HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 11b - Ameding the Development Code pertaining to Accessory and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units
DATE: January 21, 2020
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director
By: Lisa Flores, Planning & Community Development Administrator
SUBJECT: ORDINANCE NO. 2370 AMENDING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE
ARCADIA DEVELOPMENT CODE RELATED TO ACCESSORY
DWELLING UNITS AND JUNIOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS AND
DETERMINING THE ORDINANCE IS CATEGORICALLY EXEMPT
UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (“CEQA”)
Recommendation: Adopt
SUMMARY
At its regular meeting of December 17, 2019, the City Council conducted a public
hearing, adopted an Urgency Ordinance, and introduced a regular Ordinance to amend
various sections of the Arcadia Development Code (Article IX of the Municipal Code)
under Text Amendment No. 19-02 to impose new limits on local authority to regulate
accessory dwelling units (“ADUs”) and junior accessory dwelling units (“JADUs”). This
action is to formally adopt the regular Ordinance introduced on December 17. The
Ordinance complies with Government Code Sections 65852.2 and 65852.22 that went
into effect on January 1, 2020. A copy of the original staff report is attached.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
It is recommended that the City Council adopt Ordinance No. 2370 amending various
sections of the Arcadia Development Code related to Accessory Dwelling Units and
Junior Accessory Dwelling Units and determining the Ordinance is categorically exempt
under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”)
Attachment No. 1: Ordinance No. 2370 with Exhibit A showing text amendments
Attachment No. 2: City Council Staff Report, dated December 17, 2019
Attachment No. 1
Ordinance No. 2370
D ATE: December 17, 2019
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Jason Kruckeberg, Assistant City Manager/Development Services Director
Lisa L. Flores, Planning & Community Development Administrator
SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO THE ARCADIA DEVELOPMENT CODE REGARDING
ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS AND JUNIOR ACCESSORY
DWELLING UNITS
Urgency Ordinance No. 2369 amending various sections of the Arcadia
Development Code related to Accessory Dwelling Units and Junior
Accessory Dwelling Units, and determining the Ordinance to be exempt
under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).
Recommendation: Adopt
Ordinance No. 2370 amending various sections of the Arcadia
Development Code related to Accessory Dwelling Units and Junior
Accessory Dwelling Units, and determining the Ordinance to be exempt
under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).
Recommendation: Introduce
SUMMARY
The proposed Urgency Ordinance and regular Ordinance amend various sections of the
Arcadia Development Code (Article IX of the Municipal Code) under Text Amendment
No. 19-02, to impose new limits on local authority to regulate accessory dwelling units
(“ADUs”) and junior accessory dwelling units (“JADUs”). The Ordinance is drafted to be
in compliance with the provisions of Government Code Sections 65852.2 and 65852.22
as amended by recent approved legislation that will take effect on January 1, 2020.
It is recommended that the City Council adopt Urgency Ordinance No. 2369 (refer to
Attachment No. 1), and introduce Ordinance No. 2370 (refer to Attachment No. 2),
amending various sections of Article IX of the Municipal Code related to accessory
dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units, and find that the ordinances are
Categorically Exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).
Attachment No. 2
Urgency Ordinance No. 2369 and Ordinance No. 2370
Regarding Accessory Dwelling Units
December 17, 2019
Page 2 of 6
BACKGROUND
Accessory Dwelling Units, also known as second units, granny flats, in-law suites, or
guest houses, are secondary homes on a property already containing an established
primary dwelling. Such units are defined generally as independent, self-contained
dwelling units with kitchen and bathroom facilities.
California’s second-unit law was first enacted in 1982 in California Government Code
Section 65852.2, and was significantly amended in 2002, with AB 1866, to encourage the
creation of second-units while maintaining local control and flexibility. In general, the
purpose of the State’s second-unit law is to provide for additional housing opportunities
in an efficient, affordable, sustainable manner. The intent is to remove barriers, and
ensure that local regulations are not, “…so arbitrary, excessive, or burdensome so as to
unreasonably restrict the ability of homeowners to create accessory dwelling units in
zones in which they are authorized by local ordinance.” (California Department of Housing
and Community Development Memorandum - December 2016).
