Date of Hearing: January 23, 2020

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 953

Author:(Ting and Bloom) – As Amended Ver:January 6, 2020

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill amends Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) law to address chaptering errors that occurred with three bills chaptered into law in 2019.

FISCAL EFFECT:

No state costs. Any cost to local agencies can be offset by fees they are authorized to charge.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. There were several bills in the 2019 legislative year that significantly amended ADU law, including AB 68 (Ting), Chapter 655, Statutes of 2019; AB 881 (Bloom), Chapter 659, Statutes of 2019; and, SB 13 (Wieckowski), Chapter 653, Statutes of 2019. All three amended Government Code Section 65852.2 and chaptering amendments were needed at the end of the legislative session to resolve conflicts in implementation of the bills. Due to the complexity of the chaptering amendments, there were several errors inconsistent with the authors’ intent. This bill corrects those errors.
2. Background. ADUs are additional living quarters that are independent of the primary dwelling unit on the same lot. ADUs are either attached or detached to the primary dwelling unit, and provide complete independent living facilities for one or more person, including separate access from the property’s primary unit. This includes permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking and sanitation. JADUs are ADUs that are no more than 500 square feet and exist within single-family homes and have cooking facilities including a sink and stove but are not required to have a bathroom.
3. Related Legislation. SB 773 (Skinner), of this legislative session, contains provisions identical to the provisions of this bill. SB 773 is awaiting hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: January 15, 2020

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 953 (

Author:Ting and Bloom) – As Amended Ver:January 6, 2020

SUBJECT: Land use: accessory dwelling units.

SUMMARY: Makes technical corrections to Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) law. Specifically, this bill:

1. Clarifies, for purposes of a completed application to build an ADU or a junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU), that the application shall be deemed approved if the local agency has not acted upon the completed application within 60 days.
2. Makes additional technical and clarifying amendments.
3. Declares that the changes in the bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair; therefore, the bill applies to charter cities.

FISCAL EFFECT: This bill is keyed fiscal and contains a state-mandated local program.

COMMENTS:

1. Background. There were several significant bills in the 2019 legislative year that amended ADU law, including AB 68 (Ting), Chapter 655, Statutes of 2019; AB 881 [(Bloom), Chapter 659, Statutes of 2019; and, SB 13 (Wieckowski), Chapter 653, Statutes of 2019. Since all three of these bills amended Government Code Section 65852.2, chaptering amendments were needed at the end of the legislative session to resolve conflicts in implementation of the bills. Due to the complexity of these chaptering amendments, it was discovered shortly after the bills were amended that there were several errors that were inconsistent with the authors’ intent.
2. Bill Summary and Author’s Statement. This bill makes technical corrections to the ADU bills that were chaptered into law in 2019, and is sponsored by the author.

According to the author, “AB 953 corrects four typographical errors made in error during the chaptering process between AB 68 (Ting), AB 881 (Bloom), and SB 13 (Wieckowski) in 2019. Correcting these errors will provide necessary clarity as the bills go into effect this year.”

1. Related Legislation. SB 773 (Skinner) contains provisions that are identical to the provisions of this bill. SB 773 is set for hearing on January 15, 2020, in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee.
2. Arguments in Support. California YIMBY, in support, writes, “AB 953 corrects typographical errors made to the ADU package last year, ensuring that law will be successfully implemented.”
3. Arguments in Opposition. None on file.
4. Double-referral. This bill is double-referred to the Housing and Community Development Committee, where it will be heard on January 15, 2020.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California YIMBY

California Association of Realtors

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Angela Mapp/ L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958

Date of Hearing: January 15, 2020

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

David Chiu, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 953 (

Author:Ting) – As Amended Ver:January 6, 2020

SUBJECT: Land use: accessory dwelling units

SUMMARY: Amends Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) law to address chaptering errors. Specifically, this bill:

1. Specifies that, if a local agency has not acted upon the completed application for an ADU or JADU within 60 days, the application must be deemed approved.
2. Specifies that a local agency must approve one ADU and one JADU per lot under specified conditions.
3. Clarifies that a local agency must allow, within multifamily buildings, at least one ADU for every four dwelling units, and no less than one ADU.
4. Provides that the Legislature finds and declares that this bill is a matter of statewide concern and is not a municipal affair as that term is used in Section 5 of Article XI of the California Constitution, and that therefore, the provisions of this act apply to all cities, including charter cities.
5. Provides that no reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code.

