.72 for a pre-approved detached plan). Two local clauses reach for discretion: 26-140(s)(2)a requires an administrative permit (public notice, findings and an optional hearing under 26-238) for second-story additions and new two-story homes that hold an ADU, and 26-62(d) requires one for any ADU on the lower pad of the ten Animal Keeping Overlay lots on Vanderhoof Drive. Both conflict with Gov. Code 66317(a)(1) (HCD finding 14), and in practice staff told the Planning Commission on 12-10-2024 (CUP 24-05) that a 1,195 sq ft second-floor ADU in a new two-story house is reviewed and approved administratively and is not within the Commission's purview. The code omits the state 15-business-day completeness determination and the appeal right (Gov. Code 66317(a)(2), (d); HCD finding 18), which apply directly.

Sec. 26-140(d) bars renting an ADU or JADU 'for a term of thirty (30) days or less', and 26-142(e) repeats it for JADUs; the Development Code defines a short term rental as a rental for fewer than 30 consecutive days and leaves the 'Short term rental' row blank ('Use not permitted') in every residential zone (Table 2-2, Sec. 26-45) and every mixed-use zone (Table 2-12, Sec. 26-51), so there is no short-term rental permit path for an ADU or a house. For ordinary ADUs the 31-day floor is one day stricter than Gov. Code 66315 allows ('rentals of terms 30 days or longer'), while 66323(e) and 66333(g) themselves require terms longer than 30 days for state-exempt units and JADUs. Otherwise long-term rental is unrestricted: no owner occupancy for ADUs, and the municipal code has no rental registration or rent stabilization program. The 26-140(q) covenant bars selling an ADU separately except under legacy Gov. Code 65852.26 (now 66341, qualified nonprofit sales), HCD finding 12 says no deed restriction may be imposed on an ADU, and the city has not opted into Gov. Code 66342 ADU condominiums.