El Segundo planning commission backs ordinance to align local rules with new state ADU, dedication and fee laws

The El Segundo Planning Commission on Jan. 9 voted 3-0 to recommend that the City Council adopt an ordinance updating municipal code provisions on right-of-way dedications and fees, accessory dwelling unit (ADU) rules and certain public-notice requirements to align city practice with state laws enacted in late 2024.

The zoning-text amendments reflect several new state statutes that took effect in January 2025 and make changes to how El Segundo will treat unpermitted ADUs, parking replacements for ADU conversions, owner-occupancy rules, the timing of development impact fees and notice periods for zoning-related ordinances. Planning staff presented the draft ordinance and the commission recommended adoption of Resolution No. 2960 to send the draft to City Council for final consideration.

Planning staff summarized four state laws addressed in the draft ordinance. AB 2533 legalizes some unpermitted ADUs and junior ADUs (JADUs) built before 2020 and exempts those units from development impact fees, and the draft ordinance was revised to reflect that exemption. SB 1211 removes the owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs (the requirement remains for JADUs) and extends protection to uncovered parking spaces so that removal of an uncovered space in connection with an ADU conversion will not automatically trigger a replacement-parking requirement under local rules. Paul (planning staff) told commissioners that the draft was updated after December comments to reflect a recently recodified government-code citation and to ensure local objective standards fit within the state law "envelope" for ADU height, setback and size standards.

The commission heard that SB 1211 creates a special subset of ADUs eligible for streamlined processing and, for existing multifamily properties, permits a higher detached-ADU density in limited circumstances. Under the state provision summarized by staff, a property with existing multifamily units can propose up to eight detached ADUs so long as the total number of detached ADUs does not exceed the existing number of multifamily units on the property. Staff noted that proposed projects (new multifamily development) remain subject to different limits (two detached ADUs), and emphasized that ADU proposals must still meet floor-area, objective design and other state-set limits where applicable.

AB 2904 increases the public-notice period for ordinances that affect permitted uses or zoning from the city's current practice of 10 days to a required 20 days; the draft ordinance updates El Segundo's procedures accordingly. SB 937 addresses timing of residential development impact fees and, as summarized by staff, prohibits charging such fees before issuance of a certificate of occupancy (i.e., fees may not be collected at building-permit issuance and instead are payable when the building is complete and occupancy is requested).

Commissioners asked staff how these changes interact with local practice. Staff said right-of-way dedications remain possible in defined circumstances — for example to widen substandard sidewalks or where a focused traffic or safety study shows a project creates a safety need — but the state law narrows when a city may require dedications for residential projects specifically to prevent requiring roadbed widening solely to match circulation-element plans. Staff also explained that conditional-mitigation tasks such as construction of a traffic signal remain enforceable as conditions of approval or via environmental mitigation, and that fees taken in lieu of an actual improvement are handled as fair-share contributions that the city pools to fund later improvements.

After discussion, the commission chair called for a motion. A motion to adopt Resolution No. 2960 recommending City Council adoption of the draft ordinance (as updated in the public packet) was made and seconded; the vote recorded in the transcript was: Commissioner Inga — yes; Vice Chair McGough — aye; Chair Heschler — yes. The motion passed 3-0. The recommendation sends the revised ordinance to the City Council for final consideration.

The commission’s staff presentation also noted related administrative items: staff updated legal citations to the recodified government-code sections for ADUs, and the draft ordinance was posted on the city website with the corrected language before the meeting. Staff additionally referenced ongoing work on a general-plan land-use-element update; that separate procurement received eight proposals and is scheduled for a council contract award process in late February.