BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1069
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SENATE THIRD READING
SB
1069 (Wieckowski)
As Amended August 19, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 29-3
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Housing |6-0 |Chiu, Steinorth, | |
| | |Burke, Chau, Lopez, | |
| | |Mullin | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Local |6-2 |Eggman, Alejo, |Waldron, Beth Gaines |
|Government | |Bonilla, Chiu, Cooley, | |
| | |Linder | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |15-3 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Jones, |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, |Obernolte |
| | |Calderon, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, Quirk, | |
| | |Santiago, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood, Chu | |
SB 1069
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| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Makes a number of changes to state law regarding second
units. Specifically, this bill:
1)Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the
importance of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as an essential
element of the state's housing supply.
2)Replaces "second units" with "ADUs" throughout the chapter.
3)Requires a local agency, in its ADU ordinance, to do the
following:
a) Designate areas within the jurisdiction where ADUs may
be permitted, which may be based upon criteria including
but not limited to the adequacy of water and sewer services
and the impact of ADUs on traffic flow and public safety.
b) Impose standards on ADUs including but not limited to
parking, height, setback, lot coverage, architectural
review, and maximum size of the unit.
c) Provide that ADUs do not exceed the allowable density
for the lot upon which the second unit is located, and that
the ADU is consistent with the existing general plan and
zoning designation for the lot.
4)Requires a local agency with an ADU ordinance to consider
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permits within 120 days of submittal of a complete building
permit application.
5)Requires a local agency that has not adopted an ADU ordinance
to ministerially approve the creation of an ADU if the ADU
meets the following requirements:
a) The unit is not intended for sale separate from the
primary residence and may be rented.
b) The lot is zoned for single-family or multifamily use.
c) The lot contains an existing single-family dwelling.
d) The ADU is either attached to the existing dwelling and
located within the living area of the existing dwelling or
detached and located on the same lot as the existing
dwelling.
e) The increased floor area of an attached ADU shall not
exceed 50% of the existing living area, with a maximum
increase in floor area of 1,200 square feet.
f) The total area floor space of the ADU shall not exceed
1,200 square feet.
g) Requirements relating to height, setback, lot coverage,
architectural review, site plan review, fees, charges, and
other zoning requirements generally applicable to
residential construction in the zone in which the property
is located.
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h) Local building code requirements, that apply to detached
dwellings as appropriate.
i) Approved by the local health officer where a private
sewage disposal system is being used.
6)Removes the exemption for a local agency to adopt an ADU
ordinance upon findings that the ordinance may limit housing
opportunities of the region, and further contains findings
that specific adverse impacts on the public health, safety,
and welfare would result.
7)Provides that a local agency may establish maximum and minimum
unit size requirements for both attached and detached ADUs,
however no maximum or minimum size for an ADU, or size based
upon a percentage of the existing dwelling unit, shall be
established by ordinance for either attached or detached
dwellings that does not permit at least an efficiency unit to
be constructed in compliance with local development standards.
8)Provides that no additional standards, other than those in
this section, shall be utilized or imposed to evaluate
proposed ADUs, except that a local agency may require an
applicant for a permit to be an owner-occupant or that the
property be used for rentals of terms longer than 30 days.
9)Removes the provision permitting additional parking upon a
finding that additional parking is required related to the use
of the ADU and consistent with existing neighborhood
standards.
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10)States that parking requirements may be provided as tandem
parking in an existing driveway.
11)Provides that offstreet parking must be permitted in setback
areas in locations determined by the local agency or through
tandem parking, unless specific findings are made that parking
in setback areas or tandem parking is not feasible based upon
fire and life safety conditions.
12)Prohibits a local agency from imposing parking standards for
an ADU in any of the following instances:
i) The ADU is located within 0.5 mile of public
transit;
ii) The ADU is located within an architecturally and
historically significant historic district;
iii) The ADU is part of an existing primary residence or
an existing accessory structure;
iv) When on-street parking permits are required, but not
offered to the occupant of the ADU; or
v) When there is a car-share vehicle located within one
block of the ADU.
13)Provides that ADUs shall not be considered new residential
uses for the purposes of calculating local agency connection
fees or capacity charges for utilities, including water and
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sewer service.
14)Requires ministerial approval by a local agency for a
building permit to create an ADU if the ADU is contained
within an existing single-family home, has independent
exterior access from the existing residence, and the side and
rear setbacks are sufficient for fire safety. ADUs shall not
be required to provide fire sprinklers if they are not
required for the primary residence.
a) For above-described ADUs contained within an existing
single-family home, a local agency shall not require the
applicant to install a new or separate utility connection
directly between the accessory dwelling unit and the
utility or impose a related connection fee or capacity
charge
15)Allows, for ADUs not described in 14) above, a local agency
to require a new or separate utility connection directly
between the accessory dwelling unit and the utility.
Consistent with Government Code Section 66013, the connection
may be subject to a connection fee or capacity charge that
shall be proportionate to the burden of the proposed ADU,
based upon either its size or the number of its plumbing
fixtures, upon the water or sewer system. This fee or charge
shall not exceed the reasonable cost of providing this
service.
16)Provides that no reimbursement is required because a local
agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the
program or level of service mandated by this act.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
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Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS:
Background: ADUs, which are referred to in existing law as
"second units", are additional living quarters on single-family
lots that are independent of the primary dwelling unit. Also
known as accessory apartments, accessory dwellings,
mother-in-law units, or granny flats, ADUs are either attached
or detached to the primary dwelling unit, and provide complete
independent living facilities for one or more person. This
includes permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating,
cooking, and sanitation.
In 2002, AB 1866 (Wright), Chapter 1062, required local
governments to use a ministerial process for approving ADUs,
notwithstanding other laws that regulate the issuance of
variances or special use permits. A local government may
provide for the construction of ADUs by ordinance, and may
designate areas where ADUs are allowed, as well as require
standards for parking, setback, lot coverage, and maximum size.
If a local government has not adopted an ordinance governing
ADUs, it must grant a variance or special use permit for the
creation of ADUs if the unit complies with requirements
specified in statute, including size and zoning restrictions.
University of California (UC) Berkeley ADU study: According to
a UC Berkeley study, Yes in My Backyard: Mobilizing the Market
for Secondary Units by Karen Chapple, second units are a means
to accommodate future growth and encourage infill development in
developed neighborhoods. The study, which evaluated five
adjacent cities in the East Bay, concluded that there is
substantial market of interested homeowners; cities could reduce
parking requirements without contributing to parking issues;
second units could accommodate future growth and affordable
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housing; and that scaling up second unit strategy could mean
economic and fiscal benefits for cities.
Despite existing state law, which requires each city in the
state to have a ministerial process for approving second units,
the study found that local regulations often impede development.
Easing these burdens to permit more ADUs could permit a family
to rent out the unit (about 49% of the units) or provide housing
for a family member (about 51% of the units). In fact, the
study found that the average second unit was advertised at a
rental rate that makes it affordable to a household earning 62%
of the area median income.
This bill implements several policy recommendations from this
study by easing the most significant barriers to the
construction and permitting of ADUs. These changes include:
a) Provides alternatives and exceptions to parking
requirements, such as the case of an ADU located near
public transit or if the ADU is part of an existing
dwelling.
b) Requires a local agency with an ADU ordinance to
consider permits within 120 days of submittal of a complete
building permit application.
c) Increases the size of an ADU from 30% of the existing
dwelling to 50%, with a maximum increase in floor area of
1,200 square feet.
d) Removes the ability of a local agency to adopt an
ordinance that completely precludes the construction of
ADUs.
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e) Requires ministerial approval of an ADU contained within
an existing single-family home that has independent access
from the existing residence and has rear and side setbacks
sufficient for fire safety, and removes the requirement for
an ADU to have fire sprinklers if they were not required
for the primary residence.
f) Allows a local agency to require an applicant for a
permit to be an owner-occupant or that the property be used
for rentals of terms longer than 30 days.
Need for this bill: According to the author,
"In a 2015 Legislative Analyst's Office report, the Legislature
was advised to facilitate the development of significantly more
private homes and apartments in California. The lack of housing
in California has caused a crisis harming communities and
families throughout the state. The average California home
currently costs about two and half times the national average
home price. A person earning minimum wage must work three
full-time jobs in order to afford a two-bedroom unit. In
California's more heavily populated metropolitan areas, a
minimum wage worker would have to pick up a fourth and fifth job
to afford the same two-bedroom unit. Throughout the state, the
bottom 25% of income earners spends 67% of their income on
housing. The high cost of housing is one of the biggest drivers
of institutional and generational poverty cycles and will not be
resolved until more housing can be developed, especially close
to jobs and schools which is consistent with State SB 375
[(Steinberg), Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008] Climate Change
Planning Goals. The Legislative Analyst's Office has advised
that it is imperative the Legislature facilitate the development
of significantly more housing to address the affordability
crisis.
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"Accessory dwellings provide part of the solution to the housing
crisis. They are the only source of housing that can be added
within a year at an affordable price, in existing developed
communities served by infrastructure consistent with SB 375,
without public subsidy, and action by the State on a few issues
will make this possible for tens of thousands of owners to
immediately benefit and help their communities. The importance
of ADUs as a critical source of infill housing and the barriers
preventing them have been documented in studies from UC Berkeley
and UCLA [University of California, Los Angeles] including Yes
in My Backyard by Karen Chapple.
"SB 1069 proposes a common-sense, cost-effective approach that
will allow homeowners to share empty rooms in their homes and
property, add incomes to meet family budgets, improve the safety
of accessory dwellings, and make good use of existing infill
property across California while easing the housing crisis. The
Governor supported the bill on page 52 of the May Revision of
the 2016 Budget, stating that this bill will increase the
state's housing supply without creating a state reimbursable
mandate."
Administration Support: According to the Governor's 2016-17 May
Revision:
"The Administration is also supportive of other initiatives to
increase housing supply where such initiatives do not create a
state reimbursable mandate. This includes using inventory such
as accessory dwelling units (additional living quarters on
single-family lots that are independent of the primary dwelling
unit). ?Policies can increase the availability of accessory
dwelling units with expanded ministerial approval, shortened
permitting timelines, reduced duplicative fees, and relaxed
parking requirements, consistent with the principles identified
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by SB 1069 (2016). The state can further increase supply by
eliminating overly burdensome requirements for accessory
dwelling units identified by AB 2299 [(Wieckowski) of the
current legislative session] (2016), such as passageways to
public streets and setbacks of five feet from lot lines."
Related legislation:
AB 2299 (Bloom) of the current legislative session: Would
require, rather than permit, a local government to adopt an
ordinance for the creation of second units in single-family and
multifamily residential zones. Would restrict the standards
local governments may impose on second units by prohibiting
imposition of parking requirements on second units within a
half-mile of transit, shopping, or within a historic district,
constraining the setbacks that local governments may require,
and repealing ability to prohibit second units. This bill is
pending on the Senate Floor.
AB 2406 (Thurmond) of the current legislative session: Would
allow local agencies to adopt an ordinance that authorizes the
construction of "junior accessory dwelling units" of 500 square
feet or less and includes standards that local agencies may
adopt regarding those units. This bill is pending on the Senate
Floor.
Analysis Prepared by:
Rebecca Rabovsky / H. & C.D. / (961) 319-2085
FN:
0004642
SB 1069
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