ADU Surveys in Pinole, CA

Pinole's ADU checklist is more granular than its neighbors': the site plan must show easements, all structures, trees over just 4 inches in diameter — the lowest tree threshold in the county — utility line locations, right-of-way features, and two measured distances most applicants have never thought about: from the ADU to the nearest fire hydrant (under 400 feet brings additional requirements) and from the ADU to the curb (under 150 feet likewise). The city also requires a sewer lateral certificate of compliance issued within the last ten years, backed by a dated lateral video from cleanout to main — so the sewer, like everything else on this checklist, is verified rather than assumed. These are measurement tasks, and they all live naturally on a surveyed base map.

Pinole's terrain splits along Pinole Creek. Old Town's compact grid near San Pablo Avenue dates to the early 1900s, with the familiar drift between record lines and hundred-year-old fences; the postwar and newer tracts climb the valley walls, where backyard slopes put grading and drainage into play even though the ADU checklist never mentions topography. Pinole Valley's creek corridor adds its own setbacks and flood considerations for adjacent parcels. Our laser-scanned site survey handles the full checklist in one visit — boundary, structures, the 4-inch-and-up trees, utility evidence, hydrant and curb distances measured rather than paced — and field inspectors frequently require a surveyor to verify foundation forms against the approved setbacks before the pour, which the same boundary work supports with a short return visit.

Records run through the Contra Costa County Recorder in Martinez. Deliverables are a stamped base map, layered DWG, and staked corners; for slope-led projects on the valley walls see our Pinole topographic surveys.