EXISTING LAW:

1. States that ADUs are an essential component of California’s housing supply (Government Code Section 65852.150).
2. Establishes requirements and standards for ADUs (Government Code Section 65852.2) and JADUs (Government Code Section 65852.22).
3. States that a local agency must act on the completed application for an ADU or JADU within 60 days, but does specify the implications for not doing so.
4. Requires that local agencies must approve one ADU or one JADU per lot under specified conditions.
5. Lacks clarity around the number of ADUs permitted within multifamily buildings, specifying that a local agency “may shall” allow one ADU for every for dwelling units.

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

Author’s Statement: According to the author, “AB 953 corrects four typographical errors made during the chaptering process between AB 68 (Ting), AB 881 (Bloom), and SB 13 (Wieckowski) in 2019. Correcting these errors will provide necessary clarity as the bills go into effect this year.”

Background: ADUs are additional living quarters that are independent of the primary dwelling unit on the same lot. ADUs are either attached or detached to the primary dwelling unit, and provide complete independent living facilities for one or more person, including separate access from the property’s primary unit. This includes permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation. JADUs are ADUs that are no more than 500 square feet and exist within single-family homes and have cooking facilities including a sink and stove but are not required to have a bathroom.

Summary of the Bill: ADUs have been identified as an important piece of the solution to California’s housing crisis. Recognizing this, over the past few years, the legislature has passed a number of bills to ease zoning restrictions and expedite approval processes at the local level, which has contributed to the increased supply of ADUs throughout the state.

In 2019, the State enacted a number of bills to further facilitate the construction of ADUs, this included SB 13 (Wieckowski), AB 68 (Ting), and AB 881 (Bloom). As these bills nears adoption, they were amended by their authors to be compatible with each other. However, some errors were made in that process so that the bills were not perfectly compatible. These errors are reflected in the chaptered version, which is based on the last bill that was chaptered, AB 881.

This bill would correct four chaptering errors in the bill, as follows:

• It would include language from the enrolled version of SB 13 that specifies that, if a local agency has not acted upon the completed application for an ADU or JADU within 60 days, the application must be deemed approved. Current law states that a local agency must act on the completed application for an ADU or JADU within 60 days, but does specify the implications for not doing so. The new language would therefore create clarity in the process for all parties.
• It would include language from the enrolled version of AB 68 that states that a local agency must approve one ADU and one JADU per lot with a single-family dwelling under specified conditions, including that the ADU and JADU is within the single-family or an accessory structure, they have exterior access from the single-family dwelling, and the side and rear setbacks are sufficient for fire and safety. Current law requires that local agencies must approve one ADU or one JADU per lot under these specified conditions.
• It would include language from the enrolled version of SB 13 that states that a local agency shall allow, within multifamily buildings, at least one ADU for every four dwelling units, and no less than one ADU. Current law state that local agencies “may shall” allow these units, which is subject to varied interpretations. The new language would therefore clarify the law for all parties.
• It would correct a grammatical error where an “on” is being changed to an “an” before the word “ordinance.”

Related Legislation:

AB 68 (Ting), Chapter 655, Statutes of 2019: This bill makes changes to ADU and JADU. This bill would prohibit an ordinance from imposing a minimum lot size for an ADU, and would enable multiple ADUs on certain properties.

AB 881 (Bloom), Chapter 659, Statutes of 2019: This bill removes potential impediments to construction of ADUs in three ways: limits the criteria by which local jurisdictions can limit where ADUs are permitted; clarifies that ADUs must be ministerially approved if constructed in existing garages; and eliminates for five years the potential for local agencies to place owner-occupancy requirements on the units.

SB 13 (Wieckowski), Chapter 653, Statutes of 2019: This bill makes a number of changes to law governing ADUs including: prohibits local ordinance from requiring an applicant for an ADU to be an owner occupant; eliminates impact fees on ADUs that are 750 square feet or less and caps fees on ADUs that are 750 square feet or less to twenty-five percent.

Double referred: This bill was also referred to the Assembly Committee on Local Government where it will be heard should it pass out of this committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

ADU Task Force East Bay
Bay Area Council
California Association of Realtors
California YIMBY
Casita Coalition
Non-profit Housing Association of Northern California
SPUR
TMG Partners

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Steve Wertheim / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085