Solana Beach · 92075 · North County coast
Solana Beach covers about 3.5 square miles between Encinitas and Del Mar, all of it in the Coastal Zone. A licensed San Diego County general contractor takes Solana Beach ADU, JADU and garage conversion requests through this site. These are Solana Beach's rules, not Carlsbad's.
Compact galley kitchenShort answer
Yes, you can add an ADU and a JADU to a Solana Beach single-family lot, and the City has to decide a complete application within 60 days. The catch is the coast: with no certified Implementation Plan, the California Coastal Commission, not the City, gives coastal approval, usually as a de minimis waiver, and the City wants that letter in your first submittal. A new detached unit is held to 800 sq ft on the City's streamlined path and to 16 ft (18 ft within a half mile walk of the Coaster station), and a separate water meter from Santa Fe Irrigation District costs far more than in Carlsbad.
Construction is the same work. The paperwork is not.
| Item | Solana Beach | Carlsbad (for comparison) |
|---|---|---|
| Coastal Zone share | The whole city | About 37%, mostly west of El Camino Real |
| Who issues the coastal approval | California Coastal Commission, San Diego Coast District | City of Carlsbad, under its certified LCP |
| Usual coastal outcome for an ADU | De minimis waiver, reported at a monthly Commission meeting | Minor coastal permit by City staff for detached units and garage conversions |
| New detached ADU size | 800 sq ft on the ministerial path | Up to 1,200 sq ft |
| Grading | ADU not allowed if it takes more than 50 cubic yards | No equivalent ADU cap |
| New 3/4 inch water meter | Santa Fe Irrigation District capacity charges near $34,000 | Carlsbad MWD about $5,669 with installation |
Solana Beach rules from SBMC 17.60.210 (Ordinance 542, 2026) and the City's June 2025 ADU submittal handout. For comparison, see our Carlsbad permit rules.
The City Council introduced Ordinance 542 on May 6, 2026, with adoption set for May 27. It moved the ADU rules from section 17.20.040(D) to a new section 17.60.210, answering a December 2025 state housing department (HCD) letter that flagged ten conflicts with state law.
| Rule | Detached ADU | Attached ADU | JADU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum size | 800 sq ft for a new detached unit on the streamlined path; 850 sq ft (studio or one-bedroom) or 1,000 sq ft (two or more bedrooms) otherwise | 850 or 1,000 sq ft by bedroom count | 500 sq ft inside the house |
| Height | 16 ft. Near a major transit stop (half mile walk): 18 ft, plus 2 ft for a roof pitch matching the house | 25 ft or the house's zone limit, whichever is lower, and two stories at most | Existing house |
| Side and rear setback | 4 ft | 4 ft | None for space already in the house |
| Separation | 6 ft eave to eave from the house; 10 ft where the ADU door faces another wall | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Owner occupancy | Not required | Not required | Required when the JADU shares a bathroom with the house |
Height is measured from the lower of existing or finished grade. Front setbacks follow the zone. Confirm the adopted text with the Planning Division.
Residential FAR starts at 0.60 on the first 5,000 sq ft of lot, then drops to 0.30 and 0.15. The City's handout keeps up to 800 sq ft of ADU out of that count, which is often what frees room on a built-out lot. The unit must match the house in style, materials and colors, and any ADU needing more than 50 cubic yards of grading is not allowed. Layouts on the detached ADU page carry over; its height and size numbers do not.
The Coastal Commission certified Solana Beach's Land Use Plan in 2013, after more than a decade of drafts, and the City adopted the Commission's modified version that February. The Implementation Plan, the other half of a Local Coastal Program, has sat on City work plans since 2014 and was still unfinished in 2025, per Surfrider's San Diego chapter. Until it is certified, nearly every home project needs coastal approval from the Commission's San Diego office.
For ADUs the usual tool is a de minimis waiver under Coastal Act section 30624.7. Recent Solana Beach examples from the Commission's monthly reports:
A waiver takes effect only after it is reported at a Commission meeting and the site is noticed; if four Commissioners object, a full coastal permit is needed. SnapADU, a San Diego ADU builder, estimates 4 to 6 months to permit with the coastal step. On bluff-top lots it advises getting Commission approval before the first City submittal, and SBMC 17.62 limits irrigation and drainage near the bluff edge.
The City requires a Structure Development Permit, with story poles and a 30-day neighbor notice for view assessment, for any new structure or addition over 16 ft. A 16 ft detached ADU stays at that line. We could not confirm whether the City applies this to a taller ADU near the station or a second-story attached unit, since state law requires ministerial ADU approval. Ask Planning before designing above 16 ft.
Four kinds of sites come up most in Solana Beach ADU planning.
