How we work

We start from the document

State pages are written from the text of the California Government Code. City pages are written from that city's own published material, such as its ADU checklist, application forms and department FAQs. We don't build pages from other websites' summaries.

You can check what we say

Every rule we mention comes from a specific document, and the small numbers in the text take you to it. At the foot of each guide you'll find the document, its date if it has one, and the page or section we used.

Before a guide goes live, we check each statement against the original wording. If we can't show where it comes from, we take it out.

We don't publish thin pages

A city gets a page only when we have enough of its current material to say something specific to that city. If your city isn't here, that is the reason. We would rather cover fewer places properly.

Dates

Each page shows when it was last reviewed. Where a city document carries its own revision date, the reference list shows it, so you can judge how fresh the underlying material is. Documents are re-read on a schedule, and a page is revised when its documents change.

Explanation is ours

Passages headed “Our read”, the worked examples and the practical suggestions are our own commentary. They are there to help you prepare, and they are not statements of what an agency will decide.

Limits

We can misread a document, and documents change after we read them. Treat these pages as preparation for a conversation with your permitting agency and your design professional, never as a replacement for one. See the disclaimer. The full standards are in our editorial policy.