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Duarte commission recommends easing single‑family parking rules to align with ADU law
Summary
The commission recommended municipal code Amendment 26‑01 and Resolution PC 26‑04 to remove certain caps on additions for nonconforming single‑family properties and to align local parking language with state ADU rules, forwarding the recommendation to city council.
The Duarte Planning and Economic Development Commission voted to recommend changes to the city’s off‑street parking requirements for single‑family homes, forwarding municipal code Amendment 26‑01 and Resolution PC 26‑04 to the city council.
Planner Melanie presented the amendment, saying the current code (adopted in 2010) requires two garage spaces for homes up to four bedrooms and three for five or more bedrooms and that nonconforming properties with fewer than two covered garage spaces are currently limited to 250 square feet of total home additions. Because recent changes to state ADU law allow many ADUs without additional parking and permit ADUs up to 800 square feet regardless of local lot coverage rules, staff said the existing local limits produced an unfair result in which homeowners were restricted from modest additions that an ADU would not be.
Melanie said proposed edits would remove the 250‑square‑foot cap on additions for nonconforming properties, eliminate a 600‑square‑foot cap for properties physically unable to build a garage, and remove outdated parking language inconsistent with state ADU law. Staff said the changes aim to give homeowners more flexibility while maintaining other development standards (setbacks, lot coverage) and that they do not anticipate significant new parking impacts. Staff also said a broader zoning code refresh will look at driveway and parking location issues in more depth.
Commissioners asked whether driveway expansion to add parking spaces is currently allowable and about potential volume impacts; staff said broader driveway rules are part of a longer code refresh and that the parking amendment addresses a near‑term fairness problem. Commissioners and staff clarified setback rules for ADUs (transcript references reflect 4‑foot side/rear setbacks for ADUs up to 800 sq ft in some cases and 5‑foot setbacks elsewhere) and said staff will return with additional alignment recommendations as part of future code updates.
A motion to recommend PC 26‑04 passed (mover: Committee member S4; second: Committee member S2). The chair announced the motion carried; the transcript does not record a roll call tally for this vote.
