L.1. DISCUSSION ON CITY COUNCIL REFERRAL TO PLANNING COMMISSION TO CONSIDER URGENCY ORDINANCE 3226-21 AMENDING THE REDONDO BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 10, CHAPTERS 1, 2, AND 5, TO PROVIDE OBJECTIVE STANDARDS FOR SENATE BILL 9 (SB9) BY PROVIDING REGULATIONS RELATED TO URBAN LOT SPLITS AND TWO-UNIT PROJECTS SUBJECT TO SB9.
PLANNING COMMISSION TO REVIEW CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS ON CERTAIN TOPICS RELATED TO SB9 AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND OTHER
RECOMMENDED REVISIONS TO BE INCLUDED AS PART OF THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF A PERMANENT ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO SB9.
REDONDO BEACH PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
JULY 20, 2023
AGENDA ITEM L.1.
1 ADOPTION OF SB9
• Signed into law by the Governor on September 19, 2021 • Effective on January 1, 2022
• Amends three Government Code sections to allow for urban lot splits and two units per lot • Requires municipalities to approve ministerially urban lot splits in single-family residential • Requires projects with 2 residential units within a single-family residential zone to be approved ministerially
• Municipality may implement objective standards that may help mitigate impacts 2 REDONDO BEACH ADDRESSING SB9
• November 16, 2021 – City Council discussed possible objective standards to address SB9 • December 14, 2021 – City Council considered permanent and urgency ordinances • December 21, 2021 – City Council adopted urgency ordinance to implement objective standards to address SB9. Effective for 45 days. City Council • January 18, 2022 – City Council considered report for extending urgency ordinance to provide time to consider and study current/additional objective standards to address SB9. • February 1, 2022 – City Council held public hearing and extended the urgency ordinance for an additional 22 months and 15 days, to be effective for a total of 2 years, providing time to evaluate the effects of SB9 and study current and additional objective standards to include in a permanent ordinance.
• February 17, 2022 – Planning Commission held discussion on City Council referral to consider Urgency Ordinance, review City Council comments, and provide feedback and recommended additions/revisions to include in permanent SB9 ordinance. 3 WHAT IS SB9
• Requires ministerial approval of a housing development in a single-family residential zone that will split the lot.
• Requires ministerial approval of adding a second home on the lot. • Although it allows objective standards, only to the limit where two units of 800 square feet can still be developed on a lot or resulting lot.
• Eliminates discretionary review and public oversight of the proposed subdivision of one lot, into two parcels.
• Removes public notice requirements and hearings by the Planning Department. • Exempts SB9-qualifying projects from environmental review as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
• Exempts public hearings for coastal development permit applications for housing developments and urban lot splits pursuant to SB9.
4 WHAT SB9 ALLOWS – LOT SPLITS
• Single-family residential zone
• Maximum two parcels
• New lots approximately equal in size
• Minimum new lot size 1,200 square feet
• Not located within a historic district or landmarked historic property • Site not previously split
• Each lot can have two residential units
5 WHAT SB9 ALLOWS – 2 UNITS PER LOT
• ADUs and JADUs can be counted toward the maximum number of units if lot split • Each unit can be at least 800 square feet
• Rear and side setbacks can be as little as four feet
• No additional setbacks for existing structures
• No additional setbacks for structures replacing existing structures (new structure must be same size and location)
• Structures can be attached
• Reduced parking requirement:
• One parking space per unit
• Parking not required for the following:
• .5 mile walk to a “high quality transit corridor”
• .5 mile walk of a “major transit stop”
• Car share vehicle within 1 block
6 URGENCY ORDINANCE - LOT SPLITS
• Only an “individual property owner” can apply, not corporations or corporate persons. • Lot splits prohibited at sites with certain circumstances as established by SB9 (i.e., wetland, hazardous waste sites, flood hazard area, etc.).
• No lot split on historic property or within a historic district. • Lot can not have been not previously split.
