Jurupa Valley | ADUs and SB 9

Jurupa Valley, California ADUs and SB 9: The 2026 ADU Ordinance, Permit-Ready Plans, Fees and Two-Home Projects

An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is a second home on a lot, inside the house, attached to it or in its own building. A junior ADU (JADU) is a small unit of up to 500 square feet inside a single-family house. SB 9 is the state law that lets an owner build two main homes on a single-family lot. Jurupa Valley writes its ADU rules in Section 9.240.290 of the Municipal Code and its SB 9 rules in Chapter 9.305. This page covers both, as amended in May 2026, with the City's permit-ready plans and the fees an ADU pays. The Jurupa Valley overview has the summary.

The May 2026 ADU Ordinance

Jurupa Valley has changed its ADU rules twice since October 2025. On October 2, 2025 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2025-22 for two state laws that took effect that year. Then three 2025 state bills, SB 9, SB 543 and AB 1154, changed ADU law again on January 1, 2026. The May 7, 2026 staff report says those bills set new timelines for checking and deciding ADU applications, measure ADU size as "interior livable space," change the fee rules, allow any combination of the ADU types that state law protects, and limit when a city may require the owner to live on a lot with a JADU.

The Planning Commission recommended the update on March 25, 2026 by Resolution No. PC-0008. The City Council introduced Ordinance No. 2026-04 on May 7, 2026 by a 4-1 vote, with Mayor Berkson opposed, according to the May 7 minutes, and adopted it on May 21, 2026, according to the May 21 minutes. The ordinance says it "shall take effect thirty (30) days after passage" and directs staff to send it to the state Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) within 60 days. Municode Supplement 27 prints the amended Section 9.240.290 with "Ord. No. 2026-04, § 2, 5-21-2026" in its history note, so the online code is current for ADUs.

One City page lags behind. The Accessory Dwelling Units page still opens with "In December 2020, the City of Jurupa Valley adopted a new Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) Ordinance," and the ADU Handbook is dated June 2024 and cites the old Government Code section 65852.2. Where they differ from Section 9.240.290 as amended in 2026, the code controls.

ADU Types and Limits

Source: Jurupa Valley Municipal Code Sec. 9.240.290, subsections C, E and F, as amended by Ordinance No. 2026-04 (Supplement 27); Gov. Code 66323.

The first, second, fifth and sixth rows are the types that Government Code 66323 protects: a city "shall ministerially approve" them, meaning staff check them against fixed rules with no hearing, and since 2026 an owner may build "any combination" of them. The May 7 staff report sums up the result for a house lot: one converted ADU, one detached ADU and one JADU, "up to three accessory units and four total dwelling units on a single-family lot." The City's own text in subsection C.(2)(b) says the detached ADU "may be combined with a JADU."

Two Ways to Apply

Building permit only. Under subsection C.(1), no ADU application to the Community Development Director is needed for an ADU or JADU that meets the state-protected types. The owner files a building permit application with the Building and Safety Department. The City's ADU page says this route covers ADUs "that are 800 square feet or smaller" and asks for plans and calculations on a USB flash drive at the public counter at 8930 Limonite Avenue. Before the permit is issued and before final inspection, the page lists clearances from Building and Safety, Planning, Public Works and Engineering, the school district, the Jurupa Area Recreation and Parks District, the water or sewer provider, and CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department.

ADU application. Any other ADU, such as a detached ADU over 800 square feet, needs an ADU application to the Community Development Director under subsection D. The City's ADU page calls this a Land Use Entitlement application. The code lists what it must include: an owner's affidavit, a site plan with easements, septic tanks, leach lines and utilities, "Panoramic color photographs showing the property from all sides," floor plans, elevations, a written confirmation of water and sewer service, and "A title report dated within thirty (30) days of application submittal."

• Completeness. The Director "shall ministerially review the ADU application and determine if the application is complete within 15 business days of submittal." An applicant may appeal a finding that the application is incomplete under Government Code 66317.
• Decision. "The city shall act upon the ADU permit within sixty (60) days of receiving the completed application," and notice of the decision is mailed to the applicant. A denial may be appealed under Government Code 66317.
• With a new house. When an ADU is filed with a main house that needs discretionary review, the ADU is processed separately, "without discretionary review or a public hearing," after the action on the house.
• Time to build. An approved ADU must be used within two years. An extension may be requested before then, but the total time may not exceed five years from issuance.

