Calabasas ADU Ordinance
California has millions of garages. Most single family areas have zoning rules requiring one or two parking covered parking spaces per single-family home. This vast underutilized space has the potential to provide housing for millions of renters in some of the most exclusive areas of California. Recognizing this potential, the California legislature has passed a statewide Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) law that ensures garage conversions are possible on the vast majority of single family lots. Calabasas is ignoring this mandate in an effort to preserve it’s covered parking and prevent new housing from taking its place. The local Calabasas zoning rules require that when a garage is converted to an ADU, the property owner must build a new garage to replace the old one. This requirement would make ADU development impossible or infeasible on many lots. Fortunately, state law deals with this exact problem by forbidding local governments from requiring replacement garages. CaRLA filed a lawsuit to hold Calabasas accountable to the requirements of state law. We hope this case will set an example for other cities across California that prioritize roofs for cars ahead of roofs for people. How It Ended A fundamental element of zoning in California is […]
San Francisco’s ADU Ordinance
Accessory dwelling units (ADUs) have the potential to provide a rare and valuable source of rental housing in San Francisco’s single-family neighborhoods. The current San Francisco rules, however, make it very difficult for homeowners to add ADUs on single-family properties. Requirements for yard setbacks and open space severely limit the lot area where an ADU can go, and the arduous permit review process discourages homeowners from even attempting to add an ADU. In reviewing the San Francisco ordinance, CaRLA identified two of these limits on ADUs that are in conflict with state law. First, the ordinance subjects ADUs to the city’s discretionary review process which allows virtually anyone to indefinitely delay an ADU application through countless Planning Commission hearings, even though the proposal may be 100% compliant with local zoning. This process is very costly for permit applicants and can take months to navigate. The mere possibility of such burdens is more than enough to discourage most homeowners looking to add an ADU. Second, the San Francisco ordinance only allows ADUs to be added to existing homes; new single-family homes are prohibited from including one. The city’s single-family neighborhoods are primarily composed of small lots where it is much easier […]
SF ADU Petition for Writ of Mandate
CaRLA’s petition to require San Francisco to bring its ADU regulations into compliance with state law