Planning commission pauses ADU ordinance update after state housing comments

Vice Chair Shelby Goss opened a public hearing on proposed updates to American Canyon’s accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance and asked Director Cooper for a staff report. Director Cooper said the city had received a written letter that afternoon from the California Department of Housing and Community Development with comments on the draft ordinance and recommended the commission continue the hearing to the next regular meeting so staff and the city attorney can review and, if appropriate, incorporate the agency’s suggestions.

Cooper framed the proposed changes as largely incremental adjustments to keep local rules aligned with evolving state law. He summarized several specifics staff intends to clarify in the draft: junior ADUs may share a bathroom with the primary residence and must be within the primary-house footprint; junior ADUs are to be excluded from short‑term rentals under 30 days; the ordinance will explicitly state a junior ADU’s interior livable area is up to 500 square feet; and ADUs and junior ADUs remain exempt from certain impact fees.

Cooper explained procedural timelines in the proposed ordinance: state rules allow a 15‑day completeness review (the city’s current practice is 10 business days) and provide a 60‑day window for applicants to correct deficient building permits. He said state law contains a formal term requiring denial and resubmission when deficiencies are not corrected within the statutory window rather than an informal hold, and the ordinance language will reflect that process. Cooper also noted that where a primary house lacks sprinklers the city cannot require sprinklers in an attached junior ADU, and that the city will not deny ADU permits solely because unrelated code violations exist on the property.

Commissioners and staff discussed whether the city should study allowing two‑story, freestanding ‘stacked’ ADUs. Cooper said state law does not explicitly contemplate freestanding two‑story ADUs, so American Canyon could adopt local rules (setbacks, height limits, window orientation restrictions and other design standards) if it chose to permit them. Commissioners asked whether a stacked approach would unintentionally increase total allowable floor area and how to protect neighbor privacy (for example, by limiting windows that face adjacent properties). Cooper cautioned that building‑code egress and ventilation rules limit how windows can be restricted and noted staff was only testing concepts rather than proposing a final policy.

When Commissioner Marilyn Avalon asked about local uptake, Cooper said the city receives “around six or so” ADU applications per year and described the combination of financial, construction and lifestyle factors that limit widespread adoption despite state incentives and regional grant programs.

After discussing the HCD letter and the policy points staff had raised, Commissioner Devette Mohammed moved to continue the public hearing on the ADU ordinance update to the commission’s next regular meeting; Commissioner Eric Altman seconded. The motion passed on a roll call vote with four ayes and no nays (Chair Charles Plummer was absent). Cooper told the commission that, after local adoption, the ordinance would be submitted to the California Department of Housing and Community Development for the agency’s review.

The commission’s continuance leaves the draft ordinance open for staff and city‑attorney review of the state’s written comments; the item will return for further consideration at the next regularly scheduled planning commission meeting.