Detached ADU, Santa Monica
720 sq ft detached one-bedroom ADU with new utility service. Permit issued without a second correction cycle, and the owner gained a fully independent rental unit on a lot that had been assumed too small.
Service area
Design, Permitting and Construction in Santa Monica
Our Santa Monica office sits on Ocean Park Blvd, and a large share of our residential work is within a few miles of it. Santa Monica projects carry their own layer of rules: coastal zone review on parts of the city, strict objective design standards, and a preapproved ADU program worth understanding before you design anything custom.
What the review process looks like here
- City of Santa Monica Building and Safety plan check
- Coastal zone review where applicable
- Preapproved ADU program: worth checking before starting a custom design
- Objective design standards for multi-unit and ADU projects
Services in Santa Monica
Santa Monica projects
Santa Monica questions
Can I build an ADU on my Santa Monica property in 2026?
In most single-family and many multi-unit situations, yes. What decides it at your address is lot geometry, setbacks, fire access, utility capacity and whether the property sits inside the coastal zone. We test all of that in a short feasibility review before any design fee is spent.
What does Santa Monica review before approving an ADU?
Zoning and objective standards compliance, setbacks and height, fire access and sprinkler requirements, utility connections, drainage and stormwater, Title 24 energy compliance, and coastal review where the property falls inside that zone.