Chino Valley staff brief commissioners on state ADU and subdivision-plat mandates; implementation questions remain

Town of Chino Valley planning staff spent the bulk of the Oct. 7 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting reviewing two state bills that require changes to local rulemaking: HB2928, governing accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and HB2447, which makes subdivision preliminary and final plats subject to administrative review rather than automatic public hearings and council action except where a zoning change is requested.

Will (planning staff) told commissioners that HB2928 would, as written in the most recent version staff reviewed, allow by‑right additional ADUs on single‑family lots (one attached plus one detached by right and a potential fourth unit on lots of 1 acre or larger), and that earlier drafts included a 75,000‑population exemption that created uncertainty. Town attorneys reviewed the language and advised the town that the updated bill language — which places an apparent population cap reference later in the text — means Chino Valley (population under 75,000) is not required to adopt…