Oakhurst

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ADU Pass helps homeowners in Oakhurst, Madera County, California navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 1 ZIP code.

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Madera County — county ADU rules and overlays

County ADU ordinance

Madera County (population ~160,000) is a central San Joaquin Valley / Sierra Nevada foothill county on the north side of the San Joaquin River, bounded by Merced County to the north, Mariposa County to the northeast, Mono County to the east (across the Sierra crest), Fresno County to the south (across the San Joaquin River), and Mariposa County to the northwest. The county seat is Madera; incorporated cities are Madera and Chowchilla. Major unincorporated communities include Oakhurst (the largest unincorporated community and the western gateway to Yosemite National Park via SR 41), North Fork, Coarsegold, Bass Lake, Bonadelle Ranchos-Madera Ranchos, La Vina, Yosemite Lakes, Ahwahnee, Raymond, Fairmead, Berenda, and Madera Acres. The county Board of Supervisors administers ADU permitting on unincorporated parcels under California Government Code Sec. 65852.2 and 65852.22 (state ADU preemption regime). The economy rests on irrigated agriculture (almonds, pistachios, grapes, dairy - Madera is a top-five California county for almond and pistachio production), Yosemite-gateway tourism on the SR 41 corridor (Oakhurst, Bass Lake, Fish Camp), and timber/recreation in the Sierra National Forest portion. The Madera Subbasin and the Chowchilla Subbasin are both critically-overdrafted under SGMA.

State-floor overlay: California state ADU preemption applies in full to unincorporated parcels in fee. AB 1033 condo-conversion election status pending verification. AB 976 prohibits owner-occupancy mandates on detached ADUs. SB 9 urban lot-split provisions apply only within incorporated cities, not in unincorporated Madera. HCD oversight: ordinance amendments submitted within 60 days per Sec. 65852.2(h).

County regulatory overlays

Madera County overlays of consequence: SGMA critically-overdrafted basin overlay (Madera Subbasin and Chowchilla Subbasin) constraining new well permits; CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area on most foothill and forest land with Very High FHSZ across eastern Madera (Oakhurst-Coarsegold-Bass Lake corridor) post-Creek Fire / Oak Fire remapping; Sierra National Forest covering the eastern third of the county; Yosemite National Park boundary on the easternmost county; Ansel Adams Wilderness, John Muir Wilderness, and Devils Postpile National Monument on the eastern Sierra crest; Picayune Rancheria (Chukchansi) and North Fork Rancheria (Mono) tribal jurisdictions; FEMA SFHA along the San Joaquin River, Fresno River, Chowchilla River, Cottonwood Creek, Bear Creek; Yosemite-gateway short-term-rental zone overlay along SR 41 / SR 49 corridor; Millerton Lake / Friant Dam (Bureau of Reclamation) on the south county boundary.

County permitting (unincorporated parcels)

Madera County Resource Management Agency / Planning Department issues ADU permits for unincorporated parcels including Oakhurst, Coarsegold, Bass Lake, Yosemite Lakes, Ahwahnee, North Fork, Raymond, Fairmead, Berenda, Madera Acres, Bonadelle/Madera Ranchos, and La Vina. Practical permitting frictions: SGMA critically-overdrafted basin overlay (Madera Subbasin and Chowchilla Subbasin) constrains new well permits; CAL FIRE State Responsibility Area covers most foothill and forest land with Very High FHSZ across much of eastern Madera (Oakhurst, Coarsegold, Bass Lake, Yosemite Lakes, Ahwahnee, North Fork) - the 2017 Mission Fire (Sierra NF), 2020 Creek Fire (Mammoth Pool / Big Creek edge of Madera), and 2022 Oak Fire (Mariposa boundary) drove FHSZ remapping; FEMA SFHA along the San Joaquin River, Fresno River, Chowchilla River, and Cottonwood Creek; Yosemite NP boundary review applies to easternmost parcels; Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians and the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians hold tribal-trust land in the foothills.

DepartmentMadera County Planning Department

Address200 W. 4th Street, Madera, CA 93637

Phone559-675-7821

California state — ADU law and programs

State ADU law

California has the most aggressive statewide ADU preemption regime in the US, built from ~15 bills passed 2019-2025 and enforced by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). The 2026 HCD ADU Handbook addendum (in effect with the 2025 Title 24 code cycle) is the operative state-level reference. The regime does four things at once: (1) preempts local zoning that would ban or unreasonably restrict ADUs; (2) imposes by-right ministerial approval with short statutory deadlines; (3) caps fees and utility-connection charges; and (4) empowers HCD to void non-compliant local ordinances.

State HOA preemption

California has the strongest statewide HOA-preemption regime in the US for accessory dwelling units, built from two bills: AB 670 (2019) voided ADU-prohibiting covenants on single-family residential lots, and AB 3182 (2020) extended and codified the preemption into the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act (Civil Code §§ 4740 / 4741). The combination prohibits common-interest communities from banning ADUs, restricting rentals below 25% of separate interests, or treating ADUs as separate HOA interests. Limits remain: HOAs retain authority over reasonable design standards and statutory height limits, and the 2026 Carlsbad case (CalMatters coverage) established that an HOA's documented design-standards regime can effectively delay or constrain ADU approval short of outright prohibition.

State financing programs

California's flagship state-level ADU financing program — the CalHFA ADU Grant Program — is paused and has not been refunded since the original $100 million allocation was fully deployed 2023-12-28. The program provided up to $40,000 per qualifying homeowner for pre-construction and non-recurring closing costs and financed approximately 2,500 ADUs in two rounds. As of 2026-04, no new funding round has been announced in the state budget. CalHFA continues to publish anti-scam warnings because bad actors actively solicit homeowners claiming access to grant funds that no longer exist. State-level financing activity has shifted to local pilot programs (San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego) and private financing products (Fannie Mae ADU mortgage, HELOC, construction-to-permanent).

CalHFA ADU Grant Program
HCD ADU Funding index

State housing programs

California's state-level ADU programs are concentrated at HCD (technical guidance, ordinance review, enforcement) and the paused CalHFA grant pipeline (covered under stateFinancing). The state does not operate a central pre-approved ADU plan library — instead, AB 1332 (2024) created a preemption framework for local pre-approved plans with a 30-day ministerial-approval deadline, and major cities (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, Sacramento, Berkeley) have rolled out their own plan catalogs. The California YIMBY coalition and other housing-policy organizations play an influential role in bill drafting; they are not state agencies but effectively drive much of the ADU legislative agenda. The Title 24 code cycle (now 2025, in effect for 2026 permits) is the authoritative building-code baseline.

Federal (United States) — ADU-relevant rules and programs

Federal ADU law

The United States has no federal statute that directly regulates accessory dwelling unit entitlement or design. Land-use authority over ADUs resides with states and local governments under the traditional police power. Federal engagement is limited to financing (Fannie/Freddie/FHA/VA/USDA), flood insurance (FEMA/NFIP), and discretionary housing programs (HUD), which are recorded in sibling sections of this file.

Federal financing programs

Federal housing-finance agencies and GSEs set nationwide underwriting rules that govern whether an ADU can be financed, appraised, and counted toward mortgage qualifying income. The relevant actors are Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA (HUD), VA, and USDA Rural Development.

Federal tax credits

There is no ADU-specific federal tax credit. ADUs may incidentally qualify for existing federal energy-efficiency and clean-energy tax credits when the ADU construction includes qualifying measures.

Federal housing programs

HUD administers several discretionary programs that can fund ADU-related activity at the grantee's election, but none is an ADU-specific program.

ZIP Code

93644

Post Office

40064 Highway 49, 93644