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Committee considers raising ADU size limits, by-right floor and CUP for larger units
Summary
Members discussed allowing ADUs up to 50% of the primary dwelling across several zoning districts, establishing a by-right minimum square footage (example discussed: 500 sq ft), and requiring conditional use permits for larger ADUs or situations that would otherwise 'flip' the principal dwelling.
The committee reviewed options to make accessory dwelling units (ADUs) more useful for attainable housing while guarding against abuse of the ADU mechanism to create large, market-rate second homes.
Members discussed raising the ADU size allowance from the current 35% in some districts to 50% across A-10, R-R, R-5, R-2 and R-U. Several members said they favored permitting 50% across the board and requiring a conditional use permit (CUP) for any ADU that exceeds that threshold.
Committee members also debated adding a by-right square-footage floor so that very small primary houses would not produce impractically tiny ADUs when the percentage cap yields a very small unit. Chris and others suggested a by-right cap such as 500 square feet for the ADU irrespective of the primary dwelling size, with a CUP required to exceed that fixed threshold or the 50% cap. The point was to allow a livable, reasonably sized by-right ADU without forcing lower-income owners into a burdensome CUP process.
Members raised a related concern: the current interpretation can allow a property owner to build a larger new structure and convert the original smaller dwelling into the ADU, effectively "flipping" the smaller unit into subordinate status while creating a larger market house on the same lot. The committee discussed requiring CUP review for plans in which the new building is not smaller than the existing primary residence or where the combined result does not meet the committee's affordable-housing aim.
No formal vote was taken. The committee directed staff to draft recommended language that would: (1) set a by-right ADU allowance of 50% of primary dwelling across listed districts; (2) allow a by-right ADU up to a fixed square-footage threshold (committee discussed 500 square feet as an example); and (3) require CUP review where an ADU would exceed the percentage threshold, exceed the fixed square footage, or where the proposed new structure would flip the relative sizes of primary and accessory units.