• Lot being split may not be adjacent to a parcel split by same owner. • Deed restricted affordable housing cannot be demolished per SB9. • Lot size minimums per SB9.
• Easements for public utilities required for each resulting lot. • Resulting lots must adjoin the public right-of-way; minimum frontage of 20 feet. • No separate conveyance of dwelling units on same lot. • Only residential use, no short-term rentals, and an affidavit of owner occupancy. • Coastal regulations apply in full for the coastal zone. 7 URGENCY ORDINANCE – TWO-UNIT
DEVELOPMENTS
• Only an “individual property owner” can apply, not corporations or corporate persons. • Lot on which the two-unit project is proposed must have been legally subdivided. • Two-unit development prohibited at sites with certain circumstances as established by SB9 (i.e., wetland, hazardous waste sites, flood hazard area, etc.). • Prohibited on historic property or within a historic district. • Deed restricted affordable housing cannot be demolished per SB9. • No more than two dwelling units of any kind on a lot resulting from an urban lot split. • If not an urban lot split, limited to the two units plus ADU and JADU as allowed by State law and the City’s ADU ordinance.
• Only 25% demo allowed if the site has been occupied by tenant in the last 3 years. • Lot coverage, outdoor living space, and setbacks to be followed to the extent feasible. • New tree required for each new unit, or a fee-in-lieu. • Tree replacement required for removal of mature trees (trunk diameter of 6” or greater), or a fee-in-lieu. 8
URGENCY ORDINANCE – TWO-UNIT
DEVELOPMENTS (CONT.)
• Floor area of second primary unit limited to 800 square feet. • Height of second primary unit limited to 16 feet and 1 story. • Require parking as allowed by SB9.
• Each primary dwelling unit on a lot must have its own direct utility connections. • All structures must comply with all current local building standards. • Impact fees for any additional primary dwelling unit to be charged, and proportional for ADUs/JADUs as allowed by State regulations.
• All other applicable standards apply to the extent that they do not conflict with State law, including applicable requirements for affordable housing. This will be applicable when the inclusionary housing ordinance is adopted.
• No separate conveyance of dwelling units on same lot. • Only residential use, no short-term rentals, and affidavit of owner occupancy if formed by an urban lot split.
• Coastal regulations apply in full for the coastal zone. 9 REASON FOR PERMANENT ORDINANCE
• SB9 went into effect January 1, 2022.
• Law allows local agencies to adopt objective standards to govern these types of projects. • The urgency ordinance served as an interim measure for Redondo Beach to adopt objective standards prior to the January 1, 2022 effective date of the regulations. • City Council extended the urgency ordinance for to be effective for a total of 2 years, with an expiration date of December 21, 2023.
• State Attorney General just issued letter on July 17, 2023 advising caution regarding urgency ordinances related to SB9.
10 STATE ADVISORIES TO CONSIDER:
HCD FACT SHEET
• HCD fact sheet on SB9 issued in March 2022:
• High-level overview of key parts of the law
• Addresses common questions received by HCD
• HCD enforcement authority, including:
• Housing Element Law
• Housing Crisis Act of 2019
• Accessory Dwelling Unit Law
• Housing Accountability Act
• Rental Inclusionary Housing
11 STATE ADVISORIES TO CONSIDER:
HCD LETTER TO TEMPLE CITY
HCD position on intensity of land use and SB9 issued April 2022, addressing concerns with overreaching ordinances that municipalities adopted, including Temple City.
Housing Crisis Act of 2019. This law limits the ability of a local agency to reduce the intensity of land use anywhere where housing is an allowable use. HCD determined that Temple City’s Ordinance violates this:
• Maximum Unit Size of 800 Square Feet: The Temple City SB 9 Ordinance limits the maximum size of a dwelling built under SB 9 to 800 square feet.
