PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT. DISCUSSION ON ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (ADUs)

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1 Agenda Item: 2A PLANNING COMMISSION STAFF REPORT DISCUSSION ON ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS (ADUs) MEETING DATE: December 3, 2018 TO: FROM: CITY PLANNING COMMISSION Planning, City of Solvang DATE PREPARED: November 15, 2018 LOCATION: Citywide Residential Zone Districts REQUEST: Discussion of proposed ordinance amendment pertaining to Accessory Dwelling Units and recommendations for further study. I. RECOMMENDATION: A. Review of proposed language, amending Zoning Ordinance Section , to reflect legal requirements for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) II. BACKGROUND: In late 2016, the State legislature passed several legislative bills that went into effect January 1, 2017, making it easier for property owners to develop Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). In May 2018, Planning staff brought a discussion item to the Planning Commission to discuss possible revisions to the Zoning Ordinance pertaining to ADUs. After receiving comments from Planning Commission which included a recommendation to add as many requirements that were in the previous ordinance, brought the item to Council for discussion. Council directed staff to research water and sewer capacity in relation to ADUs and add a requirement regarding owner occupancy to the ordinance language. Planning and Public Works staff met to discuss ADUs and whether or not the City has the water and wastewater capacity to allow ADUs. The preliminary estimate from Public Works staff is that there is enough capacity to begin allowing some ADUs. However, there is not enough capacity to allow all possible ADUs throughout the City. Depending on the rate of development, redevelopment, and ADUs, it is anticipated that the City s remaining available water and wastewater could be exhausted within four (4) to ten (10) years (based on current capacity). consulted our contact at Housing and Community Development to see if we can limit the number of ADUs at this time due to potential lack of capacity to serve them, to which he stated we can limit and/or prohibit ADUs, but we would have to limit all construction, residential as well as commercial, that would impact water and sewer capacity.

2 Page 2 The Public Works Department anticipates that there will be an update to the City s Water Master Plan in approximately six years. This will be incorporated in an overall review of buildout forecasted by the Land Use Element of the General Plan, which should be updated in that time period as well. Planning and Public Works staff are currently working on adding fees for ADUs that include water and sewer connection fees. These fees must be proportional per the state code. Engineering and Planning are working on what will be deemed proportional. According to legislation, connection fees (both wastewater and water fees) are not allowed to be charged if the ADU is being created within an existing structure (primary or accessory). ADUs that are created separately must be charged fees that are proportionate to the impact of the ADU. Other fees that the City can mandate include school fees (for new habitable or converted space), traffic impact fees, and building permit fees. III. DISCUSSION: Zoning Ordinance Code Section : Second Residential Units, is now null and void. The City of Solvang may adopt an ordinance amendment to allow ADUs, or not adopt an ordinance amendment and defer to the State s ordinance and requirements. Adopting our own ordinance allows the City to add requirements to certain development standards including: Requirement for owner/occupancy Setbacks Number of ADUs Maximum Size Maximum Height Design Guidelines Allowed Residential zones (including AG and DR-20) Previous Ordinance New Ordinance State Guidelines Owner/Occupancy Required Required Up To Jurisdiction Setbacks Meet TBD; but cannot Minimum to residential burden allow the ADU standards for development to be built in the zone the located environment. Setbacks are not required when a garage is converted or when existing space is being SLO Required Must comply with zoning OR if constructed over a garage a min. 5 rear and side setback required

3 Page 3 Lot Size Detached = 10,000 sq. ft. Attached = 6,000 sq. ft. TBD; but cannot burden development Number of ADUs One per lot TBD recommendation: One per lot Maximum Size Maximum Height Detached: Lot size 10,000-19,999 sq. ft. = shall not exceed 40% of (e) main dwelling or 800 sq. ft., whichever is less Lot size 20,000 or more = 1,000 sq. ft. Attached: Lot size 6,000-9,000 sq. ft. = 600 sq. ft. 10,000-19,999 sq. ft. = 800 sq. ft. 20,000 or more = 1,000 sq. ft. Meet residential standards for the zone located TBD Recommendation: Detached- Maximum: 1,200 sq. ft. Attached: Shall not exceed 50% of living area. TBD Recommendation: Meet residential standards for the zone located Design Guidelines N/A TBD Recommendation: BAR not required, but architecture must match (e) SFR converted to the ADU. Up to Jurisdiction, but cannot burden development One per lot Per State Guidelines Per State guidelines N/A N/A One per lot Shall not exceed 50% of the primary dwelling living area or 800 sq. ft. (whichever is less) OR sq. ft. (with Planning Director approval) 25 35, depending on zone. The ADU shall be architecturally & functionally compatible with primary residence.

4 Page 4 Zones Allowed Residential Zones TBD recommendation: All Residential zones (including AG, DR, PRD) Any zone with a single family dwelling Residential Zones ADUs are not allowed on constrained land, where development capacity is limited because of conditions determined to be detrimental to public health, safety and welfare, such as soil instability or severe slopes. IV. FURTHER DISCUSSION: Parking Fire Sprinklers Building Code Requirements and Permits Miscellaneous Fees Owner Occupancy Recorded Covenant ADUs and Housing Needs Parking: Zoning Ordinance Section : Second Residential Units (now null and void), required a minimum of one uncovered off street parking space, along with required parking for the principal dwelling. SB 1069 reduces parking requirements to one space per bedroom or unit, which can be tandem or in the setback area (unless findings such as fire and life safety are made). SB 1069 prohibits parking requirements if the ADU meets any of the following: 1. The ADU is within a half mile from public transit. 2. Is within an architecturally and historically significant historic district. 3. Is part of an existing primary residence or an existing accessory structure. 4. Is in an area where on-street parking permits are required, but not offered to the occupant of the ADU. 5. Is located within one block of a car share area. Replacement parking is required when the parking area for the primary structure is being converted to an ADU, but only when the local government requires off-street parking for the primary structure to be replaced. This parking can be tandem, can be located on the existing driveway, or can be located within the setbacks, unless the proposed area is determined to create a fire or life safety conditions. These determinations should be applied to not restrict the creation of ADUs. The applicant can also construct new covered parking within zoning requirements. Fire Sprinklers/Addressing: Fire sprinklers are only required to be installed in an ADU if the primary residence has fire sprinklers. An application for separate addressing is required to be submitted to Santa Barbara County Fire Department for any ADU.

5 Page 5 Building Code Requirements: Any construction that needs to be done to create the ADU must comply with the most recent Building Code and building permits shall be issued. Construction can include any electrical, framing, insulation, plumbing, or other necessary building code requirement to make the space habitable. Smoke detectors shall be required in any ADU. Review Time: State law mandates that ADUs shall be processed as ministerial permits and additional discretionary requirements shall not be imposed. ADUs shall be processed within one hundredtwenty (120) days of submittal. Miscellaneous Fees: All impact fees (water, sewer, park, traffic, etc.) must be charged in accordance with the Fee Mitigation Act, which requires the fees to be proportional to the actual impact. is continuing to research the fees for water and sewer connection fees for new detached ADUs. The list of fees that can be collected per ADU is as follows: Land Use Clearance of $ (existing square footage being converted) or $1, (new construction) Road Improvement Fee: $3, (new construction) School Fees (based on new habitable space) Building Permit Fees Drainage Fee: $ per ADU Owner Occupancy/Recorded Covenant: The state ordinance provides that any jurisdiction may require owner occupancy for ADUs, meaning that the owner of the property must reside in either the primary residence or the ADU. A recorded covenant will be required, which includes verbiage regarding owner occupancy, that the ADU shall not be used as a vacation rental, and that the ADU shall not be sold separately from the primary residence. ADUs and Housing Needs: The Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) is the state-mandated process to identify the total number of housing units (by affordability level) that each jurisdiction (City and County) must accommodate in its Housing Element. As part of this process, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) identifies the total housing need for each Metropolitan Planning Organization throughout the state for an eight-year period (in the current cycle, from 2015 to 2023). Our MPO is Santa Barbara County Association of Governments. SBCAG must then develop a methodology to distribute this housing need to local governments like Solvang. Once a local government has received its final housing allocation, it must revise its Housing Element to show how it plans to accommodate its portion of the region s housing need. While this is not a mandate to construct housing, each city and county must show that they can meet those required housing numbers, by income level.

6 Page 6 For the current cycle, Solvang has already met the low income requirement with the housing provided by Solvang Senior Apartments. We are on track to meet the need for above moderate income level housing with market rate housing, such as the Skytt Mesa tract. Unlike low income housing, there are few grant programs that serve as funding mechanisms for moderate income housing. Construction or permitting existing ADUs will be one of the ways in which the need for moderate housing (30 units, in the chart below) will be met. Attachments: SB 1069 Frequently Asked Questions Zoning Ordinance Section : Second Residential Units (previous ordinance, now null and void) Solvang Land Use Map Draft ADU Checklist Draft ADU Worksheet Draft Submittal Requirements San Luis Obispo ADU Handout