Accessory Dwelling Units

New San Bruno ADU Ordinance - April 2021

The San Bruno City Council passed a new ADU Ordinance (PDF) which went into effect on April 9, 2021.

  • As part of the City's efforts to streamline ADU construction, there is no longer a separate Planning entitlement (zoning verification review) at the beginning of the process.
  • All ADUs will go directly to the Building Division for a building permit submittal, where all departments will review after intake.

Please contact the Building Division at 650-616-7074 for any questions regarding building permit submittal and fees.

Designing Your ADU

The following documents will help you as you design your ADU:

Ready to Apply?

The following steps with assist you in applying for a building permit with the City of San Bruno Building Division. To proceed with the building permit process, please follow the steps below:

  1. Complete and submit the Building Permit Application (PDF) and ADU Submittal Checklist (PDF)
  2. Upload the completed application, checklist, and all required materials to this link.
  3. The filename should include the project address along with the words, "Permit Application". For example, "567 El Camino Real ADU Permit Application"
  4. If your project includes construction drawings and documents, please upload it with the building permit application to the link specified above.
  5. Once the permit application is uploaded, please send an email to the Building Department . If you do not get a confirmation from them in a couple days, please send another email requesting confirmation.

After Processing

When they have processed the permit application, they will respond to your email with the next steps which includes the following:

  • Instructions to pay any plan review fees that may apply to the project.
  • Routing of the project to plan review agencies. Please note, the plan review process will not commence unless plan review fees are paid.

If you have other questions about the building permit process, feel free to call the Building Division at 650-616-7074.