ADU Pass
Salinas
Monterey County portion
Also in: No County
ADU Pass helps homeowners in Salinas, Monterey County, California navigate the permit paperwork for building an accessory dwelling unit. This area covers 6 ZIP codes.
Map
ADU details
ADU legality: allowed
ADUs are ministerial / by-right in single-family and most multi-family zones in Salinas. Detached ADUs subject to a 4-foot rear/side setback minimum and a 16-foot maximum height under state law floor. The local code is being aligned to state law and may shortly be a pure pass-through.
Cost scenarios
| Scenario | Sq ft | Permit | Build | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| minimum | 150 | $4,200 | $78,000 | $82,200 |
| 600 | 600 | $6,400 | $312,000 | $318,400 |
| midpoint | 675 | $6,900 | $351,000 | $357,900 |
| 1000 | 1,000 | $14,500 | $510,000 | $524,500 |
| maximum | 1,200 | $17,200 | $600,000 | $617,200 |
Fee breakdown (as of 2026-04)
Permitting process
Viability (permitted uses)
- Long-term rental: yes ADUs may be rented for terms 30 days or longer with no owner-occupancy requirement (AB 976, effective 2024-01-01).
- Short-term rental: with-restrictions Salinas treats short-term rentals (under 30 days) under separate STR/transient occupancy regulations (TOT applies). Owners must register and remit Transient Occupancy Tax. ADU specifically as STR may face additional review.
- Office rental: with-restrictions Renting an ADU as standalone commercial office space is not a permitted ADU use; would require commercial use approval or rezoning. Home occupations within an ADU are permitted (see homeOffice).
- Home office: yes Owner-operator home occupation permitted in residential zones with limits on signage, customer traffic, and outside employees per Salinas Municipal Code.
- Studio / workshop: yes Personal artist or workshop use of an ADU is a permitted accessory residential use.
- Agriculture: with-restrictions Salinas zoning permits limited urban agriculture in residential districts; livestock varies by zone. ADUs in agricultural-residential zones may be used to house farmworkers under agricultural employee housing rules — context-dependent in the Salinas Valley lettuce/produce corridor.
- Relative support: yes Family-occupancy ADU explicitly permitted; common Salinas use case is multigenerational housing for agricultural-worker families and aging parents.
Incentives
Contacts
Contractor directory (4)
Scope: city, 10 mi radius.
General Contractor (4)
- Framework First ADU specialist Modular
(831) 432-7721 · website - Aldridge Construction ADU specialist
(831) 682-9788 · brian@aldridgeconstruction.biz · website - Premier ADU Inc ADU specialist
website - SVW Designs Architect ADU specialist
website
Utilities
- Water: California Water Service Company (Cal Water) — Salinas District (most of city); California American Water (south/west fringes); Alco Water Service (small enclaves) · 30d connect · $5,500
Cal Water Salinas District serves ~31 wells, 3 storage tanks, 300 miles of pipeline. Separate ADU meter not required under state preemption; sub-750 sqft ADUs may share existing service. - Sewer: Monterey One Water (regional wastewater); City of Salinas operates the local collection system · 30d connect · $3,200
Monterey One Water sewer capacity charge applies for ADUs ≥750 sqft (waived for ≤750 under SB 13). Receipt of payment or waiver required before building permit issuance. - Electric: Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) · 30d connect · $2,400
PG&E provides electric service across Monterey County. New ADU service drop or panel upgrade typical for detached units; separate meter optional and chosen by owner. - Gas: Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) · 30d connect · $1,800
Gas connection optional under California's all-electric ADU pathway; many Salinas builders now spec heat pumps to skip gas extension.
Property values & taxes
Construction timeline
Realistic total: best 7mo · typical 11mo · worst 16mo
Smaller GC pool than Bay Area metros; Framework First Modular and a few specialists can compress timeline using factory-built ADUs.
