In Sausalito a detached accessory dwelling unit is capped at 16 feet, measured from an elevation the rest of the sheet does not use. Sausalito Municipal Code Section 10.44.080(F)(2)(e) scopes its own measuring rule, running from "existing legal grade or the level of the lowest floor, whichever is lower" to "the peak of the structure." The zoning title's defined term goes elsewhere: Section 10.88.040 routes building height to Section 10.40.060(B)(1), an average of two points on natural grade. The 16 came from the state as a bound on what a city may adopt, not a height a project is granted: Government Code Section 66321(b) bars a city from adopting a limitation that allows less.
Key numbers
| Figure | What it governs | Section |
|---|---|---|
| 16 feet | Detached ADU maximum | Sausalito Municipal Code § 10.44.080(F)(2)(a) |
| 16 feet | The least a local limitation may allow | Government Code § 66321(b)(4)(A) |
| 18 feet | Transit lot, or a multifamily dwelling over one story | § 10.44.080(F)(2)(b), (c) |
| 20 feet | Transit lot only, aligned roof pitch | § 10.44.080(F)(2)(b) |
| 25 feet | Attached unit, or the zone's limit | § 10.44.080(F)(2)(d) |
| Four feet, 800 square feet | Class 1 detached setbacks and floor area | § 10.44.080(E)(1)(b) |
| 10 feet | Front setbacks under subsection G | § 10.44.080(G)(4)(a) |
The figure, and the two places it moves
Sausalito Municipal Code Section 10.44.080(F)(2)(a) yields to two subsections before it states the figure: "a detached ADU created on a lot with an existing or proposed single family or multifamily dwelling unit may not exceed 16 feet in height." Subsection F.2.b raises it to 18 feet for a lot "within one-half mile walking distance of a major transit stop or high quality transit corridor", and adds two feet there for an aligned roof pitch. Subsection F.2.c raises it to 18 feet again, for a multifamily dwelling with "more than one story above grade". Subsection F.2.d takes the attached case at "25 feet in height", or the zone's limit if lower.
Where the sixteen feet is measured from
Subsection F.2.e scopes itself. For the purposes of that subsection only:
height is measured from existing legal grade or the level of the lowest floor, whichever is lower, to the peak of the structure.
The starting elevation is the lower of two references, so it cannot be elected upward: a dug-in or stepped lowest floor pulls the measuring point down rather than raising the ridge. The measurement runs to the peak, so roof pitch sits inside the figure.
The term the zoning title defines
Sausalito Municipal Code Section 10.88.040 holds the zoning title's vocabulary. Its entry for building height "means the height of a building as defined in SMC § 10.40.060(B)(1)", and its entry for height points to that same term. The chapter defines natural grade by "the established ground contours that existed in 1968", and carries no entry for the phrase subsection F.2.e uses. This article names that gap without closing it: nothing here says the two references are the same, or that they differ.
The arithmetic that term routes to
Sausalito Municipal Code Section 10.40.060(B)(1) identifies the highest and lowest points of contact with natural grade, then measures from "the average of these two elevations". That is the opposite arithmetic from the lower of two references. The rules are operative side by side: Section 10.40.060(A) lists where height limits come from and includes "10.44 SMC (Specific Use Requirements) and this chapter".
Where the figure came from
Government Code Section 66321(b) is addressed to the city, not the building: its subject is a local agency, its verb a prohibition. It says "a local agency shall not establish by ordinance any of the following" … "Any height limitation that does not allow at least the following, as applicable:" and the first item is "A height of 16 feet for a detached accessory dwelling unit". So the 16 is the least an ordinance may allow: a limit on how far a city may restrict, never a height the state grants. It arrived with no starting elevation.
What the definitions section carries
Government Code Section 66313 is the definitions section for the state ADU chapter, and it defines neither height nor grade. That finding is bounded to that section. It is what makes the local measuring rule ordinary gap-filling: the chapter names a figure, and the ordinance supplies the elevation it is taken from.
