Under the proposed ordinance, a Calabasas homeowner on a single family lot could add one accessory dwelling unit (ADU, a second home on the lot) and one junior unit (JADU, up to 500 square feet inside the house). The Council is asked to adopt it on October 14; no adoption vote is recorded yet.
What the city is deciding
Ordinance No. 2026-426 replaces the 2020 ADU rules to match state law. The Council introduced it on August 26 by a 3 to 1 vote. The ordinance records a disagreement: the state housing department reads state law to require a JADU, a detached ADU and a converted ADU, four units with the main home. Calabasas reads it as one ADU plus one JADU. The documents do not say how that will be resolved.
Where and who it affects
The rule covers legal lots in the RS, RR, HM, RC, PD, REC and OS zones that have, or will get, a main home. Multifamily and mixed use properties have separate rules.
What it could mean for your property
- Size: an ADU may have 220 to 1,200 square feet of living space, but no more than half the main home’s. A JADU is 220 to 500 square feet, needs a separate entrance and may use garage space.
- Always allowed: one ADU of up to 800 square feet, no taller than 16 feet, at least four feet from the side and rear lines.
- Height: detached ADUs are one story, 16 feet; attached units or units over a garage, 25 feet or the zone’s limit if greater.
- Parking: one space per ADU, with exceptions, such as near regular transit or inside an existing legal structure. A garage converted or torn down for an ADU need not be replaced. JADUs need no extra parking.
- Fees: no development impact fees for an ADU of 750 square feet or less.
- Limits: an ADU generally cannot be sold apart from the main home, and neither unit may be rented for under 30 days.
Questions to ask before you buy or build
- Does the planned ADU qualify for a parking exception?
- If a JADU would share the sewer or septic system with the house, will the owner live on the property, as the rules require?
What happens next
The item is on the October 14 consent calendar, passed in one motion unless pulled. If adopted, the ordinance takes effect 30 days later.