Planning commission recommends code changes to align Tiburon with SB 450 (SB 9 amendments)

The Tiburon Town Planning Commission on Feb. 26, 2025 voted to recommend that the Town Council repeal and replace two sections of the Tiburon Municipal Code—Title 4, Chapter 14, Section 14-3.313 (urban lot splits) and Title 4, Chapter 16, Section 16-77.01 (two-unit housing developments)—to bring the town’s rules into alignment with state law changes enacted as Senate Bill 450, which amended SB 9.

The recommendation matters because the state changes accelerate and limit local review of certain housing conversions and subdivisions. Dana, planning staff, told commissioners that under the current state requirements “applications now must be approved or denied within 60 days. If the application has not been approved or denied within those 60 days, the project is deemed approved.” Dana said the town’s draft ordinance language implements that timeline and other statutory limits while adding objective development standards “to make it pretty clear, for people when they come…