About Santa Clara County ADU
supporting safe, secure, affordable housing for all
These resources were created to help residents of Santa Clara County through the entire process of building an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)—also known as second units, granny flats, backyard cottages, in-law units, or basement/garage apartments. These pages include a step-by-step approach to your ADU project (from ADU 101 to move-in) and provide links to helpful resources and tools along the way. Throughout this website, when you see “your City” or “the City” this also refers to the local governments for towns and unincorporated parts of the county. If you live outside city lines, you will follow the County’s standards.
Santa Clara County ADU is one of many efforts of the Santa Clara County Planning Collaborative–a shared initiative among all the jurisdictions in Santa Clara County to help ensure that everyone in Santa Clara has access to a safe, secure, and affordable home that meets their needs. The Collaborative operates under the auspices of the Cities Association. By encouraging the development of ADUs, Santa Clara County communities can build new homes for our neighbors, children, and grandparents, helping our communities and our region thrive.
Participating Jurisdictions
Click on each logo below to see the local ADU webpage. Some locations have a summary of ADU rules and contacts on our ADU Rules page – check there first.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a grant awarded by the California Department of Housing and Community Development to the Association of Bay Area Governments and Metropolitan Transportation Commission (ABAG/MTC). Through ABAG/MTC’s Regional Housing Technical Assistance Program, funds were awarded to the Santa Clara County Planning Collaborative, which decided to dedicate a portion of the funds to develop these resources. The resources and webpages were then developed by Community Planning Collaborative, a consulting practice that supports the work of the Santa Clara County Planning Collaborative. Special thanks to planning staff throughout the County that made this possible and helped shape its content, and to ABAG-MTC for supporting the Santa Clara County Planning Collaborative.
Project Sponsors
