ADU rules in Galveston County, TX — also called accessory dwelling unit regulations or granny flat ordinances — cover setbacks, owner-occupancy, parking, and permit requirements.
Texas counties cannot zone, so unincorporated Galveston County sets no ADU rule. Inside the City of Galveston, one ADU is allowed per residential lot only if a principal building exists, and it cannot exceed the main home's floor area.
A TX county has no general zoning power, so ADUs in unincorporated areas (Bolivar Peninsula, Bacliff, San Leon) are governed only by state building/septic law, not a county ordinance. In the City of Galveston, LDR Sec. 2.303 allows one ADU per lot in R-0, R-1, R-3 (two in R-2), requires a principal building on the lot, bars manufactured homes/RVs/travel trailers/campers from being used as an ADU, and caps the ADU at the principal building's floor area. League City and Texas City set their own city ADU standards.
Building an ADU without required city permits is a code violation subject to stop-work orders and daily fines set by the city; counties cannot cite zoning violations.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Galveston County's adu rules rules stack up against other locations.
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