Housing Law

Carlsbad approves backyard units without a hearing — but a parcel inside the coastal zone needs the city's coastal permit requirements on top of a building permit. Here is what that adds, plus the size and height limits and three protections applicants rarely know about.

In Temecula a backyard unit under 750 square feet pays no impact fees at all. But before the permit is finalled you also need letters of service availability from the water and sewer providers, and a recorded covenant that binds every future owner.

Riverside permits movable accessory dwellings alongside the usual built-in-place and junior units — a category with its own size range, siting rules and a requirement to hide the axles. Here is how many units a lot can hold and what each type has to meet.