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Planning commission recommends city council update ADU rules to match recent state law changes
Summary
The commission voted to recommend approval of zoning text amendments to Title 12 to align local accessory dwelling unit (ADU) regulations with recent state legislation and renumbering of Government Code sections.
The Santa Maria Planning Commission recommended that the City Council adopt zoning text amendments to Title 12, Chapter 12.56 to bring local rules for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and junior ADUs into alignment with recent state legislation.
Dana Eady, planning division manager, said the amendments reflect three 2025 state laws and earlier 2024 renumbering in the Government Code. Key changes include a provision allowing detached ADUs on a lot with an existing multifamily dwelling up to the number of existing units on the property (with an upper statutory limit), clarifications about separate sale of ADUs only where permitted under the Government Code (including nonprofit developer, affordability and deed-restriction requirements), and the city's authority to require correction of unsafe or health-and-safety–related violations before legalizing pre-2020 unpermitted ADUs.
Eady told commissioners these changes largely implement state law: an existing multifamily lot can now host detached ADUs up to a limit tied to the number of units on the lot (for example, an existing four-unit building could support up to four detached ADUs, not to exceed statutorily allowed totals). She also said staff will replace prior code cross-references to reflect the state's renumbered Government Code sections.
Commissioners asked whether detached ADUs could be sited in former parking areas and whether parking requirements change; Eady said specifics are site dependent, that setbacks and landscape requirements still apply, and staff sometimes consults state Housing and Community Development (HCD) to determine compliance on particular proposals. A commissioner noted the change could be most relevant to single-family infill work rather than large-scale multifamily conversions, and Eady said the city has not yet seen many multifamily-ADU permit applications.
By motion, the commission voted to recommend that the City Council adopt zoning text amendment Z2025001. The roll call in the transcript recorded named aye votes (Commissioners Lopez, Seabert, Blanco and Mohajer) and an abstention recorded for the chair; the matter was forwarded to Council for final action.