Modular pathway inspectors are occasional with modular
Financing
State ADU loans:
- CalHFA ADU Grant Program up to $40,000
- HCD ADU Funding index
Insurance impact
California ADU insurance: most carriers add a separate dwelling endorsement or write a DP-3 landlord policy. Salinas is outside the high-wildfire FAIR Plan trigger zones (low wildfire exposure), so standard market remains accessible.
HOA prevalence & preemption
California's combined AB 670 (2019) + AB 3182 (2020) preemption voids HOA covenants that prohibit ADUs and restrictions below 25% of separate interests. Salinas has lower HOA prevalence than coastal Monterey County (Pebble Beach, Carmel) — most Salinas residential parcels are non-HOA single-family.
Regulatory overlays (2)
- flood-zone
Portions of north and east Salinas (Salinas River corridor, Reclamation Ditch / Carr Lake area) sit in FEMA Special Flood Hazard Areas. Elevation certificates and flood-resistant construction triggered for SFHA parcels. - seismic-retrofit-zone
All of Monterey County is in California seismic design category D for the IBC/CRC. Foundation engineering and shear-wall detailing required.
Technical envelope (climate & building code)
Climate & energy code
Building code
Amendments:
- Amendment
- Amendment
Contractor market (aggregate)
Legal history (timeline)
Current ordinance: Salinas Municipal Code § 37-50.250 — Accessory Dwelling Units, adopted 2017-06-13, last amended 2023-08-22
- 2017-06-13 — Salinas Ordinance 2599 — initial ADU code adoption (Section 37-50.250) (city-ordinance)
First local ADU section in Salinas Municipal Code Chapter 37, adopted in response to AB 2299/SB 1069.
Effect: Created Salinas's local ADU framework and codified ministerial review for conforming ADUs. - 2020-02-04 — Salinas ADU code update conforming to AB 68/881/587/671/SB 13/AB 670 (city-ordinance)
Amended Section 37-50.250 to conform to the 2020 California ADU statute package.
Effect: Adopted statewide design / setback / parking standards locally. Aligned plan check and fee structure with state preemption. - 2023-08-22 — Salinas ADU checklist revision (administrative) (city-ordinance)
Permit Services updated New ADU and ADU Conversion checklists (rev 08.22.2023) reflecting SB 897 / AB 2221 height standardization and JADU clarifications.
Effect: Operationalized statewide 16-foot minimum height for detached ADUs and the 4-foot side/rear setback floor at the Salinas Permit Center counter. - 2024-04-15 — Salinas Pre-Approved ADU Plan program launch with Design Path Studio (city-ordinance)
Salinas launched a pre-approved ADU plan program offering four floor plans (495/553/749/746 sqft) in Craftsman/Mid-Century/Ranch/Spanish styles, valid in Salinas, King City, Soledad, and Gonzales.
Effect: Created the multi-jurisdiction Salinas Valley pre-approved-plan pathway. Plans are reusable across the four cities, cutting design time and plan-check cycles for selected projects. - 2025-09-16 — Zoning Code Amendment 2025-001 — proposal to rescind Section 37-50.250 (city-ordinance)
Planning Commission considered ZCA 2025-001 to delete Section 37-50.250 entirely, defaulting Salinas to state law for all ADU regulation.
Effect: If adopted, Salinas would have no local ADU code and would administer ADUs purely under Cal. Gov. Code §§ 65852.2 / 65852.22 — eliminating the conflict-resolution clause as moot.
Known issues (1)
- policy-review — Salinas City Council was processing Zoning Code Amendment 2025-001 (ID#25-505 / ID#25-539) to delete Section 37-50.250 entirely and apply state regulations directly. If adopted, all local ADU rules collapse to Cal. Gov. Code §§ 65852.2 / 65852.22.
Monterey County — county ADU rules and overlays
County ADU ordinance
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).
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 Codes
- 93901
- 93905
- 93906
- 93907
- 93908
- 93962
Post Office
- 100 W Alisal St Frnt, 93901
- 1011 Post Dr, 93907
- 40 Spreckels Blvd, 93908