What Murrieta's ODS changes would mean for ADUs, duplexes and new site types

City staff and PlaceWorks consultant Alan Lewis told the commission the ODS update reflects market change toward compact single‑family and duplex projects built like condominium clusters. "They're fairly densely packed development of single family, sometimes duplex homes," Lewis said, arguing the existing standards were written with stacked flats in mind and need new guidance for circulation, landscaping and livability.

Key design elements presented included neighborhood entry sequencing, residential drives with sidewalks and street trees, lane courts (small clusters of 6–8 units around a shared driveway), and recommended decorative paving and shade trees at a ratio of one tree per eight residents. On ADUs, staff proposed objectives and noted state law limits the city's discretion; Alan Lewis said exterior stairs for ADUs must be at least 10 feet from an interior property line to avoid privacy impacts. "Any exterior stairs that access an ADU cannot be built within 10 feet of a property line," Lewis said.

Commissioners probed HOA enforcement and whether garage conversions could remove parking; staff reiterated parking requirements remain and state ADU law constrains local limits. The presentation also restructures architectural styles into a scaled menu of minimum standards and optional decorative features that add as project size increases.

Why it matters: the changes aim to let some for‑sale, lower‑rise housing products be built in multifamily zones while retaining objective rules to meet state expectations for ministerial review.