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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3/4/2025 Item 6b, Tway and Amini - Staff Agenda CorrespondenceCity of San Luis Obispo, Council Memorandum City of San Luis Obispo Council Agenda Correspondence DATE: March 4, 2025March 4, 2025 TO: Mayor and Council FROM: Timmi Tway, Community Development Director Prepared By: David Amini, Housing Coordinator VIA: Whitney McDonald, City Manager SUBJECT: ITEM 6B - INTRODUCE AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 16 (SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS) AND TITLE 17 (ZONING REGULATIONS) OF THE CITY’S MUNICIPAL CODE (CODE-0031-2025) Staff received the following questions. The questions are below with staff’s response shown in italics: 1) Is there any law or guidance on whether major or minor lot splits should be allowed in areas mapped under SB 99 as having limited evacuation routes? The Climate Adaptation and Safety Element identifies areas within the City that have limited evacuation routes under the requirements of SB 99. The state law governing lot splits, Government Code Section 66499.41 (9), does not directly include these areas in the list of parcel characteristics that are excluded from the lot provisions of state law. This Section does exclude parcels located in very high fire hazard severity zones. Based on the current Fire Hazard Severity Zone map, which was last updated in 2011, there are 17 parcels on San Luis Drive that are located in the very high fire hazard severity zone and would be excluded from subdividing under the provisions of Government Code Section 66499.41 (9).This neighborhood is also identified in the City’s Safety Element as having limited evacuation routes. The Fire Hazard Severity Zone map is scheduled to be updated within the coming months. The City’s Major and Minor Lot Split regulations refer directly to the Government Code section above for exclusions. 2) Can you provide an example of what a SB 684 major lot split could look like in SLO? Staff plans on publishing a handbook style document, similar to HCD’s existing ADU handbook, that shows what could be done with a major or minor urban lot split in order to provide clarity to the public. With a major lot split, a property owner of either a vacant R-1 lot, or a lot zoned R- 2 or above can apply for and be granted a new subdivision map and associated residential development of up to 10 units/lots, with each resulting lot being no smaller than six hundred square feet, approved in a streamlined fashion, providing Item 6b. Introduce an Ordinance Amending Title 16 and Title 17 (CODE -0031-2025) Page 2 the application meets all of the objective requirements of the regulations. These regulations will allow homeowners and developers to have multiple avenues to achieve a higher density on underutilized R-2 or above residentially zoned properties, either through the major lot split route or through the ADU updates. If you take the example of a standard, 5,000 to 10,000 square foot R-2 zoned lot with an existing single family home and large yard, the major lot split would allow the property to be split and another single family home permitted on the newly split lot that has more square footage than an ADU, and would be able to be sold separately from the original house. This could allow for more homeownership opportunities in existing City neighborhoods, and could allow existing homeowners to leverage their land to realize higher equity in their homes. We have seen the existing minor lot split regulations under SB-9 be used to achieve this type of development – the major lot split will expand this opportunity to all other residential zones of the City. 3) How do the proposed zoning code changes comply with SB 1211, which allows up to eight detached ADUs on a multifamily property? How is the maximum amount of units calculated? The updates to the zoning code remove language that restricted the amount of accessory dwelling units on a lot to one ADU and one JADU. This allows applicants to apply under the auspices of state law established under SB 1211. The law allows an applicant to construct up to eight detached ADUs on a property with an existing multifamily dwelling. The number of ADUs is restricted to be no more than the number of existing units on the site, per state law. Therefore, if there is a property with an existing 4-unit apartment building, the owner can apply to build up to 4 detached ADUs. The ADUs can share walls and be attached to each other, but must be detached from the existing multifamily dwelling. State law provides minimum setbacks, heights, and design standards for these ADUs. The City code imposes the development standards of the underlying zone on these ADUs, which are more permissive than state law requirements. 4) What are the “specific, adverse impacts” under state law that a local agency may deem an application for a housing development project associated with an urban lot split noncompliant? State law regarding lot splits is found in, which states that “a local agency shall not disapprove the housing development project or emergency shelter, or condition approval in a manner that renders the housing development project or emergency shelter infeasible, including through the use of design review standards, unless it makes written findings, based upon a preponderance of the evidence in the record, as to the following: Item 6b. Introduce an Ordinance Amending Title 16 and Title 17 (CODE -0031-2025) Page 3 (2) The housing development project or emergency shelter as proposed would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific, adverse impact without rendering the development unaffordable to low- and moderate-income households or rendering the development of the emergency shelter financially infeasible. As used in this paragraph, a “specific, adverse impact” means a significant, quantifiable, direct, and unavoidable impact, based on objective, identified written public health or safety standards, policies, or conditions as they existed on the date the application was deemed complete. The following shall not constitute a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety: (A) Inconsistency with the zoning ordinance or general plan land use designation. (B) The eligibility to claim a welfare exemption under subdivision (g) of Section 214 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.” This portion of state law also states the following: “It is the intent of the Legislature that the conditions that would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health and safety, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) and paragraph (1) of subdivision (j), arise infrequently.” The state law clearly dictates that there are very few cases where a specific, adverse impact upon the health and safety of the public would arise from a housing project associated with an urban lot split. The City zoning code, as updated, directly refers to this portion of state law as the only way where the director can deem an application for a lot split as noncompliant. Given that there are no clear lists or enumeration of the specific types of impacts that would constitute “specific, adverse impact” under state law, such determinations will continue to require careful site and fact specific analysis and the burden would fall entirely on the City to justify the denial of a project on that basis. That analysis will continue to evolve with continued changes to state law and judicial interpretations of the laws.