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Council denies appeal in contested ADU conversion at 1174 Laurel Avenue
Summary
The City Council voted to deny an appeal seeking to treat a demolished garage conversion as an "existing-building" repair, directing staff to require a new-construction permit for 1174 Laurel Avenue and credit prior permit fees toward a new application.
The East Palo Alto City Council voted on May 20 to deny an appeal from the owner of 1174 Laurel Avenue seeking to retain a previously issued accessory dwelling unit (ADU) permit after the permitted garage was demolished during construction.
City staff said the demolition exceeded the approved scope and that state and municipal building code treat a full removal (including foundation) as new construction. Donald Zhao, interim building official, told the council that "When a building is removed in its entirety, including the foundation, the word existing is no longer applicable," and staff recommended denial of the appeal and a requirement that the owner submit a new permit application.
The project representative, Derek O'Yang, said engineers recommended full removal after discovering structural defects and asked the council to allow a narrow revision so the project could proceed without reclassification. "We should focus on the spirit of the law rather than the letter," he said, arguing the end state would still be a 400-square-foot ADU built to the same footprint.
Council members split on the policy and process questions that the case raised, including whether allowing the revision would create a precedent. Several council members expressed concern about unilateral demolition without immediate notice to staff. Councilmember Romero said later that "if you demo the building, you demo the building," underscoring staff's view that the city's code and floodplain rules must be applied. A roll-call vote recorded Mayor Barragan, Councilmembers Bridal, Lincoln and Romero voting to deny and Vice Mayor Dinan voting no; the motion carried.
Staff will return with a formal resolution documenting findings and directions from the hearing. The council also directed staff to credit unused fees from the original permit toward the new-construction permit to streamline the homeowner's path to compliance. The decision does not change the council's stated support for ADUs broadly, but it affirms staff authority to classify work as new construction where demolition has removed the existing structure.
