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CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
December 4, 2023
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: James Makshanoff, City Manager
Submitted By: Anita D. Gutierrez, AICP, Development Services Director SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF AN URGENCY ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY OF POMONA ZONING ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT AND JUNIOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT REGULATIONS AND DETERMINING THE ORDINANCE TO BE EXEMPT FROM CEQA RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council introduce, waive further, give reading to, and adopt the following urgency ordinance (Attachments No. 1 & 2):
URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 4340 - AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA AMENDING SECTIONS .5809-26 OF THE CITY OF POMONA ZONING ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT AND JUNIOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT REGULATIONS AND DETERMINING THE ORDINANCE TO BE EXEMPT FROM CEQA EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The proposed Urgency Ordinance will bring Pomona into compliance with recently enacted State Law pertaining to Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) taking effect January 1, 2024. This action amends Section .5809-26 of the City of Pomona Zoning Ordinance to impose new limits on local authority to regulate ADUs in compliance with the provisions of Government Code sections 65852.2 and 65852.26. Note that there were no new laws signed into law amending Government Code section 65852.22 that regulates Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) regulations.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The adoption of the urgency ordinance will not result in any fiscal impact at this time.
PUBLIC NOTICING REQUIREMENTS:
A public hearing notice is not required for this action.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
On December 5, 2022, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4324, amending Section .5809-26 (Accessory Dwelling Units) in order to ensure the City’s ADU regulations were fully compliant with State ADU Law in effect at that time.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
Under California Public Resources Code section 21080.17, the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) does not apply to the adoption of an ordinance by a city or county implementing the provisions of section 65852.2 of the Government Code, which is California’s ADU law and which also regulates JADUs, as defined by section 65852.22. Therefore, the proposed ordinance is statutorily exempt from CEQA in that the proposed ordinance implements the State’s ADU law.
DISCUSSION:
In recent years, the California Legislature has approved, and the Governor has signed into law, a number of bills that, among other things, amended Government Code (GC) sections 65852.2, 65852.22, and 65852.26 to impose new limits on local authority to regulate ADUs and JADUs. In 2023, the California Legislature approved, and the Governor signed into law, a new bill (AB 976 and AB 1033) that further amends GC sections 65852.2 and 65852.26 (“New Amendments”). Among other things, the New Amendments:
GC 65852.2 - Permanently removes the owner-occupancy requirement for ADUs. Previous regulations would have instated owner-occupancy requirements starting January 1, 2025; and GC 65852.26 - Allows for the separate conveyance of the primary dwelling unit and an ADU or ADUs as condominiums. Local agencies have the discretion to implement this provision as it is not mandated by the State. Staff is recommending that this provision not be implemented.
Failure to comply with Government Code sections 65852.2 (as amended) by January 1, 2024, renders the City’s ADU ordinance null and void, thereby limiting the City to the application of the few default state standards provided in Government Code sections 65852.2 and 65852.26. The approval of ADUs based solely on these default statutory standards, without local regulations governing height, setback, landscape, and architectural review, among other things, would threaten the character of existing neighborhoods, and negatively impact property values, personal privacy, and fire safety.
The proposed ordinance amends the City’s local regulatory scheme for the construction of ADUs to comply with recently amended provisions of GC sections 65852.2. The amended provisions of GC 65852.26 related to the separate conveyance of the primary dwelling unit and an ADU or ADUs as condominiums will not be implemented as it is not mandated by the state.
The ADU code amendments are proposed for adoption by urgency ordinance as authorized by Government Code section 36934 and 36937(b). An affirmative vote from at least six-sevenths (6/7) of the City Council is necessary to adopt the urgency ordinance.
COUNCIL PRIORITIES & GOALS:
This item supports the following 2021-2022 City Council priorities and goals:
Priority 2: Economic Development – Goal J: Encourage the development and maintenance of quality housing opportunities for all.
Prepared by:
Vinny Tam, AICP
Senior Planner
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment No. 1 – Draft Urgency Ordinance No. 4340
Attachment No. 2 – Exhibit A
Reading of Urgency Ordinance No. 4340 for Code Amendment (CODE-022706-2023)