MR-zoned lots west of 101 can be as small as 5,000 sq ft. The bluffs here have a history of collapse, so plan for geologic questions, bluff-edge drainage limits and Coastal Commission scrutiny before the City will finish its own review. On a narrow lot, converting part of the house to a JADU often fits better than a new building.
Solana Beach station, served by the Coaster and the Pacific Surfliner, counts as a major transit stop, so lots within a half mile walk skip the parking space and get the 18 ft detached height. Bus stops also count for the parking waiver.
La Colonia de Eden Gardens, settled in the 1920s by families of Mexican farmworkers, is one of the city's oldest areas, where early adobe homes later gave way to two-story apartments. On a lot with an existing multifamily building, the new rules allow ADUs in non-livable space for up to 25% of the units and up to eight detached ADUs, capped at the number of existing units.
Low-density zones carry minimum lots of 14,000 sq ft (LR) and 10,000 sq ft (LMR), with one principal home per lot. There is room for a detached unit, but slopes bring in the grading cap, and setback parking can be refused on topography or fire access grounds. The City adopted updated fire hazard maps effective July 18, 2025, so check your parcel in the state viewer.
Our ADU cost calculator is built on Carlsbad numbers, and Solana Beach construction lands in similar North County coastal ranges. Mid-finish planning numbers, flat lot and short utility runs: an 800 sq ft detached unit near $344,000 (roughly $296,000 to $392,000), a 750 sq ft one near $330,000, a 400 sq ft converted garage from $145,000 to $153,000, a 550 sq ft attached unit near $213,000 and a 300 sq ft JADU near $100,000. Slope, long trenches and bluff engineering add to that.
Where Solana Beach fees part from the calculator:
Apply to the Coastal Commission's San Diego Coast District for a waiver or exemption.
Email the building permit application, PDF plans and the Coastal Commission letter to the City's permit counter. A technician invoices plan check and assigns the ADU its own address.
Planning, Building, Engineering and Fire review electronically, with an outside reviewer for planting plans when needed. The City must approve or deny a complete application within 60 days.
No one can move into the ADU until the City approves occupancy of the main house, which matters when both are built together.
Pre-approved (PADU) plans are reviewed in about 15 days per cycle. Our design-build process page covers the stages, though the coastal step here is unique to Solana Beach.
Zillow's October 2026 averages for Solana Beach were $2,445 for a studio and $2,950 for a one-bedroom; Zumper's were $2,750 and $3,078. Their two-bedroom averages, above $5,500, mostly reflect whole houses. HUD's FY2026 figures for the San Diego metro sit lower: $2,288, $2,459 and $3,001. For an ADU, plan on roughly $2,300 to $2,750 for a studio, $2,450 to $3,000 for a one-bedroom and $3,000 to $4,000 for a two-bedroom.
Worked example: a 700 sq ft one-bedroom at $2,950 brings in $35,400 a year. Take off 5% for vacancy, 5% for upkeep and about $1,150 of added property tax, and about $30,700 is left before insurance and sewer charges. On a build near $316,000, that is close to 10% a year before financing.
In pictures
These are licensed stock photos (Pexels) chosen to show the kind of space or place described. They are not photographs of our contractor's completed projects.
No. With no certified Implementation Plan, coastal approval comes from the California Coastal Commission. Most ADUs get a de minimis waiver, and the City asks for that Commission letter with your building permit submittal.
An attached ADU can go up to two stories and 25 ft, or the house's zone limit if lower. A detached unit is held to 16 ft, or 18 ft plus 2 ft for matching roof pitch near the station. A two-story detached unit was waived on Seabright Lane in July 2026, but ask Planning about the 16 ft view assessment trigger first.
Often not. Units within a half mile walk of a transit stop, inside existing buildings, or a block from car share pickup need none. Otherwise one space is needed; tandem parking counts.
No. Solana Beach allows ADU and JADU rentals only for terms longer than 30 consecutive days, and plans must carry that note.
It has a pre-approved ADU program, but the plans come from private designers whose sets the City has approved, rather than free City-drawn plans. They are detached units up to 800 sq ft and 16 ft, and a preliminary meeting with staff is required before you submit.
Sources
Last checked November 7, 2026. These are Solana Beach's rules, summarized from City, Coastal Commission and district documents. Ordinance 542 was introduced in May 2026 and its full text is held by the City Clerk, so confirm current standards, fees and your parcel's coastal and fire status with the Planning Division before you design.
Next step
Three short steps, about a minute. A licensed San Diego County general contractor reviews what you send, checks your lot against your city's ADU, coastal and fire-zone rules, and replies with a realistic range and the questions that would change it.