Council workshop focuses on recognizing unpermitted ADUs and easing conversion barriers

City planning staff told the council Sept. 2 that Pacific Grove may have roughly 350–400 unpermitted accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and that ADUs are recognized in the city's RHNA allocation. John Bogues of Community Development recommended updating zoning code language for state compliance, improving public information and offering a simple checklist as a first step for owners who may qualify for recognition under recent state law changes.

Bogues said past amnesty work produced disappointing take-up: a prior city effort identified about 400 unpermitted units but only 11 property owners came forward; four of those units were ultimately recognized and seven were not because of building‑safety or code issues. "So we had an amnesty period ... out of 400, I think we had 11 people that came forward," Bogues said, and he cited economic disincentives — permit fees, required upgrades and possible reassessment implications — as barriers.

Staff described changes in state law that shorten local timelines for permit completeness and limit the scope of some design compatibility rules, and said the state now applies a 30/30/30/10 income assignment for ADUs used in housing element counts. Councilmembers pressed staff on specifics: whether ADUs must be rented at lower incomes (Bogues said the state assigns ADU units to income categories rather than allowing local rent requirements), whether insurance or liability risks deter owners, and what enforcement or code‑compliance consequences would follow if owners decline to engage.

City Attorney Southern told the council that identifying unpermitted ADUs generally does not create municipal liability given governmental immunities and a complaint-driven code enforcement approach. Councilmembers urged a public-facing checklist, a limited outreach effort and a spot check of previously identified units to verify the current count. Bogues reported the city has issued roughly 84 ADU permits since 2023 under the current housing element cycle and that additional conversions beyond the 224 counted toward RHNA would also be eligible to count.

No formal action was taken; staff was asked to prepare an updated checklist and to consider targeted outreach and a verification spot check of the earlier survey results.