Lake Forest adopts urgency ordinance to align ADU rules with new state law

The Lake Forest City Council on Dec. 2 unanimously adopted an urgency ordinance to update the city’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and junior ADU (JADU) regulations so they align with multiple 2025 state laws taking effect Jan. 1, 2026.

City staff said the ordinance is intended to prevent the local ADU ordinance from defaulting to state minimums and to preserve locally enforceable standards such as setbacks, height limits and neighborhood-character provisions where state law permits. "Tonight, we are presenting a draft urgency ordinance that would update the city's accessory dwelling unit regulations," Ron Santos, senior planner, said in his presentation.

Santos summarized key state changes referenced by staff, including AB 1154 (owner-occupancy changes), SB 543 (definitions, impact-fee exemptions for ADUs under certain square-foot thresholds, and new processing timelines), and other 2025 measures that require local ordinances to be submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) within a set period to avoid nullification. He said the urgency ordinance is statutorily exempt from CEQA under the Public Resources Code provision that applies to implementing state ADU laws.

During review, Councilman Serbo and staff discussed local scale and impact. Serbo noted Lake Forest’s population baseline and asked how many ADUs the city processes annually; Ron Santos said the city processes "about a dozen a year," a modest number relative to the city's RHNA obligation. "The point is kind of just saying, well, how much does this law really impact affordable housing or a housing issue here in Lake Forest? It seems fairly minimal," Serbo said.

Council members emphasized the late timing of state changes as the reason for the urgency item. Staff said the non-urgency version of the ordinance will go to the planning commission on Dec. 4 and, if adopted later, would replace the urgency ordinance 30 days after council adoption. The motion to adopt the urgency ordinance passed unanimously; the staff presentation and council discussion recorded no roll-call tallies in the public record provided.

The council’s action aims to keep permit processing and local standards in place as state law takes effect. The planning commission hearing on the non-urgency ordinance is scheduled for Dec. 4, and staff said the city will submit the ordinance to HCD as required.