San Jose council to vote Nov. 17 on letting small-lot owners build 1,200-square-foot backyard homes

SAN JOSE — Owners of lots of 9,000 square feet or less could build a detached backyard home, or accessory dwelling unit (ADU), of up to 1,200 square feet, up from 1,000, under zoning changes the City Council takes up Nov. 17, according to the draft ordinance.

Detached ADUs would no longer have to sit in the back yard or stand 6 feet from the house; building and fire codes would set spacing. A two-story cap goes, but the 25-foot height limit stays.

Retaining walls up to 4 feet, measured from the top of the wall to the bottom of its footing, would need no special zoning approval. Walls of 4 to 7 feet would need an administrative permit; taller ones, a special use permit. Now, walls over 2 feet above grade need a special use permit.

In state-mapped high and very high fire hazard zones, owners of flatter lots could remove trees within 100 feet of a home whose canopies come within 10 feet of other trees through the city’s simpler “unsuitable tree” process, usually with an arborist’s finding.

The changes are on the land-use consent calendar, normally passed in one vote unless a council member pulls them.

Source: City of San José draft ordinance, File 26-1198, Item 10.1(a), Nov. 17, 2026 council agenda; Planning transmittal memo, Oct. 26, 2026; Council agenda, Nov. 17, 2026.