Orinda ADUs Look Simple Until the File Splits in Two

2 permit desks, $753 + $1.90/sf design review, and $2,204 Public Works can hit Orinda ADUs fast. Start with the split.

Orinda ADUs can look simple on paper and still turn into two queues, a $753 + $1.90 per square foot design review, and a $2,204 Public Works file the minute the project stops acting like a clean ministerial ADU. That is the real Orinda trap. Contra Costa County's own ADU guidance says Orinda planning approval comes first. Contra Costa County building permit review comes second. Orinda's building permits page says the same thing in a different way: planning approval is not the building permit, and the County is the one issuing the construction permit. A lot of homeowners treat that like one…