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Planning commission weighs options to loosen ADU and second‑unit rules to support attainable housing
Summary
Staff laid out three options for ADU/second‑unit regulation — remove ADUs and rely on second units, relax ADU restrictions, or combine the two — and commissioners asked staff to return with draft ordinance language aligned to the city’s recently adopted attainable housing tool and preapproved plans.
Planning staff presented a long discussion of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and second‑unit rules and identified three paths: eliminate ADUs in R‑1 and rely on second‑unit standards; retain ADUs but reduce restrictions (setbacks, entrance location, 800‑sq‑ft cap, annual registration); or merge the best elements of both into a single, more flexible regulatory option. Staff emphasized the practical constraints: minimum lot sizes for second units (8,000 to 14,000 sq ft), a 25‑foot rear setback for second units, an existing 800‑sq‑ft ADU cap, and an annual ADU registration requirement that some members of the public find onerous.
Jackie Yellen summarized City Commission direction: on July 6 the City Commission endorsed adoption of the state's attainable housing tool and asked the Planning Commission to review ADU requirements and consider pre‑approved ADU/second‑unit designs to support small‑scale landlords and gentle infill. "The action of the City Commission last night was to request that the Planning Commission see what our current ADU requirements are ... and see if they are supportive and moving in the same direction," she said.
Commissioners discussed specific fixes: switching the ADU size cap to a percentage of the primary dwelling, removing or narrowing owner‑occupancy and annual registration requirements, relaxing entrance‑location rules meant to keep ADUs visually 'incidental,' and revisiting rear‑setback constraints that can make ADUs or second units infeasible. Staff suggested pre‑approved plans or pattern‑book approaches and noted that combining zoning incentives (the attainable housing tax tool, waived permit fees, and streamlined permitting) would make projects more likely to pencil out. The commission did not adopt final language but asked staff to prepare ordinance drafts and additional analysis.
