City hears plan for permit-ready ADU program to speed homebuilding

Lompoc — RRM Design Group told the City Council it has drafted six schematic “permit-ready” ADU plans and a neighborhood context study intended to streamline the city’s accessory dwelling unit approvals and reduce costs for homeowners.

The presentation, delivered by Rachel Hollander of RRM, said the firm and city staff have developed four detached ADU footprints and two garage-conversion plans informed by three local architectural characters — Mediterranean Spanish, cottage agrarian and California ranch — and by recent state law changes regarding ADU programs.

Hollander said the project responds to a state bill that “took effect January” and requires jurisdictions to develop a program for preapproval of ADU plans; she noted the law requires jurisdictions to develop a “program” but does not itself mandate that municipalities produce the preapproved plans. The city committed to preparing plans in its recently updated housing element, Hollander said. “At the end of this project, we’ll not only have the plans available on the city’s website, but there will be a handbook or an informational guide,” she told the council.

Why it matters: Preapproved plan sets are intended to cut plan-preparation costs and shorten plan-review time at building and safety. Hollander said jurisdictions that use permit-ready plans typically reduce applicants’…