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Corte Madera moves to introduce SB 9 ordinance amendments to comply with SB 450
Summary
The council introduced amendments to local SB 9 regulations (zoning/subdivision/design standards) to align with state changes in SB 450, including removing a separate eave/parapet height limit, adjusting setbacks and preserving a 1,200 sq ft local cap for certain units; council voted to introduce the ordinance for further action.
Corte Madera’s Town Council introduced a draft ordinance on Jan. 6 that would amend the municipal code to bring local SB 9 rules into compliance with changes enacted by Senate Bill 450.
Principal planner Martha Battaglia told the council the amendments are intended to ensure local objective standards do not impose requirements that SB 450 now prohibits. The draft removes a separate height standard to the eave/parapet that the underlying R-1 zoning does not have and modifies side-setback requirements (reducing one side-setback reference from 10 feet to 6 feet), among other clerical and code-alignment changes. "SB 9... was signed by Governor Newsom in September 2021 and became effective on 01/01/2022," Battaglia said, and staff described SB 450 as an amendment that became effective 01/01/2025.
Staff described two common SB 9 scenarios: adding an extra unit on an existing lot (more often handled under ADU law in Corte Madera) and urban lot splits that create two parcels where each parcel can have up to two units. State minimums were noted: 800 square feet when reducing setbacks and 1,200 square feet for units meeting the town’s T3 edge zone setbacks. To preserve Corte Madera’s local 1,200-square-foot cap and comply with SB 450, staff proposed amendments to exempt new units of 1,200 square feet or less from discretionary design review if they meet objective standards in Chapter 18.30.
Fire access and suppression standards remain in effect. Planning staff said they discussed fire standards with the Central Marin Fire Department, and Chief Rune Martin confirmed those standards apply in the wildland-urban interface.
During the public hearing, multiple residents and a property owner who had used SB 9 said the town’s prior implementation was slow and costly. Corinne Grant said her lot split took three and a half years and cost about "$50,000," which she said undermined SB 9’s intent to enable smaller, quicker infill housing. Planning staff acknowledged early implementation challenges, noted the town had received 11 SB 9 lot-split applications to date (eight recorded maps) and that no SB 9 units have yet been approved under the permanent ordinance, and invited council direction on next steps.
Councilmember (speaker 20) moved to introduce the ordinance as presented; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The introduction starts the formal ordinance process and allows further refinement and subsequent readings before final adoption.
