Hawaiian Gardens planning panel unanimously backs ADU ordinance update to match new state law

The Hawaiian Gardens Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend that the City Council adopt an ordinance updating Municipal Code section 18.90.08 to reflect recent state changes governing accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units.

The recommendation follows a staff presentation by Ryan Steger of Best Best & Krieger, who reviewed a set of bills signed this year that change how cities must process ADU and JADU applications, clarify measurement and fee rules, and tighten timelines for administrative review. The Commission adopted Resolution No. 2025-003 and found the proposed ordinance statutorily exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code section 21080.17).

Steger told commissioners the state bills introduce several concrete changes the city must adopt. He summarized AB 462 as creating a narrow exception allowing a detached ADU to receive a certificate of occupancy for the primary dwelling in circumstances where the governor has declared an emergency, the primary dwelling was destroyed and the ADU passed all required inspections. He said AB 1154 changes owner-occupancy requirements for JADUs and "now there's an express prohibition on JADUs from being used to short term rentals," meaning JADUs cannot be rented for terms under 30 days. Steger also said SB 543 clarifies that ADU size is measured by interior square footage and exempts ADUs and JADUs 500 square feet or smaller from school impact fees.

On procedural rules, Steger explained that SB 543 imposes a 15-business-day shot clock for cities to determine whether an ADU application is complete, followed by a new 15-business-day period after any resubmission; the overall 60-day deadline to approve or deny an ADU application remains. "If the 15-business-day deadline is missed, the application is deemed complete," Steger said, adding the city would still be able to deny applications that fail to meet objective standards such as height or setback requirements.

Commissioners pressed staff on enforcement and capacity. Commissioners asked how the owner-occupancy and short-term rental prohibitions for JADUs would be enforced; Steger said the statute requires a deed restriction recorded against title and that violations could be addressed through code enforcement or enforcement under that deed restriction. On staff capacity, Steger acknowledged the 15-business-day completeness deadline will increase prioritization for ministerial housing permits and said jurisdictions will need to adjust workflow to meet the shorter timeline.

No members of the public offered testimony for the public hearing; the city clerk reported no written comments and no participants on the Zoom feed. Chair Winford closed the public hearing, and after a motion and second the Commission called a roll-call vote. Commissioners Alvarez, Gonzales, Roman, Vice Chair Hernandez and Chair Winford each voted yes, and the motion carried.

The Planning Commission's recommendation sends the ordinance to the City Council for first and second reading early next year. The council previously adopted an urgency ordinance to make the state-required changes effective immediately; the non-urgency ordinance the Commission recommended would formalize the updates under the standard procedure.

Key details from the presentation that will inform local implementation: cities must submit adopted ADU ordinances to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) within 60 days or risk the ordinance being deemed null and void; jurisdictions have 30 days to respond to HCD comments; ADUs and JADUs measuring 500 sq ft or smaller are exempt from school impact fees; and ADU measurement now uses interior square footage. The Commission asked staff to consider workload implications and enforcement language as the ordinance proceeds to council.

The Planning Commission approved Resolution No. 2025-003 by voice and roll-call vote. "Motion carries," Chair Winford said after the vote. The non-urgency ordinance will proceed to City Council for action in early 2026.