Size, Height, Setbacks and Design

• Size. A detached ADU may have 850 square feet of interior livable space, or 1,000 square feet with more than one bedroom. An attached ADU built with a new house has the same limits. "In no case shall an ADU be less than an 'efficiency unit'" as defined in state law.
• Height. A detached ADU may be 16 feet tall; 18 feet, or 20 feet to match the roof pitch of the house, within one-half mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor; and 18 feet on a lot with a multi-story apartment building. An attached ADU may be 25 feet or the height of the main house, whichever is lower. An ADU over a garage follows the zone's height limit.
• Setbacks. No setback is needed for an ADU inside an existing structure or rebuilt in the same place and size. Other ADUs need four feet from side and rear lines. Front yard setbacks apply unless they "would not permit construction of an eight hundred-square foot ADU that is sixteen (16) feet in height with at least four-foot side and rear yard setbacks." Lot coverage rules give way on the same terms.
• Design and access. An ADU must meet any objective design standards for its zone or specific plan, and "shall have a separate exterior access." Fire sprinklers are required only if the main house needs them.
• What may not be an ADU. "Recreational trailers are not permitted to be used as ADUs," including recreational vehicles and mobile or motor homes.
• Garage replacement. When a detached garage is replaced by an ADU, the demolition permit is reviewed and issued with the ADU, with no notice or placard unless the lot is in a historic district.

One rule is stricter than state law. Subsection E.(3)(a) says that with an existing house, "an attached ADU shall not exceed fifty (50) percent of the gross floor area for the primary dwelling." On a 1,200 square foot house that is 600 square feet (VanPlex arithmetic). Government Code 66321 bars a maximum size below "Eight hundred fifty square feet of interior livable space," and bars any size limit "based upon a percentage of the proposed or existing primary dwelling" that does not allow at least 800 square feet. The statute controls, so an attached ADU of at least 850 square feet must be allowed.

Junior ADUs

Subsection F follows Government Code 66333. A JADU must have between 220 and 500 square feet of interior livable space and must sit "entirely within the walls of the existing or proposed single-family dwelling," including an attached garage. It needs a separate exterior entry, an interior door to the main living area, and an efficiency kitchen with a cooking appliance, a food preparation counter and storage cabinets. No extra parking is required, "even when the JADU is converted from an attached garage." Since May 2026, "If sanitation facilities are shared with the primary structure, owner occupancy of the primary structure is required," and if the JADU has its own bathroom, owner occupancy is not required.

Before a certificate of occupancy for a JADU, the owner records a declaration of restrictions: the JADU may not be sold separately from the house but may be rented, and it may not be rented for less than 31 days. The City's ADU page says a covenant is recorded for an ADU or JADU and that "ADU cannot be used for short-term rentals for less than 31 days." The code text in Supplement 27 ties the recorded declaration to JADUs, while the same section bars ADU rentals under 31 days in subsection E. Ask the Planning Division whether it still asks for a covenant on an ADU.

Parking for ADUs

Subsection E.(4) requires "one (1) off-street parking space" for each ADU, on top of the house's parking, with six exceptions: the ADU is within one-half mile walking distance of public transit; it is in an architecturally and historically significant historic district; it is part of the house or an accessory structure; on-street parking permits are required but not offered to the ADU occupant; a car share space is within one block; or the ADU is filed with a new house or apartment building on the same lot. When a garage, carport or parking space is converted or removed to build the ADU, the lost spaces need not be replaced. A JADU needs no parking.

ADU Fees, Water and Sewer

Sources: City of Jurupa Valley ADU Handbook, "Fees included on this page reflect current fees as of April 2024"; May 21, 2026 MSHCP fee report; Sec. 9.240.290.G.

An impact fee is a one-time charge on new building that pays for roads, parks and other public facilities. Subsection G says ADUs of 750 square feet of interior livable space or less, and JADUs of 500 square feet or less, "shall not be subject to impact fees," and ADUs and JADUs under 500 square feet are not subject to school fees. Larger ADUs pay a share "in relation to the square footage of the primary dwelling unit." The Handbook's example: a 750 square foot ADU beside a 3,000 square foot house pays 25 percent of the house-level fees of $10,512.75, or $2,628.19. The Handbook says fees "reflect current fees as of April 2024." The habitat fee in that total, $3,947, has since risen to $4,632 per home for homes built at a density under eight homes per acre, from July 1, 2026, by Resolution No. 2026-30.

