ADUs · Los Altos Hills
Explore a Los Altos Hills ADU with the property in view. Compare the living needs, possible location, access, and utility connections before settling on a footprint or plan. A Los Altos Hills ADU starts with the site: living needs, placement, access, and utility connections—not a plan alone.
Local requirements and project fit remain property- and scope-specific.
Property before assumptions
An open area on a property is a starting point, not confirmation that it can hold an ADU. In Los Altos Hills, review available site records and the actual conditions before deciding which locations deserve design work. Not every property has the same constraints.
Explore every Los Altos Hills serviceGather available boundary, easement, utility, and earlier project information. Note trees, changes in grade, or drainage features where present; identify what needs confirmation rather than assuming each limits the project.
Trace the route from the existing access to the ADU entry. Compare privacy, outdoor use, lighting, and maintenance access with how the main household uses the property.
Study how materials and equipment could reach the work, where utilities might connect, and which areas need protection. Ground and access work belong in the concept discussion, not after the layout is fixed.
Compare the construction path
Use the intended living arrangement and verified conditions to compare a new detached space, an attached option, or a conversion. A familiar-looking plan is not a property approval.
Connected scope
The diagram is an orientation tool. The property, drawings, consultant input, and confirmed conditions determine the actual scope.
Define who the space is for, how independently it should function, and which privacy, storage, kitchen, bath, and access needs matter most.
Study the main house, outdoor space, neighboring sightlines, daylight, vegetation, and property-specific constraints before fixing a footprint.
Consider how occupants, visitors, deliveries, waste, and maintenance move between the street, ADU, main home, and shared yard.
Review potential routes, existing capacity questions, metering goals, equipment locations, and service access before the plan hardens.
Coordinate available site information with foundation planning, surface water, roof drainage, weather protection, and durable exterior transitions.
Align cabinetry, appliances, fixtures, doors, windows, clearances, storage, lighting, and mechanical space where every inch has several jobs.
Property checkpoints
The Terra Buildr approach
Each stage has a different job: understand the property, define the work, coordinate the moving pieces, and carry the plan through closeout.
Define the occupants, daily needs, desired independence, property context, and the reason an ADU is being considered.
Compare placement, access, utility concepts, privacy, site conditions, drawings, and the property-specific review path.
Align consultants, plans, trade input, selections, site logistics, assumptions, and outstanding decisions before construction.
Carry the defined work through site preparation, structure, enclosure, systems, finishes, walkthrough, punch work, and handoff.
Before the first review
Existing plans, surveys, photographs, known conditions, inspiration, and timing goals help when available. None are required to begin the conversation.
Local planning resources
Official Town sources reviewed September 5, 2026. Use the resources to prepare questions, then confirm current property-specific rules, documents, and the review path with Planning staff.
Nearby service areas
Explore other services for your property, with local planning considerations and a clear starting point for each scope.
Los Altos Hills ADUs questions
The Town's ADU page describes a pre-application meeting with a planner to identify plans and documents, including geotechnical information, for building-permit review. Confirm the current process and property-specific requirements with staff. That meeting helps define the application; it is not approval to build.
No. The Town states that its linked pre-approved plans still require consultation with Planning about placement on the property. Review the proposed location and current rules with staff rather than treating a plan as approval for the entire project.
No. Properties differ. Identify actual grade, drainage, trees, access, and existing structures, then determine which conditions affect the proposal. Do not assume the same construction approach applies to every parcel or that every potential issue is present.
No. Share the intended use, location, and records or photographs you already have. The first discussion can identify which information still needs to be gathered. The Town's planning-documents page includes ADU and pre-application checklists; confirm with staff which materials your proposal needs.
Start with the property
Share the intended use, property location, known conditions, and current design stage so the right ADU questions can come first.