Pre-Approved ADU Program

Pre-Approved ADU Construction Plans Program

On January 18, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution 2022-06 authorizing staff to purchase three sets of accessory dwelling unit (ADU) construction plans to offer to Winters residents at no additional cost. Staff has created this “Pre-Approved ADU Construction Plans Program” to assist property owners interested in constructing an ADU on their property. The pre-approved construction plans below are available for residents to use to obtain building permits within the City of Winters. The full set of plans is required for building permit applications. Additional documents and outside costs are outlined in the section below. The plans will also need to be reviewed by all applicable outside agencies. Please review the ‘’Pre-Approved ADU Submittal Checklist” before submitting your building permit application.

PRE-APPROVED ADU SUBMITTAL CHECKLIST (pdf)

Additional Information and Outside Costs

City residents interested in constructing an ADU on their property would be allowed to use one of the three ADU plan sets at no cost. However, residents should expect the following outside costs needed for building permit issuance of the pre-approved ADU construction plans:

• Site plan showing the location of the ADU, setback distances, and parking location
  • ADU’s are required to provide one off-street parking space
• Energy code compliance; energy certification through an online system such as CalCerts;
• A solar design, typically completed by a solar contractor; and
• Fire sprinkler design will be required if the primary residence has fire sprinklers.

In addition, Winters residents who wish to use one of the pre-approved ADU constructions will be required to sign a liability waiver, see link below. The liability waiver is required to be included with your building permit application.

LIABILITY WAIVER (pdf)

Building Permit Costs

City residents who utilize the City’s Pre-Approved ADU Construction Plans will be responsible for payment of building permit fees, which will be dependent on the selected ADU plan set and the project’s valuation. Building permit fees will be calculated on a case-by-case basis.

ADU Plans

The three sets of ADU construction plans available to Winters residents would be as follows: