TO: TARA SCHULTZ, CITY MANAGER
FROM: SHELLEY DESAUTELS, CITY CLERK
DATE: FEBRUARY 25, 2020
Reviewed by:
City Manager: TS
Finance Director: AP
SUBJECT:
Title
SECOND READING AND ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CLAREMONT MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (ADUS) (#20-CA01). CITY-INITIATED
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SUMMARY
The City has initiated amendments to the Claremont Municipal Code (CMC) pertaining to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in response to changes in California State law that aim to further encourage the construction of ADUs. After considerable deliberation by the City Council, the Planning and Architectural Commissions and the public, the City Council approved an ordinance that amended the CMC’s regulations on ADUs (i.e., CMC Chapter 16.333) in September of 2019 to allow for more and larger ADUs than the City previously permitted.
Effective January 1, 2020, changes to State law have superseded the City’s ADU regulations. The proposed ordinance (Attachment) preserves CMC Chapter 16.333 to the greatest extent possible, but it makes considerable changes to ensure the City’s ADU regulations are consistent with the new State laws. These changes include, but are not limited to, permitting ADUs as well as Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs) on all properties zoned for residential use, increasing the maximum permitted ADU sizes, removing the Owner Occupancy requirement, permitting ADUs up to a certain size regardless of lot coverage or maximum allowable floor area requirements, and revising how ADUs are permitted in multifamily housing. The proposed ordinance also eliminates the alternative discretionary review process for ADUs that do not quality for ministerial approval (e.g., due to their size, design, and/or location). Under the 2020 changes to State law, the ADUs that would have been subject to that discretionary process generally qualify for ministerial approval.
Understanding that the new State laws have significantly curtailed local regulation of ADUs, the Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend that the City Council approve the proposed code amendment that would revise CMC Chapter 16.333 - Accessory Dwelling Units.
At its regular meeting of February 11, 2020, the Claremont City Council introduced the proposed ordinance.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council waive further reading and adopt AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLAREMONT, AMENDING EXISTING MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 16.333 - ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (#20-CA01).
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ALTERNATIVE TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to the above recommendation, the following alternative has been identified:
• Continue the item, request additional information, and instruct staff to revise the ordinance before it is considered again by the City Council.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The cost to prepare and review the proposed code amendment pertaining to ADUs is estimated at $5,100 and is included in the operating budget of the Community Development Department and the Administrative Services Department.
BACKGROUND
Accessory Dwelling Units, or “ADUs” for short, are secondary, independent facilities located on a property having a residential unit or units. Legislation passed at the State level in 2016 and 2017 prompted the City to initiate a code amendment process in order to ensure Claremont’s regulations on ADUs were consistent with State requirements applicable at the time. The ordinance was crafted over the course of 2018 and 2019 with considerable input from the City Council, the Planning and Architectural Commissions and the public, and was adopted by the City Council in September of 2019.
City Council Ordinance No. 2019-07 changed how ADUs are regulated in Claremont in terms of where they are permitted, allowing for ADUs on many more of the City’s residential properties, while revising regulations pertaining to their sizes, setback requirements, parking requirements, architectural design standards, and their heights. The ordinance provided for a ministerial review process for ADU applications, as required by State law, as well as an alternative discretionary review process where ADU proposals that deviate from development standards and/or architectural review standards for ADUs are subject to review by either the Planning Commission, Architectural Commission, or in some cases, both.
On October 9, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 68, Assembly Bill 881 and Senate Bill 13, which again amended Government Code Section 65852.2, where regulations on ADUs are found. Like the legislation passed in 2016 and 2017, this newest round of bills intends to further encourage the development of new ADUs (and JADUs) in an effort to address a statewide housing shortage. The three bills work in concert to curtail local municipalities’ ability to restrict ADU development based on certain criteria such as lot size and maximum permitted lot coverage and floor area, set new baselines for what municipalities must permit, allow for JADUs on single-family residential properties, eliminate the ability to charge development impact fees for ADUs smaller than 750-square feet in size, prohibit the enforcement of an owner occupancy requirement, and streamline the ADU approval process to sixty days.
The above-referenced legislation went into effect on January 1, 2020. The legislation requires that local municipalities review ADU applications pursuant to State requirements until a local ordinance that complies with the newly applicable legal requirements is adopted. Unlike the 2016 and 2017 State legislation, the new legislation permits the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to review a city’s ADU ordinance and notify the Attorney General if the HCD finds that the ordinance fails to comply with the State’s requirements.
Planning Commission Review
On January 21, 2020, the Planning Commission reviewed and discussed the draft proposed ordinance. While some of the Commissioners expressed some unease regarding the changes to the 2019 ADU ordinance required by the new State laws, they understood the need to promptly pass the proposed ordinance in order to be able submit the ordinance to HCD and to begin employing the architectural design standards in the City’s review of new ADU applications. Commissioners appreciated staff’s attempts to preserve the 2019 ADU ordinance where possible and understood the need to remove elements of the 2019 ordinance where required. The Planning Commission ultimately voted 6-1 to recommend that the City Council introduce the draft ordinance as proposed.
RELATIONSHIP TO CITY PLANNING DOCUMENTS
Staff has evaluated the proposed code amendment in relationship to the City’s strategic and visioning documents and finds the following:
2019 Council Action Plan - This item relates to the fulfillment of Item 1 of Priority: Increase Livability in Our Neighborhoods and Expand Opportunities for Our Businesses.
Sustainability Plan - The proposed code amendment supports Goal Area 3 - Transportation, to decrease vehicle miles traveled by complying with State law to not require that parking be provided for ADUs located within a half-mile of the City’s bus and train stops. Doing so recognizes that residents of ADUs can take advantage of proximity of transit to decrease the number of vehicular trips and miles travelled. The proposed code amendment also supports Goal Area 5 - Open Space and Land Use by providing the City with opportunities to collect Parkland Fees to support the procurement, development, and maintenance of open space resources as new living units are built.
Finally, the proposed code amendment supports Goal Area 6 - Housing & Economic Sustainability by reducing regulatory barriers to constructing ADUs resulting in the increased production of living units that have the potential to be rented at affordable rental levels. Additionally, the conversion of existing structures, or portions of structures, into ADUs is a green building practice in that the adaptive reuse of existing structures precludes the need to use resources and materials to construct new structures.
Economic Sustainability Plan - The proposed code amendment does not directly relate to the Economic Sustainability Plan.
General Plan - The proposed code amendment applies to many of the General Plan’s goals and policies as follows:
• Encourage sustainable development that incorporates green building best practices and involves the use of previously developed property… (Policy 2-1.1), in that the proposed code amendment will allow for much-needed new housing to be developed on more of the City’s existing residential properties than is currently allowed while also easing restrictions on converting existing accessory structures into ADUs, a sustainable building practice that takes advantage of these existing structures “embodied energy,” reducing the need to use resources to build new structures.
• Preserve the City’s distinctive residential character by maintaining land use patterns that strengthen our neighborhoods (Goal 2-2); Promote neighborhood identity and conservation of individual neighborhood character (Policy 2-2.2); Maintain and enhance Claremont’s unique character (Goal 2-5); Strengthen neighborhood identity with new development that is architecturally compatible with surrounding structures (Policy 2-11.2); Require that new construction, additions, renovations and infill developments be sensitive to neighborhood context and building forms and scale (Policy 2-11.3); Preserve the unique physical and social character of individual neighborhoods (Goal 8-2); and Require all new development to complement and respond to the established character of the neighborhood in which it is located (Policy 8-2.1) in that the proposed code amendment fortifies architectural design standards for ADUs to help ensure that new ADUs fit into Claremont neighborhoods’ established development patterns and character in terms of their scale, location on properties, and architectural qualities. As State law requires that the City make it even easier to develop ADUs on the City’s residential properties through a ministerial review, the proposed code amendment provides thoughtful and usable standards for ADUs that will preserve and even enhance the beloved character of Claremont’s residential neighborhoods.
