Frequently Asked Questions

If your house shares a water line with a neighbor, your property will need to be disconnected from the shared service and a new water service will need to be installed from the City main to the property to serve the primary residence, and the ADU. You may need to upsize your existing lateral water line to serve both your primary dwelling and the new ADU. The water lateral will need to be constructed per City standards and a new water meter for the ADU installed. See water lateral schematic (PDF). 

Electrical panels and sub-panels, also known as circuit breaker panels/sub-panels or service panels/sub-panels, must be accessible to the ADU and JADU. Problems can arise if the ADU or JADU occupant cannot access the electrical panel or sub-panel when a circuit is overloaded, or a fault occurs. Electrical sub-panels serve as a waypoint between the main electric panel and branch circuits further down the electrical line and can be installed in a secondary location on your property to be accessible to the ADU or JADU.