Service area
ADU and remodeling contractor in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara splits in two before it splits into floor plans. The City of Santa Barbara and the County of Santa Barbara are different permits. Coastal parcels often need a coastal development permit on top of the building permit. Inland parcels are a different checklist, and some need grading.
Matched stucco
Matched stucco, photo 1 of 5
We build and remodel in Santa Barbara for clients who want the permit pulled and the finish to match the house. The written scope includes what the coastal or design review might add to the calendar, once we know the parcel is in that zone.
This page is not a coastal approval and not legal advice. Send the address. We will tell you which counter has the job and whether the idea fits the lot.
City, county, coast, inland
A city address is reviewed by the City of Santa Barbara. Unincorporated county land, including a lot of the foothills and inland valleys, goes through county planning and building. Coastal-zone work commonly needs a coastal development permit before or with the building permit. Inland county ADUs are often a building permit, sometimes with grading. We sort that from the APN, not from the postcard view.
The house has to look like Santa Barbara
Spanish tile, white stucco, and careful eaves are not a style option you add later. Exterior work in the city can face design review. We draw and price the addition so it belongs on the street. A stucco patch that flashes a different color is a failed job.
Hillside and fire
Mission Canyon, the Riviera, and other foothill streets add access, fire, and sometimes septic or a long utility run. A flat lot in town is a simpler build. Both are real. They are not the same bid.
Remodels, not only new units
Baths, kitchens, stucco, and room additions are a large part of the Santa Barbara work. If the right project is a remodel of the house you have, we will say so instead of forcing an ADU onto a lot that should not have one.
Local questions
Do you work in Montecito, Goleta, or Carpinteria?
Ask with the address. Those are not automatically the City of Santa Barbara. Goleta and Carpinteria have their own cities. Montecito is generally county. If we can staff it, we will say yes. If the jurisdiction is outside what we are set up to permit, we will say that too.
Will a Santa Barbara ADU look like a modern box?
Not if we build it. Roof, color, and windows are scoped to the house. Where the city requires design review, that review is part of the job, not a surprise after the frame is up.
Free first conversation
Have a Santa Barbara address?
Send it. We’ll tell you which building department has the job and whether the idea fits the lot.