Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fairfax adopts urgency ordinance to align ADU rules with new state law; council preserves local options
Summary
Council adopted an urgency ordinance updating local ADU/JADU regulations to comply with recent state law changes effective Jan. 1. Key changes: JADUs can no longer be used as short-term rentals; ADU fee reductions and legalization amnesty were extended.
The Fairfax Town Council on Dec. 3 adopted an urgency ordinance to bring the town’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and junior ADU (JADU) code into conformance with recent state law changes set to take effect Jan. 1.
Planning staff summarized the principal changes: if the governor declares a state of emergency homeowners can build ADUs first in some disaster scenarios; JADUs are now barred from use as short-term rentals regardless of when they were built; interior living-space calculations for ADU size are newly permitted (which can increase allowable ADU size); and the town’s fee-reduction amnesty was extended so legalizations receive a 50% processing reduction through 2036.
Planning Director Jeff told the council that adopting the urgency ordinance preserves Fairfax’s remaining local customizations; otherwise state law would immediately preempt local provisions. Several public commenters and council members said the supplement to the staff report arrived late, asking for clearer redlines; staff and council counsel explained that the urgency adoption is a common step used by many cities and will be followed by the normal planning-commission review and a formal re-adoption process.
Council amended the proposed text on the record to clarify short-term rental language so it matches state law for JADUs while keeping the pre-2020 ADU treatment for short-term rentals unchanged. The ordinance passed on a recorded vote.
What’s next: The planning commission will review the ordinance and return recommendations to council; staff said the urgency ordinance preserves local options while the longer review proceeds.