• Provide opportunities for a variety of housing types that respond to the need of residents of all age ranges and incomes, and located in all areas of the City (Policy 2-2.1), in that the proposed code amendment eases regulatory barriers to the creation of ADUs, which have been identified as a way to provide a housing type that can be accessible to residents across a range of ages and incomes in a manner that distributes these new housing units throughout the City’s neighborhoods.
• Continue to place a high priority on acquiring and preserving open space lands in Claremont’s hillside areas for purposes of recreation, habitat protection and enhancement, fire hazard management, public safety purposes, water resource protection, and overall community benefit (Policy 2-4.2), Provide a variety of park facilities that meet the diverse needs and interests of the community (Goal 5-9) and Pursue funding sources and programs to purchase privately owned hillside properties for expansion of the wilderness parks (Policy 5-3.1) in that the proposed code amendment provides a mechanism to bolster City funds for parkland acquisition and park maintenance in requiring the payment of a parkland fee for ADUs over 750-square feet in size (as permitted by State law), commensurate with the smaller size of such units relative to a primary residential unit.
• Promote community identity and local history by encouraging context-sensitive design and development (Goal 2-11); Encourage a variety of architectural styles for new and renovated structures that reflect local architectural characteristics (Policy 2-11.1); and Insist on excellence in architectural design of new construction in the City (Policy 2-5.1), in that the proposed code amendment includes detailed, prescriptive architectural design standards that will result in ADU architecture that is sensitive to the existing property context, is consistent with the existing architectural character of the property on which the ADU is developed, and features high quality materials and finishes that will enhance, rather than detract from the architectural character and quality of the property.
• Achieve optimum use of regional rail transit (Goal 4-4) and Expand and optimize the use of local and regional bus and transit systems (Goal 4-5); in that the proposed code amendment eliminates parking requirements for ADUs located in proximity to the City’s bus and train stops, recognizing that the residents of these ADUs can take advantage of nearby transit opportunities, bolstering the use of rail and bus systems rather than the use of private vehicles.
• Provide opportunities throughout the City for adequate and affordable housing in a wide range of housing types to meet the needs of all socioeconomic segments of the community (Goal 8-3); Provide for sites that can facilitate and encourage the development of a variety of housing consistent with the City’s identified local needs and its regional housing responsibilities (Policy 8-3.1); Use financial incentives and regulatory concessions to encourage the development of lower- and moderate-income housing (Policy 8-3.9) and Encourage affordable housing to be distributed throughout the City to create economically diverse neighborhoods and to minimize concentrated impacts on the schools in areas of the City with existing affordable housing (Policy 8-3.11); in that significantly eases regulatory barriers to the development of ADUs, which due to their relatively small size and ability to be located on existing residential properties throughout the City’s residential neighborhoods, can provide affordable housing opportunities, meeting the housing needs of a variety of the community’s socioeconomic segments and helping the City meet its regional housing responsibilities.
2019-2020 Budget - This item relates to the following Community Development Department work plan goals:
CD-1: Provide guidance for public and private development consistent with the community’s high standards.
CD-3: Facilitate housing opportunities for individuals at all income levels.
CD-7: Ensure that new development is attractive and compatible with its surroundings.
Youth and Family Master Plan - This item does not relate to the Youth and Family Master Plan.
CEQA REVIEW
The review of the Code Amendment pertaining to ADUs is not a project as defined by Section 15398 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines. Additionally, the proposed Code Amendment pertaining to ADUs is statutorily exempt from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to Section 15282(h) of the Public Resources Code that exempts the adoption of an ordinance regarding ADUs by cities and counties that implement the provisions of Section 65852.2 of the California Government Code. Therefore, no further environmental review is necessary.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
Copies of this staff report are available at the City Hall public counter, the Youth Activity Center, the Alexander Hughes Community Center, and on the City website.
Submitted by:
Shelley Desautels
City Clerk
Attachment:
Draft Ordinance