Civic Data Works · Plans catalog · City of Santa Barbara

City of Santa Barbara — preapproved ADU plans

City of Santa Barbara ( County) posts 3 preapproved accessory dwelling unit plans on its own website, verified 2026-07-30.

Agency: City of Santa Barbara
County
Plans posted: 3
Verified: 2026-07-30

What’s posted

The city's Preapproved ADU Program page (santabarbaraca.gov/Pre-Adu) lists three preapproved designer plans with contact info and floor plan documentation: BESHDA (406 sq ft studio with sleeping loft, 4 exterior schemes), Bevyhouse (740 sq ft factory-built 1BR/1BA, 3 styles), and Godkin Design/Build (526 sq ft studio, 3 styles); it also accepts ongoing third-party designer submissions via a Pre-Application with designer liability agreement.

Sources: https://santabarbaraca.gov/Pre-Adu, https://santabarbaraca.gov/news/accepting-preapproved-adu-submission

Cleanest compliance of the eight: program page, posted plans with applicant contact info, and an open rolling submission process for designers. Program offers half-time review and 25% plan-check fee discount for preapproved plans. Adversarially re-verified 2026-07-30: page independently re-fetched, all three designer plans rendered with contact emails/phones and style schemes; NEW finding - the Bevyhouse listing now carries the note 'not eligible for permitting due to updates in the 2025 construction codes', so only 2 of the 3 posted plans are currently permittable.

Any other agency can adopt these plans

Cal. Gov. Code § 65852.27, added by Stats. 2023, ch. 759, amended by Stats. 2024, ch. 7 (SB 477) (§ 65852.27(a)(5)) lets any California local agency admit into its own program plans “A local agency may also admit the following accessory dwelling unit plans into the program: (A) Plans that have been developed and preapproved by the local agency. (B) Plans that have been preapproved by other agencies within the state.” A city or county without a preapproval program of its own can post City of Santa Barbara’s plans as part of its own program instead of designing new ones — see the full statewide catalog for more options.

We build and maintain the program page, the plan library and the required third-party submission path for agencies that want to stand this up: $1,950 setup + $3,600/year (year one all-in $5,550).

Get started — $1,950 setup Questions? Email [email protected]

Data from Civic Data Works’ AB 1332 compliance scan. If City of Santa Barbara’s plans have moved or you find an error, write to [email protected] and we will correct this page. Back to the full catalog.