Where the cheaper lane is, and what it costs
Sausalito Municipal Code Section 10.44.080(E)(1) names the cheaper lane, "Class 1: Statutorily Regulated.", for a unit that "complies with each of the general requirements in subsection F of this section"; subsection E.2 sheds subsection G for it, leaving every other ADU "subject to the standards set forth in subsections F and G of this section." Subsection G holds the area-and-coverage standards and the front setback: G.4.a requires units under it to "conform to 10-foot front setbacks". The price sits in that same subsection: on the detached single-family scenario, E.1.b.i keeps "The side- and rear-yard setbacks are at least four feet." and E.1.b.ii keeps "800 square feet of livable space or smaller" and E.1.b.iii keeps "The peak height above grade does not exceed the applicable height limit in subsection F.2 of this section." It sheds subsection G and keeps the datum.
What this looks like on the drawing
A height dimension has to start somewhere. On the ADU the string starts at the lower of existing legal grade or the lowest floor and runs to the ridge, so the pitch is inside the 16 feet, and dropping or stepping that floor moves the start down rather than the ridge up. The zoning title's defined term would have started it at an average of two points on natural grade.
Currency
- § 10.44.080 and § 10.88.040 both moved on 12/2/2025 (Ord. 12-2025 and Ord. 06-2025-A), inside 24 months of September 2026; § 10.44.080 also moved earlier that year on Ord. 01-2025.
- § 10.40.060 carries Ord. 1167 § 2, 2003 and Ord. 1205 §§ 20, 21, 2012 — last moved in 2012, the stable link.
- Government Code §§ 66321 and 66313 were amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 520 (SB 543), effective January 1, 2026 — also inside that window.
The local amendment predates the state effective date by one month. Re-checked on 2026-11-14 against Sausalito's 2026-10 edition, updated 2026-10-04, and the state chapter's 2026 edition, updated 2026-09-22: the history lines above are unchanged.
Frequently asked questions
Can the unit be sited higher, or a floor added, to pick up height?
That reads the datum backwards. Subsection F.2.e takes the lower of two references — "existing legal grade or the level of the lowest floor, whichever is lower" — so it cannot be elected upward, and a dug-in or stepped lowest floor pulls the measuring point down.
Is there an extra two feet for a matching roof pitch?
Not on the 16-foot figure. The allowance sits in the transit branch alone: subsection F.2.b allows "two additional feet in height (for a maximum of 20 feet)" for a pitch "aligned with the roof pitch of the primary dwelling unit." Subsection F.2.c, the other 18-foot branch, carries none.
Does the ministerial lane escape the height rule?
It does not. Subsection E.2 subjects every ADU other than a Class 1 unit to subsections F and G, so Class 1 sheds G, not F. Subsection E.1.b.iii conditions the lane on the datum: "The peak height above grade does not exceed the applicable height limit in subsection F.2 of this section."
Sources
- Sausalito Zoning Code § 10.44.080 — Accessory dwelling units: https://gocodebook.com/library/us/ca/sausalito-zoning/title-10/division-iii-land-use-requirements/chapter-10.44-specific-use-requirements#10.44.080
- Sausalito Zoning Code § 10.40.060 — Height requirements: https://gocodebook.com/library/us/ca/sausalito-zoning/title-10/division-iii-land-use-requirements/chapter-10.40-general-development-regulations#10.40.060
- Sausalito Zoning Code § 10.88.040 — Specialized terms and land use definitions: https://gocodebook.com/library/us/ca/sausalito-zoning/title-10/division-v-zoning-administration-2/chapter-10.88-definitions-17#10.88.040
- California Government Code § 66321 — height limitations a local agency may not establish: https://gocodebook.com/library/us/ca/ca-gov-66310-adu-jadu-law/title-7.-planning-and-land-use-65000-66499.58/division-1.-planning-and-zoning-65000-66345.4/chapter-13.-accessory-dwelling-units-66310-66342/article-2.-accessory-dwelling-unit-approvals-66314-66331/66321#66321
- California Government Code § 66313 — definitions for the ADU chapter: https://gocodebook.com/library/us/ca/ca-gov-66310-adu-jadu-law/title-7.-planning-and-land-use-65000-66499.58/division-1.-planning-and-zoning-65000-66345.4/chapter-13.-accessory-dwelling-units-66310-66342/article-1.-general-provisions-66310-66313.5/66313#66313
Related reading: ADU Size Limits in California: What Cities Can't Restrict: https://gocodebook.com/blog/adu-size-limits-california-state-minimums
Code text quoted as published in GoCodebook's library on 2026-09-13 and re-checked against the library on 2026-11-14. This article does not replace permit review or professional judgment.