Coastal ADU permits in 60 days.
Custom ADUs in Solana Beach, Del Mar, Encinitas, La Jolla, Cardiff, and Carlsbad. Design, permitting, and construction handled under one roof, under California AB 462.
The rules for coastal ADUs were rewritten.
Discretionary review, Coastal Commission appeals, and city-by-city delays kept many coastal ADUs in permit purgatory for over a year. Some never got approved at all.
Cities now have a hard sixty-day window to approve or deny. The Coastal Commission appeals path for ADU permits under a local coastal program is gone.
California Assembly Bill 462 took effect October 15, 2025. It mandates that coastal-zone Accessory Dwelling Unit permits be approved or denied within sixty days, and removes the Coastal Commission appeal path for ADUs permitted under a city's local coastal program. The tailwind is real, but only if the submittal is clean the first time.
Read AB 462 →Coastal North County, first.
- 01
Solana Beach
Cedros corridor and east-side parcels both qualify. Solana Beach's appeals path to the Coastal Commission has been removed. Permits land inside the 60-day window for clean submittals.
- 02
Del Mar
Permit timelines that ran 12 to 18 months pre-2025 now cap at 60 days. Most parcels in Del Mar are in the coastal-zone overlay.
- 03
Encinitas
Local coastal program in effect. AB 462's 60-day clock applies to most coastal-zone parcels in Encinitas, including Cardiff.
- 04
La Jolla
Coastal-zone parcels processed under San Diego's local coastal program. The 60-day mandate applies.
- 05
Cardiff
Falls under the Encinitas LCP. Our Solana Beach studio handles applications across the Cardiff corridor.
- 06
Carlsbad
Most parcels qualify. We confirm coastal-zone overlay on every site before drawing.
California AB 462, effective October 15, 2025, caps coastal-zone ADU permit approval at 60 days. Before AB 462, coastal-zone ADU applications routinely ran six to eighteen months. Some never got approved at all.
The 60-day clock only applies to clean submittals. A drawing set that comes back with deficiencies resets the timeline. The cities don't have to extend the clock for incomplete applications, because the law was written to reward applications that are right the first time.
We package every ADU drawing set for first-pass approval. The studio is in the Cedros Design District in Solana Beach. The work is coastal North County. The permits are part of what we do.
ADUs in California are the most leveraged piece of residential construction available right now. Per square foot, the rent or extended-family value of an ADU outperforms almost any other remodel a homeowner can undertake. The state has spent five years systematically removing the friction: setback reductions, parking exemptions, ministerial approval, and now the AB 462 60-day clock in the coastal zone.
The bottleneck isn't the law anymore. It's the drawing set.
Most ADU permit denials are deficiency denials. A floor area ratio off by a few percent. A setback miscalculated against the wrong overlay. A site plan that doesn't account for an easement. A coastal-zone application that doesn't reference the local coastal program correctly. Each one resets the clock.
We package for first-pass approval. The 60-day clock is a real number when the drawing set is right.
What we handle.
Site planning and design
Layout, setbacks, floor area ratio, parking analysis, and coastal-zone overlay verification handled in-house. No outsourced architect, no design-by-committee.
Permit acceleration
Every drawing set packaged for first-pass approval. Energy compliance, structural, MEP, and coastal-zone applications coordinated as one submittal.
Construction
Same team that drew it builds it. No coordination tax between architect, GC, and trades. The framing crew is on standby the day the permits clear.
Closeout and CofO
Inspections, certificate of occupancy, and any required affidavits handled to the door. You hold the keys when we're done.
Four steps, one team.
Discovery Call
A complimentary phone consultation. We pull up the parcel on Zillow and the city GIS during the call, look at the lot, check the coastal-zone overlay, and tell you what we think is buildable inside the 60-day window.
Design Consultation
A $250 on-site walkthrough with our principal. We walk the lot, locate the proposed ADU footprint, and confirm setbacks and access. The fee is credited in full to your project if you move forward.
Design Phase Contract
Site plan, floor plans, elevations, structural strategy, energy compliance, and coastal-zone permit package. Six to ten weeks typical. At the end, the drawing set is ready for first-pass submittal.
Construction Contract
The crew mobilizes the day the permits clear. Site prep, foundation, framing, MEP, drywall, finish, landscaping, certificate of occupancy.
Featured work.
Custom ADU
Oceanside, CA · 2024A compact accessory dwelling sized for full-time living. A real kitchen, a real bath, and proportions that don't feel like a guest house. Built to code-ready CalGreen standards with permitting handled end-to-end.
See the case studyBackyard ADU
Oceanside, CA · 2025A detached accessory dwelling sized for a long-term tenant or extended family. Matched siding profiles to the main house, a private entry sequence, and its own outdoor room.
See the case studyBefore you call.
How long does a coastal ADU permit take in California?
Under California AB 462, effective October 15, 2025, coastal-zone ADU applications must be approved or denied within 60 days of submittal. This is a significant change from prior timelines of six to eighteen months. The clock applies only to clean submittals.
Does AB 462 apply to my city?
AB 462 applies to ADU projects in California's coastal zone, which includes Solana Beach, Del Mar, La Jolla, Encinitas, Cardiff, and most parcels in Carlsbad. The 60-day clock applies to qualifying submittals only. We confirm the overlay on every site before drawing.
Can I convert my garage into an ADU?
Yes. Attached and detached garage conversions are one of the most common ADU configurations and are explicitly supported under California ADU law. Garage-to-ADU conversions often qualify for reduced setback and parking requirements. We handle design, permitting, and construction in-house.
How big can an ADU be?
California law allows ADUs up to 1,200 square feet for detached units. Attached ADUs are sized as a percentage of the primary residence, with the same 1,200-square-foot cap as a baseline. Local jurisdictions can permit larger sizes; coastal-zone rules add overlay considerations we walk through during the Design Phase.
Can I rent my ADU short-term?
That depends on your city's short-term rental ordinance, which is a separate regulation from the ADU permit. Many North County coastal cities restrict ADUs to long-term tenants only. We flag the local rule during design, before the permit set goes in.
What's the typical total project timeline?
Six to ten weeks in the Design Phase, 60 days for the coastal-zone permit under AB 462, and four to eight months for construction. End-to-end, a coastal ADU runs eight to twelve months from kickoff to certificate of occupancy.
Start your coastal ADU.
A $250 in-person design consultation with our principal, credited in full to your project. We'll walk the lot and tell you what's buildable inside the 60-day window.
Licensed and insured · CSLB #1142324
Last updated: May 2026