The California Department of Housing and Community Development has released a new edition of their ADU Handbook. The following is a summary of the Recent Changes to ADU law.
Objective Standards. Requires local agencies to only impose objective standards on ADUs, which “involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official prior to submittal” of an ADU permit application.
Detached Garages. Allows ADUs detached from the proposed or existing primary dwelling, including in detached garages.
Occupancy Change. Provides that the construction of an ADU does not constitute a Group R occupancy change under the local building code, unless the local agency makes a written finding based on substantial evidence in the record that the construction of the ADU could have a specific, adverse impact on public health and safety.
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Fire Sprinklers. Precludes ADU construction from triggering a requirement that fire sprinklers be installed in the existing primary dwelling.
Permitting Process. Requires a permitting agency to either approve or deny (replacing the former language “act on”) an application to create or serve an ADU or JADU within 60 days from when a completed application is received, if there is an existing single-family or multifamily dwelling on the lot.
Concurrent Permitting. Clarifies that permitting agencies may concurrently approve or deny a proposed ADU and new single-family or multifamily dwelling when submitted simultaneously for permitting. The application for the ADU shall be considered without discretionary review or hearing. Clarifies that permitting agencies may concurrently approve or deny a proposed JADU and new single-family dwelling when submitted simultaneously for permitting.
Permitting Agency Denials. Obligates a permitting agency, when it denies an ADU or JADU application, to “return in writing a full set of comments to the applicant with a list of items that are defective or deficient and a description of how the application can be remedied by the applicant” within 60 days from when a completed application is received.
Demolition Permits. Adds a requirement for a local agency to review and issue a demolition permit for “a detached garage that is to be replaced with an ADU” at the same time it reviews, and issues permits for, the ADU construction. Also prohibits permitting agencies requiring applicants to “provide written notice or post a placard for the demolition of a detached garage … unless the property is located within an architecturally and historically significant district.”
Zoning & Setbacks. Prohibits a local agency from requiring “a zoning clearance or separate zoning review or any other minimum or maximum size for an accessory dwelling unit, size based upon a percentage of the proposed or existing primary dwelling, or limits on lot coverage, floor area ratio, open space, front setbacks, and minimum lot size, for either attached or detached dwellings that does not permit at least an 800 square foot accessory dwelling unit with four-foot side and rear yard setbacks to be constructed in compliance with all other local development standards.”
Detached ADU Height Limitations. Establishes a base height limitation of 16 feet for detached ADUs. Increases the maximum height limitation on a detached ADU to 18 feet if the ADU is “either within a half-mile walking distance of a major transit stop or a high-quality transit corridor” and provides for an 14 additional two feet for roof pitch to align with the roof pitch of the primary dwelling unit.” Increases the height to 18 feet for a detached ADU that is “on a lot with an existing or proposed multifamily, multistory dwelling.”
Attached ADU Height Limitations. Establishes the maximum height limitation that may be imposed by a local agency on an attached ADU to 25 feet, or the existing primary dwelling height limit if lower than 25 feet. Does not require a local agency to allow an ADU to exceed two stories.
Parking Standards. Prohibits local agencies from imposing parking in a number of specific circumstances.
Zoning Nonconformance & Building Code Violations. Prohibits local agencies from denying an ADU permit due to the correction of “nonconforming zoning conditions, building code violations, or unpermitted structures that do not present a threat to public health and safety and are not affected by the construction of the accessory dwelling unit.” The prohibition was also added to Government Code section 66336 to apply to JADUs.
Multifamily Dwellings. Prohibits a permitting agency from requiring “any modification of the existing multifamily dwelling as a condition of approving the application to construct an accessory dwelling unit” if the existing multifamily dwelling has “a rear or side setback of less than four feet…”
Permitting Agency Definition. Adds definition of a permitting agency as “any entity that is involved in the review of a permit for an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit and for which there is no substitute, including, but not limited to, applicable planning departments, building departments, utilities, and special districts.”