Water and sewer may come from the house's connections. A new ADU that is not a conversion may need its own utility connection, with a fee "proportionate to the burden" of the ADU. The City will not issue a building permit until the owner provides a will serve letter, a letter from the water and sewer provider promising service. On a lot with a septic system or private well, approval by the Building Official, and by the Riverside County Health Department for a well, takes the place of the letter.

Permit-Ready Plans and Old Unpermitted Units

The City's Permit Ready Accessory Dwelling Unit (PRADU) program offers four detached ADU plans that the Building and Planning Divisions have pre-approved: Prototype 1, a 500 square foot studio; Prototype 2, a 730 square foot one bedroom; Prototype 3, a 1,000 square foot two bedroom; and Prototype 4, a 1,000 square foot three bedroom. Each comes in California Ranch, Cottage and Mediterranean styles, in standard and reversed layouts, and there is a 480 square foot detached garage plan. Owners add a site plan, any percolation report or energy calculations the plans call for, and a hold harmless statement. On November 21, 2024 the City Council also approved permit-ready plans for accessory buildings, including barns, storage sheds, animal stalls and patio covers, now posted on the Permit-Ready Accessory Buildings page.

For units already built without permits, a May 21, 2026 staff report says the City, "in compliance with AB 2533, established a more streamlined building permit process for homeowners to apply for a permit to legalize an unpermitted ADU or JADU, constructed before January 1, 2020." The report asked the City Council for direction on a similar process for other residential structures built or changed before January 1, 2017.

SB 9 Two-Home Projects

Chapter 9.305, adopted by Ordinance No. 2023-17 and amended by Ordinance No. 2025-23, sets the City's standards for SB 9 housing developments under Government Code 65852.21. Each SB 9 project is "permitted by right subject to ministerial review, with no hearing, by the Community Development Director." The owner files a sworn statement of eligibility.

• Zones. R-R, R-R-O, R-1, R-D and R-A. The R-R, R-1, R-A and R-D use lists name "SB 9 development project" as a permitted use, and R-R-O allows any use permitted in R-R.
• Excluded land. The same list as for lot splits: prime farmland, wetlands, very high fire hazard severity zones unless fire mitigation measures are met, hazardous waste sites, earthquake fault zones, FEMA flood zones and floodways with exceptions, conservation and habitat lands, conservation easements and historic sites.
• Tenants. No more than 25 percent of the exterior walls of a house occupied by a tenant in the last three years may be demolished, and the project may not demolish rent-restricted housing or housing withdrawn under the Ellis Act in the last 15 years.
• Setbacks and parking. Four feet from side and rear lines, except for existing structures. One parking space per unit unless the lot is within one-half mile walking distance of a high quality transit corridor or major transit stop, or a car share vehicle is within one block.
• No ADUs with a split. "No ADU or JADU shall be allowed on parcels that use both" Government Code 65852.21 and 66411.7.
• Septic. For homes on an onsite wastewater system, "a percolation test must have been completed within the last five (5) years," or ten years if recertified.
• Rentals. Short-term rentals of less than 30 days are prohibited.

Under Section 9.305.040, the Director "shall approve an exception" to any standard that would physically prevent two homes on the lot or prevent either home from having 800 square feet of floor area. Under Section 9.305.050, the Building Official may deny a project only with written findings of a specific, adverse impact on public health and safety with no feasible way to avoid it. Government Code 65852.21 requires a decision within 60 days of a complete application. The lot size and subdivisions page covers SB 9 lot splits, and the SB 9 page explains the state law.

One City rule describes an older version of the SB 9 chapter. The inclusionary housing chapter, Section 9.267.030, exempts SB 9 units "as the city's SB 9 ordinance requires that one (1) of the units have an affordability covenant recorded against it." Chapter 9.305 as printed in Supplement 27 contains no such covenant. The inclusionary section goes on to say that if no permanent ordinance with an affordability requirement is adopted, SB 9 projects "would be subject to the inclusionary housing requirement." Ask the Housing Division whether it charges the inclusionary in-lieu fee on an SB 9 home before you budget the project.

Where to Go Next

Related on VanPlex: the Jurupa Valley overview, the California ADU law page and the California impact fees page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Official sources (checked October 2026)