Glendale ADU: Regulations, Costs & Permits

California's housing department (HCD) issued Glendale a notice of violation in 2024. Under an October 2025 agreement with HCD, the city is not enforcing three provisions still in its code while it amends the ordinance: the ban on building an ADU above a detached garage or carport, the ban on a detached ADU on a lot that already has accessory living quarters, and limits on combining the state-guaranteed ADU types. In practice, those options are open until a new ordinance takes effect. Confirm the current status with Planning before you design around them.

• Size: new attached or detached ADUs up to 850 sq ft, or 1,000 sq ft with more than one bedroom. Attached ADUs are capped at 50% of the house, except for the state-guaranteed 800 sq ft unit.
• Lot limits: up to 800 sq ft of ADU area doesn't count toward FAR, lot coverage, open space, or landscaping. Past 800 sq ft, those zone standards apply.
• Height on single-family lots: detached ADUs are 16 ft, or 18 ft plus 2 ft for roof pitch near major transit. Attached ADUs can reach 25 ft or the zone limit. Never more than two stories.
• Setbacks: 4 ft side and rear for new construction, none for conversions in the same footprint.

• Not in front: new ADUs can't sit between the house and the front or street-side setback (through lots excepted).
• No new driveways: no new driveway from the street. An alley driveway is allowed, and the ADU shares the existing driveway.
• Utility easements: the city asks you to confirm with Glendale Water & Power that the ADU, including a garage conversion, doesn't conflict with a utility easement. This comes up often.

These apply to ADUs that face the street or have a second story (not to state-guaranteed units or historic resources). They're among the most detailed in the area:

• Roof and facade: the roof form matches the house, and street-facing facades need breaks of at least 18 inches.
• Materials: at least two cladding materials, with stucco on no more than 60% of a street-facing facade.
• Windows: recessed, with 1-inch sills and no grids between the glass. Slider or flush windows are allowed only if the house was built in 1960 or later. Second-floor windows facing neighbors need 60-inch sills.
• Doors, stairs, balconies: no double doors, and balconies and stairs face into the lot.
• Everywhere: no rooftop decks on any ADU or JADU, parapets limited to 18 inches, and no mechanical equipment facing the street.
• How to avoid them: a one-story unit tucked behind the house avoids most of these standards.

• Fire: in July 2025 the City Council adopted the state's updated fire hazard maps, the first revision since 2011, expanding the Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone in areas including the Verdugo Mountains and Chevy Chase. In those zones, Glendale Fire requires 100 ft of defensible space and annual inspections, and new construction follows wildland-urban interface codes. A parcel partly in the zone is treated as fully in it.
• Historic properties: on Glendale or California Register properties, in historic district overlays, or on homes identified as significant in a survey, changes for an ADU can't be visible from the street or alter historic features, unless that would block the state-guaranteed unit.
• Protected trees: native oaks, California bay, and California sycamore with a trunk 6 inches or more across are protected. Permit applications need a tree expert's plan locating them, and grading in a tree's protected zone needs a permit.

• Steps: consult Planning (appointments available), prepare drawings with a photo survey, then apply online through the city's EnerGov portal, which has separate ADU permit types by lot type.
• Pre-approved plan: Standard Plan 1 is a one-story 740 sq ft one-bedroom by YD Group, bought from the designer, with more plans listed as coming.
• Timing: review follows state law deadlines. For fee estimates, the city refers applicants to the Building Division.

• Impact fees: none under 750 sq ft, which the city says saves about $5,000. Larger ADUs pay a parks and library fee in proportion to the house.
• Utilities: you still pay sewer, water, and school fees. An ADU isn't charged as a new connection unless it's built with a new house.
• Parking: at most one space per ADU (or per bedroom, whichever is less), waived near transit, for historic properties, conversions, JADUs, and state-guaranteed units. Garage spaces removed for the ADU don't need replacing.
• Sprinklers: only if the main house requires them, and adding an ADU doesn't trigger sprinklers in the house.
• Rentals and sale: longer than 30 days, and no separate sale except through a qualified nonprofit.
• JADUs: up to 500 sq ft inside a single-family house, with a recorded covenant for owner occupancy and no separate sale. State law doesn't allow a deed restriction on a regular ADU.

Can I build an ADU above my detached garage in Glendale?

Glendale's code bans it, but under its October 2025 agreement with the state the city isn't enforcing that ban while it amends the ordinance. Confirm the current status with Planning first.

How big can an ADU be in Glendale?

850 sq ft, or 1,000 sq ft with more than one bedroom. Attached ADUs are also capped at half the size of the house, except for the state-guaranteed 800 sq ft unit.

Do Glendale's ADU design standards apply to every unit?

No. They apply to ADUs that face the street or have a second story. A one-story unit behind the house, a state-guaranteed unit, or an ADU on a historic property follows different rules.

Is my Glendale property now in a very high fire zone?

Possibly. The city adopted expanded state fire maps in July 2025, including more of the Verdugo Mountains and Chevy Chase areas. Check the Glendale Fire Department's map for your parcel.

91203, 91204, 91205