• Height Limit: The Temple City Ordinance limits the maximum height of a new attached or detached dwelling built under SB 9 to one story and 18 feet. Their development standards of the R-1 Zone District currently limit building heights depending on the lot characteristics, up to 32 feet in height. • Courtyards: The Temple City Ordinance requires that all new detached dwellings built under SB 9 provide an open space courtyard with a minimum area of 1,000 square feet or 10% of the lot area and with a minimum width and depth of 20 feet, whichever is larger. Their development standards of the R-1 Zone District currently impose no such requirement on other dwellings. 12 STATE ADVISORIES TO CONSIDER:
HCD LETTER TO TEMPLE CITY (cont.)
Housing Element Law. An SB 9 Ordinance should not create constraints on the development of housing that would reduce the economic feasibility of projects. • Parking Requirements: The Temple City Ordinance prohibits a property owner from constructing off-street parking spaces that would serve the residents of an SB 9 unit and must remove existing driveways and driveway aprons that might facilitate off-street parking. Per HCD, these requirements impose a new burden on property owners seeking to develop housing under SB 9. • 30-Year Affordable Housing Deed Restriction: The Temple City Ordinance requires that all units created under SB 9 be deed-restricted to low- or very low-income households. Per HCD, this requirement is equivalent to a 100% inclusionary requirement that is not imposed on any other type of residential development in Temple City (typically 15%-20%). • LEED Platinum Certification: The Temple City Ordinance requires that all new detached dwellings built under SB 9 achieve LEED Platinum certification. Per HCD, this requirement will substantially increase the cost of development of SB 9 units and there is no such requirement on other dwellings in the R-1 zone.
• Subterranean Third Story Requirement: The Temple City Ordinance requires that a portion of the floor area of a dwelling built under SB 9 be located underground in certain instances, which HCD found could substantially increase the cost of development. 13 STATE ADVISORIES TO CONSIDER:
HCD LETTER TO TEMPLE CITY (cont.)
State ADU Law allow for developments with both SB 9 Units and ADUs, up to 4 units may be built in the same lot area typically used for a single-family home. • Accessory Dwelling Units – No Lot Split: The Temple City Ordinance establishes a limit of 2 residential units on each lot developed under SB 9 and requires that ADUs and JADUs count toward that limit even when a lot split is not proposed. Per HCD, this provision of SB9 only applies when a lot split is proposed. When a lot split is not proposed, the local agency must allow ADUs as it typically would pursuant to State ADU Law. 14 ADDITIONAL TOPICS FOR PLANNING
COMMISSION TO CONSIDER
• Acknowledge that Redondo Beach is not dominated by single family housing, but rather has a majority of multi-family zoning.
• Examine tree planting requirement to ensure it is adequate. • Incorporate applicable items from the Climate Action Plan, including requirements for cool roofs, solar panels, grey water systems, electric vehicle charging, greenhouse gas emission reduction.
• Evaluate the individual ownership requirement to properly address corporations. • Consider an option of requiring owner to occupy, not just addressing intent to occupy. • Consider a requirement that the design is not to encroach into a required front yard setback before exhausting option to build to the rear and side yard setbacks in order to provide two units of 800 square feet each.
• Review objective standards being considered by other similar municipalities. • Evaluate affordability requirement.
15 SB 9 APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED TO DATE
• Since SB 9 became effective on January 1, 2022, the City has only received one application for an urban lot split and two-unit development.
• The project was approved June 27, 2023 and consists of:
• Subdivision of an 8,804 square foot corner-lot into two new lots in the R-1 Single-Family Residential zone.
• Demolition of an existing single-family home.
• Construction of 2 new two-story homes, one on each new lot. 16 NEXT STEPS
• Review City Council comments
• Consider the more recent developments related to SB9 implementation in the State • HCD Fact Sheet
• State Advisories
• Discussion, including Q&A and recommendations for final ordinances [Note: Discussion on this item will be held again at August 17, 2023 Planning Commission, with public hearing on final ordinances at September 21, 2023 Planning Commission meeting.]
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