The rising cost of housing and the lack of availability of a variety of affordable housing
types has been extensively discussed by the State Legislature in recent years. As part of
these discussions, the State of California and other housing advocacy groups have come
to view ADUs as an important affordable housing option. In 2014, the State enacted
legislation to provide additional opportunities for affordable housing in California and
further reduce barriers to development of ADUs. The existing ADU law includes several
provisions that limit a local jurisdiction’s ability to regulate many aspects of ADUs. The
City of Arcadia has updated its Ordinances over time to keep pace with the ongoing
changes to ADU requirements, while still retaining as much local control as possible.
In 2019, the California Legislature approved, and the Governor signed into law, a number
of bills (“New ADU Laws”) that, among other things, amended Government Code Sections
65852.2 and 65852.22 to impose new limits on local authority to regulate ADUs and Junior
Accessory Dwelling Units (“JADUs”). A JADU is defined as an accessory dwelling unit
that is contained entirely within a single-family structure and is not more than 500 square
feet in area.
The new ADU Laws take effect January 1, 2020, and if the City’s ADU ordinance does
not comply with the New ADU Laws, the City’s ordinance becomes null and void on that
date as a matter of law. For this reason, an urgency Ordinance is proposed to ensure that
the new regulations are in place prior to the new laws. However, the City Attorney has
also recommended a regular Ordinance be adopted, so both ordinances have been
included.
Urgency Ordinance No. 2369 and Ordinance No. 2370
Regarding Accessory Dwelling Units
December 17, 2019
Page 3 of 6
DISCUSSION
The text of California Government Code Sections 65852.2 and 65852.22 with AB 881,
SB 13, and AB 68(1) incorporated, is provided as Attachment No. 3. Nearly every city and
county in the State is required to amend its ADU ordinance in time to take effect before
January 1, 2020, or the ordinance will be null and void and the local agency will have to
approve ADUs ministerially without applying any architectural, landscaping, zoning or
development standards.
Some of the more significant changes in the recent State law are as follows:
1. The City/County can no longer require a minimum lot size; however, a lot cannot
have more than one ADU and a JADU, or an attached ADU (no Junior ADU or a
detached ADU is allowed with an attached ADU to the main residence).
2. ADUs are now allowed on lots with multifamily dwellings (not just single-family
dwellings on single-family zoned lots).
3. A City may not require a side or rear yard setback that is greater than 4’-0” for a
detached ADU.
4. There are fewer opportunities to regulate the size of the ADU. The maximum size
must be at least 850 square feet for attached and detached studio and one-
bedroom ADUs, and at least 1,000 square feet for two or more bedrooms. In
practice, an ADU might be limited to less than these maximums because of other
development standards such as floor area ratio and lot coverage. However, there
is another provision that prohibits the application of any standard that would not
allow for at least an 800 square foot ADU.
5. Converted ADUs may include an expansion to the existing structure of up to 150
square feet for ingress and egress by right.
6. Cities may no longer require replacement parking when a garage is converted to
an ADU.
7. Cities must ministerially approve a compliant ADU, and a junior ADU as well, within
60 days of receiving a complete application – a decrease from 120 days. The City
may extend that time if an applicant requests it.
8. Any new primary dwelling that requires a discretionary review may still be
subjected to the normal discretionary process, and consideration of an ADU on the
same lot may be delayed until the primary dwelling is approved; however, the ADU
decision must remain ministerial.
Urgency Ordinance No. 2369 and Ordinance No. 2370
Regarding Accessory Dwelling Units
December 17, 2019
Page 4 of 6
9. Cities now have to approve new ADUs with only a building permit (including
converted ADUs), without applying any standard except for 4-foot setbacks and
that the structure does not exceed 16-feet in height, if the ADU is 800 square feet
or less.
10. Impact fees are prohibited on ADUs that are 800 square feet or smaller.
Given these new requirements, the City is proposing objective design standards to satisfy
the statutory requirements limiting city discretion in approving accessory dwelling units.
The list includes architectural, landscape, and other objective standards. Some examples
of these standards include materials and colors of exterior walls, eaves, windows and
doors must match the primary dwelling, roof slopes must match, new ADUs may not be
located closer to the front property line than the primary residence, the same driveway
must be used to access the ADU as the primary dwelling, and screening landscaping
must be used. For a complete list of the standards proposed, (refer to Exhibit “A” of
Ordinance No. 2369).
PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING
The Planning Commission (“Commission”) held a public hearing on November 26, 2019,
for consideration of proposed changes. A group of residents from the Highland Oaks
Homeowners Association was present at the meeting and one person spoke in opposition
to the proposed changes. After concluding the public hearing, the Commission discussed
the changes and agreed that it was important to retain some local control and having the
new objective design standards would be helpful to the process to avoid the nullification
of local regulations should the City’s existing regulations not comply. The Commission
also expressed their understanding that, if the existing ordinance does not comply fully
with the new State regulations, it would make the entire ordinance invalid.
Following the discussion, the Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City
Council adopt the urgency ordinance (refer to Attachment No. 4 for the November 26,
2019, Planning Commission Staff Report, Meeting Minutes, and Resolution).
FINDINGS
The City Council finds as follows:
1. The proposed amendment is consistent with the General Plan and any
applicable specific plan(s).
Urgency Ordinance No. 2369 and Ordinance No. 2370
Regarding Accessory Dwelling Units
December 17, 2019
Page 5 of 6
Facts in Support of the Finding: The proposed text amendment is consistent
with the General Plan as the purpose of the proposed ordinance is to comply with
the amended provisions of Government Code Sections 65852.2 and 65852.22.
Additionally, the amendment and ordinance will continue to promote high quality
design in buildings and neighborhoods to the extent feasible. The ordinance has
been written to reinforce this goal and provide general standards for the
development of accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units
throughout the City. The proposed ordinance does not otherwise conflict with any
of the General Plan’s goals or policies.
2. For Development Code amendments only, the proposed amendment is
internally consistent with other applicable provisions of this Development
Code.
Facts in Support of the Finding: The proposed text amendment includes codifying
development standards for accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling
units in compliance with new state law. The amendment replaces existing language
within the Development Code that heretofore was compliant with state law. The new
development standards and regulations for accessory dwelling units and junior
accessory dwelling units are consistent with the remainder of the regulations for
development and construction in residential zones throughout the City.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Under California Public Resources Code Section 21080.17, the California Environmental
Quality Act (“CEQA”) does not apply to the adoption of an ordinance by a city or county
implementing the provisions of Section 65852.2 of the Government Code, which is
California’s ADU law and which also regulates JADUs, as defined by Section 65852.22.
Therefore, the proposed ordinance is statutorily exempt from CEQA in that the proposed
ordinance implements the State’s ADU law.
In addition to being statutorily exempt from CEQA, the proposed ordinance is also
categorically exempt from CEQA under the Class 3 exemption set forth in State CEQA
Guidelines Section 15303 (refer to Attachment No. 5). The Class 3 exemption
categorically exempts from CEQA, among other things, the construction and location of
new, small structures and the conversion of existing small structures from one use to
another. Section 15303 specifically lists the construction of appurtenant accessory
structures and garages as examples of activity that expressly falls within this exemption.
Here, the ordinance is categorically exempt under the Class 3 exemption because the
ordinance regulates the conversion of existing structures into, and the new construction
of, ADUs and JADUs, which are, by definition, structures that are accessory to a primary
dwelling on the lot.
Urgency Ordinance No. 2369 and Ordinance No. 2370
Regarding Accessory Dwelling Units
December 17, 2019
Page 6 of 6
PUBLIC COMMENTS/NOTICE
A public hearing notice for this item was published in the Arcadia Weekly on Thursday,
December 5 and 12, 2019. As of December 11, 2019, staff has not received any
comments.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council approve the findings set forth in the staff report;
and
1. Adopt Urgency Ordinance No. 2369 amending various sections of the Arcadia
Development Code related to accessory dwelling units and junior accessory
dwelling units and determining that the ordinance is Categorically Exempt under
the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).
2. Introduce Ordinance No. 2370 amending various sections of the Arcadia
Development Code related to accessory dwelling units and junior accessory
dwelling units and determining that the ordinance is Categorically Exempt under
the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”).
Attachment No. 1: Urgency Ordinance No. 2369
Exhibit “A” – Proposed Text Amendments to the Development
Code Relating to Accessory Dwelling Units and New
Objective Design Standards
Attachment No. 2: Ordinance No. 2370
Attachment No. 3: Changes to ADU laws – Government Code Sections 65852.2 and
65852.22, AB 881, and AB 68(1)
Attachment No. 4: November 26, 2019, Meeting Minutes, Resolution No. 2044, and
Planning Commission Staff Report
Attachment No. 5: Preliminary Exemption Assessment