February 12, 2026
Healdsburg City Council
Council Chamber, City Hall
401 Grove St, Healdsburg
RE: Item 7.A: Land Use Code Amendments to address recent state laws related to SB 9 and SB 684/1123
Dear Mayor Herrod, Vice Mayor Edwards, Councilmembers, and Staff, With the February 17 meeting around the corner, we wanted to follow up on recent conversations we’ve been having with staff and councilmembers and continue those discussions related to SB 10 and AB 1033. We’ve appreciated the opportunity to talk through these items and wanted to share a few additional thoughts and clarifications ahead of the meeting.
First, we want to again express our support for adoption of AB 1033 and encourage the City to follow the lead of Sebastopol, which has now finalized a local AB 1033 ordinance. As a refresher, AB 1033 allows ADUs to be sold as separate units, creating new opportunities for smaller, more attainable for-sale homes. If staff would find it helpful, Generation Housing has draft ordinance language available and is happy to provide technical assistance, and we expect the Casita Coalition would also be willing to assist.
With respect to Item 7.A, we appreciate the City’s work to implement SB 9 and SB 684/1123, which expand ministerial pathways for small-scale housing and reduce unnecessary process barriers. These tools are important. At the same time, we want to re-emphasize that SB 10 would be a valuable addition to this set of housing tools.
Additionally, we recently reviewed the City’s Housing Element and noted that under Housing Program 7.2 (Removing Housing Constraints), the City calls for promoting exemptions to the Growth Management Ordinance, including encouraging housing developments of ten or fewer units that are exempt from the GMO under SB 10.
Program 7.2 also identifies SB 10 as a way to address the City’s high concentration of R1 zoning, with a target of 25 higher-intensity units in higher-income R1 neighborhoods, and calls for SB 10 options to be brought to City Council alongside broader development capacity work. The program describes this as an ongoing technical activity, with SB 10 options to be presented concurrent with completion of the Development Capacity Study, identification of applicable geographic areas through that study, and adoption of any resulting ordinance prior to the SB 10 sunset on January 1, 2029.
We also noted that Table 5 of the Housing Element, under the City’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing commitments, identifies zoning for a variety of housing types in the R1 zone as a specific action area. The table lists a specific commitment for City Council to review an SB 10 ordinance and the potential for increased development capacity in the R1 zone exempt from the GMO (see Program 7.2). This action is identified with a 2024 timeline, with geographic targeting to be determined through the 2024 Development Capacity Study, and is categorized as a Study/Action (2024) metric. We raise this simply to note that SB 10 consideration is already embedded in the City’s adopted Housing Element framework.
We have heard comments that AB 1033 or SB 10 will not, on their own, result in significant housing production. We agree, there is no single solution. Housing is complicated. But that does not make these tools unimportant. One of the biggest challenges in the North Bay is not just the number of units being built, but the limited range of housing types and pathways available to actually produce them.
We continue to support AB 1033 and SB 10 because they respect individual property rights and expand who is able to participate in housing production. These tools allow homeowners and owners of small parcels to make better use of their land, rather than relying solely on large, capital-intensive projects. They help enable a new class of small-scale, local, “mom-and-pop” builders, people who can add housing incrementally, one or a few units at a time, in ways that fit within existing neighborhoods.
We need more small multifamily housing, more larger multifamily housing, and more rental and ownership options that are affordable by design. We also have limited land, and different sites support different types of housing. For each housing type and income level, there are different regulatory and financing pathways. That reality means progress requires multiple solutions moving forward at the same time.
Just as football is ultimately a game of inches, housing is built incrementally - unit by unit. No single policy will solve the problem, but each of these tools helps move the ball forward.
We also understand staff’s limited bandwidth and want to reiterate that we are available to help support this work where possible, either directly or by connecting the City with other organizations that have expertise in these areas.
Thank you for your consideration and continued leadership. We look forward to continuing our collaboration.
In partnership,
Jen Klose
Executive Director, Generation Housing