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Detached backyard ADU with wood siding and black-framed glass doors at dusk
Upland, California

ADUs & Additions in Upland

Detached ADUs, garage conversions, room additions and second stories. Designed, permitted and built by our own crews.

ADUs & Additions built for Upland properties

Upland's General Plan calls it a foothill community and treats public views of the San Gabriel Mountains as an integral part of the city's sense of place. Euclid Avenue, listed on the national and state historic registers, runs through town inside a scenic corridor overlay, and nine local historic districts, from Old Magnolia to Victorian Row, were designated in 2003 and 2004. Around them the city mixes tree-lined corridors, low-density zones that require lots of at least 15,000 or 20,000 square feet, and planned communities such as Upland Hills Country Club and the Colonies at San Antonio. A backyard plan here often turns on three questions: whether the house is a listed or contributing historic resource, how the five-foot feature setback plays out on the lot, and whether the parcel falls in a mapped fire hazard area.

Single-family zoning runs from RS-4, with a 4,000-square-foot minimum lot, through RS-7.5 and RS-10 to the low-density RS-15 and RS-20 zones, which call for lots of at least 15,000 and 20,000 square feet, larger homes, large front, side and rear setbacks and wide separation between houses. Planned communities follow their own adopted specific plans rather than the base zones: the Upland Hills Country Club plan, straddling 16th Street east of North Campus Avenue, was approved in 1981 around an 18-hole golf course with homes at up to three dwellings per gross acre, and the Colonies at San Antonio sits just to its north.

We are a design-build team, which means the people who draw your project are the people who build it. Design, engineering, permits and construction run through one project manager and our own crews, so nothing gets lost in a handoff between a salesperson and a subcontractor. We are licensed, bonded and insured, CSLB license #1119054.

Permits in Upland: Every Building and Safety permit application goes through the city's online Citizen Self Service portal, and the division's counter at City Hall, 460 North Euclid Avenue, is open Monday through Thursday, with City Hall closed every Friday. The zoning code keeps swimming pools, spas and their equipment at least five feet from side and rear property lines and out of front yards. The city's pool barrier handout asks for two safety measures to satisfy both city and state rules, one of which must be a fence or barrier, and a pool enclosure must stand 60 to 72 inches high, with gates that open away from the pool, self-close and latch at least 60 inches above the ground. Altering a resource on the local register or a contributing property in one of the nine historic districts, including grading, surface paving, new structures, walls or tree removal that affect its significant visual or historical qualities, requires a Certificate of Appropriateness, and the city's pre-approved ADU plans cannot be used in high fire zone areas.

Permit details checked September 2026 against Upland Municipal Code and City of Upland. Rules change, so we confirm them again for your parcel.

What We Build

  • Certificate of Appropriateness submittals
  • Five-foot radial feature setback layouts
  • Pool enclosures and self-latching gates
  • Scenic Corridor front yard landscapes
  • High fire zone ADU plans and roofing
  • Detached ADUs, ground-up
  • Garage conversions to living space
  • Junior ADUs within the main house
  • Room additions and bump-outs
  • Second-story additions
  • Full kitchens and bathrooms in the ADU
  • Separate utility metering where required
  • Private entries, patios and landscaping
  • Plans, engineering and city submittals
  • Title 24 energy compliance

Local Conditions

What building in Upland actually involves

Every city in Southern California builds differently. These are the things that change the scope, the schedule or the budget on Upland projects.

01

Pools, spas, fountains, waterfalls, mechanical equipment, barbecues, fire pits and other garden features may not sit within a five-foot radius measured from a point five feet above grade at the nearest property line, and where a slope separates two lots that five-foot vertical point is taken from the slope surface of record, so side-yard width and grade changes decide where features can go.

02

Everything within 250 feet of the Euclid Avenue centerline lies in the Scenic Corridor overlay, which is meant to keep the deep landscaped front yards prominent along the corridor and new design compatible in scale and character with its neighbors, and dwellings there must be attenuated to an interior sound level no higher than 45 CNEL.

03

The Colonies at San Antonio, in the northeast of the city, was planned on the Cucamonga Basin spreading grounds, an alluvial fan once used to control surface drainage. South of 19th Street the land was largely altered by sand and gravel mining, and much of it had been excavated 40 to 60 feet below the original ground surface, which called for remedial grading to create stable slopes.

04

The General Plan's Safety Element requires development in areas of potential wildland fire hazard shown on its high fire hazard map to include clearance around structures, fire-resistant ground cover and fire-resistant roofing materials, and it encourages drought-resistant and fire-resistant plants where wildland fire is a risk. In high fire zone areas an ADU needs professionally drawn plans that meet high fire zone construction requirements.

Areas we serve in Upland:Historic Downtown UplandOld MagnoliaVictorian RowPleasant ViewUpland HillsColonies at San Antonio

Investment

What this costs in Upland

Real Southern California ranges, not a teaser number. Every project is priced line by line after we have seen the site.