Unpermitted ADUs. Precludes a local agency from denying a permit for an unpermitted ADU that was constructed before January 1, 2018, because the ADU violates building standards or because the ADU does not comply with State ADU Law or a local ordinance. This prohibition does not apply if the local agency makes a finding that “correcting the violation is necessary to protect the health and safety of the public or occupants of the structure” or to a building that is deemed substandard pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 17920.3.
Enclosed Uses. Considers enclosed uses within the residence, such as attached garages, to be “a part of the proposed or existing single-family residence” for the purposes of JADUs.
JADU Separate Entrance. Requires a JADU without a separate bathroom to “include a separate entrance from the main entrance to the proposed JADU, with an interior entry to the main living area.” (Gov. Code, § 66333, subd. (e)(2).) 2023 legislation includes the following changes to State ADU Law (effective January 1, 2024): AB 976 (Chapter 751, Statutes of 2023) and AB 1033 (Chapter 752, Statutes of 2023) made changes to State ADU Law. AB 1332 (Chapter 759, Statutes of 2023) added Government Code section 65852.27 to expedite the approval of ADUs. AB 434 (Chapter 740, Statutes of 2023) modified Government Code section 65585 to require enforcement of State ADU Law, ADU amnesty laws, and lot split / duplex laws, among others.
Owner Occupancy. Removes the existing 2025 sunset of the prohibition on owner occupancy requirements and instead mandates no owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs. Authorizes a local agency to adopt a local ordinance to allow the separate conveyance of the primary dwelling unit and ADU(s) as condominiums .
Pre-Approved ADU Plans. Requires the local agency to develop a program for the preapproval of ADU plans by January 1, 2025. The local agency shall accept ADU plan submissions for preapproval from any party and shall approve or deny applications pursuant to standards established in Government Code sections 66314-66332. The local agency shall post preapproved ADU plans and the contact information of the applicant on the local agency’s website. The local agency may also post plans pre-approved by other local or state agencies.
Enforcement Authority. Amends Government Code section 65585, subdivision (j), by adding to the list of laws about which HCD is authorized to notify a local jurisdiction or the Attorney General when the local jurisdiction fails to comply with those laws, including Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 66310) and Government Code sections 65852.21, 65852.24, 65852.28, 65913.4.5, and 66411.7, among others. 2024 legislation includes the following changes to State ADU Law (effective March 27, 2024, and January 1, 2025): SB 477 (Chapter 7, Statutes of 2024) made changes to the numbering of the government code sections related to ADU and JADU Law. AB 2533 (Chapter 834, Statutes of 2024) and SB 1211 (Chapter 296, Statutes of 2024) made changes to State ADU Law.
Updated Government Code Sections. Government Code sections related to ADU and JADU law were updated from 65852.2, 65852.22, 65852.23, and 65852.26 to Government Code sections 66310-66342.
Unpermitted ADUs and JADUs. Changes the date from January 1, 2018, to January 1, 2020, such that a local agency is precluded from denying a permit for an unpermitted ADU that was constructed before January 1, 2020, because the ADU violates building standards 16 or because the ADU does not comply with State ADU Law or a local ordinance. A local agency shall inform the public about the provisions of this section through public information resources, including permit checklists and the local agency’s internet website, which shall include both of the following: (1) a checklist of the conditions specified in Section 17920.3 of the Health and Safety Code that would deem a building substandard, and (2) information that, before applying for a permit, the homeowner may obtain a confidential third-party code inspection from a licensed contractor to determine the unit’s existing condition or potential scope of building improvements before applying for a permit.
Objective Standards. Prohibits a local agency from imposing any objective development standards on 66323 Units that are not authorized by the provisions of Government Code section 66323, subdivision (a).
Livable Space. Defines “livable space” as a space in a dwelling intended for human habitation, as the term appears in Government Code sections 66313, subdivision (e), and 66323, subdivision (a)(3)(A).
Uncovered Parking. Specifies that uncovered, off-street parking spaces demolished in conjunction with the construction of an ADU do not need to be replaced.
Detached ADUs. Authorizes up to eight detached ADUs on a lot with an existing multifamily dwelling, provided that the number of ADUs does not exceed the number of existing units on the lot.
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