Committee advances bill that would void local ADU ordinances that ignore state reviews

SB 9 would make a local accessory dwelling unit ordinance null and void if a city or county fails to submit the ordinance to the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) within 60 days of adoption or fails to respond to HCD findings of noncompliance within 30 days.

The sponsor said the measure is intended to ensure local ordinances conform to state ADU law and to speed the production of ADUs by preventing local rules that contradict statewide standards. "If you do not respond and you do not amend the law to conform to state law, then that local ordinance would be null and void and the state provisions would take effect," the bill sponsor told the committee. The sponsor also said he accepted committee amendments that relocate language to an appropriate ADU code section.

The bill’s supporters told the committee that consistent statewide rules have boosted ADU construction and that SB 9 simply enforces existing submittal and response requirements. Max Dubler, policy manager at California YIMBY, said statewide ADU reforms have helped ADUs grow from under 1% of new housing in 2016 to about 1 in 5 new homes today and praised SB 9 as a “straightforward accountability mechanism.” Jonathan Pacheco Bell, vice president of policy and programs at the Casita Coalition, said the bill would protect homeowners and small builders from local barriers by ensuring default state standards apply until a jurisdiction adopts a compliant ordinance.

Committee discussion endorsed the goal of uniform implementation. One member described the bill as "a modest, very modest change and, but necessary, unfortunately," and moved the measure. The committee recorded the bill as "out" after the roll call; the clerk announced the final tally as seven yes votes, zero no votes and two abstentions.

SB 9 now goes to the Assembly Committee on Local Government. If enacted as written, the measure would require jurisdictions that fail to comply with HCD’s submittal and response timeline to apply default state ADU standards until they adopt a conforming ordinance. The bill text and committee analysis explain that "respond" to HCD means acknowledging receipt of HCD comments and stating an intention to address them; it does not require immediate conforming amendments.