Detached ADU

$150,000 to $400,000+

What moves it: square footage, finish level, utility runs, and site access; garage conversions typically run well below a ground-up detached build

Garage conversion ADU

$80,000 to $180,000

What moves it: whether the existing slab and framing meet current code, how far utilities have to run, and the finish level of the kitchen and bathroom

Plans, drawings and permit management

$4,500 to $25,000+

What moves it: project type and size, whether structural engineering, Title 24 or a soils report is required, and how many jurisdictions or review bodies are involved

Your number depends on your lot, your access and your finishes. We walk the site, then price every line so you can see exactly where the budget goes.

Get a line-item price for your Upland property

How We Build

Your Upland project, step by step

01

Feasibility

We check lot size, setbacks, utilities and access to confirm what your property will actually support.

02

Design & 3D

Layout, elevations and finishes, modeled in 3D so you approve the unit before submittal.

03

Plans & Permits

We prepare the full drawing set, handle engineering and Title 24, and manage the city submittal and corrections. In Upland that submittal goes to City of Upland Development Services, Building and Safety Division.

04

Foundation & Framing

Site prep, foundation, framing and dry-in by our own crews.

05

Systems & Finishes

Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, then kitchen, bath and interior finishes.

06

Final Inspection

We pass final inspection, walk the unit with you and hand over the keys.

Upland Questions

Common questions from Upland homeowners

Who issues the permits for this work in Upland?

City of Upland Development Services, Building and Safety Division. Every Building and Safety permit application goes through the city's online Citizen Self Service portal, and the division's counter at City Hall, 460 North Euclid Avenue, is open Monday through Thursday, with City Hall closed every Friday. The zoning code keeps swimming pools, spas and their equipment at least five feet from side and rear property lines and out of front yards. The city's pool barrier handout asks for two safety measures to satisfy both city and state rules, one of which must be a fence or barrier, and a pool enclosure must stand 60 to 72 inches high, with gates that open away from the pool, self-close and latch at least 60 inches above the ground. Altering a resource on the local register or a contributing property in one of the nine historic districts, including grading, surface paving, new structures, walls or tree removal that affect its significant visual or historical qualities, requires a Certificate of Appropriateness, and the city's pre-approved ADU plans cannot be used in high fire zone areas. We prepare the drawings, make the submittal and handle plan-check corrections ourselves, so you are not the one chasing plan check.

What makes building in Upland different?

Single-family zoning runs from RS-4, with a 4,000-square-foot minimum lot, through RS-7.5 and RS-10 to the low-density RS-15 and RS-20 zones, which call for lots of at least 15,000 and 20,000 square feet, larger homes, large front, side and rear setbacks and wide separation between houses. Planned communities follow their own adopted specific plans rather than the base zones: the Upland Hills Country Club plan, straddling 16th Street east of North Campus Avenue, was approved in 1981 around an 18-hole golf course with homes at up to three dwellings per gross acre, and the Colonies at San Antonio sits just to its north. One local condition that shapes the work: Pools, spas, fountains, waterfalls, mechanical equipment, barbecues, fire pits and other garden features may not sit within a five-foot radius measured from a point five feet above grade at the nearest property line, and where a slope separates two lots that five-foot vertical point is taken from the slope surface of record, so side-yard width and grade changes decide where features can go.

Which parts of Upland do you work in?

All of it, including Historic Downtown Upland, Old Magnolia, Victorian Row and Pleasant View. Our crews run every job out of our Cahuenga Pass base in Los Angeles, with our own people on site.

What does an ADU or addition cost in Upland?

Detached ADU: generally $150,000 to $400,000+ across Southern California. What moves it is square footage, finish level, utility runs, and site access; garage conversions typically run well below a ground-up detached build. We give line-item pricing after seeing the site rather than quoting a number over the phone.

How long does an ADU take start to finish?

Plan a realistic year. Design and engineering typically take one to three months, city plan check and corrections add several more, and construction usually runs four to eight months depending on size and site access.

Is a garage conversion cheaper than a detached ADU?

Usually yes, and often substantially, because the foundation, walls and roof already exist. The trade-offs are that you lose the garage, and older slabs and framing sometimes need upgrading to meet current code.

Can I rent the ADU out?

California ADU law is designed to allow long-term rental, and an ADU is one of the few ways to add rentable square footage to a single-family lot. Short-term rental rules vary by city, so confirm your local ordinance before counting on that income.

Do you handle the permits?

Yes. Plans, engineering, Title 24 and the city submittal are all handled in-house, including responding to plan-check corrections. That is a service we sell on its own, so it is not something we hand off.

Planning an ADU or addition in Upland?

Sit down with your project manager, go through the details, and get an accurate estimate for your property. We call you back within one business day.

Licensed, bonded & insured · CSLB license #1119054