State Sen. Bob Wieckowski, (D.-Fremont) co-author of California’s recent Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) legislation, and Greg Nickless from California Housing and Community Development, recently spoke about ADUs to a sold-out audience.
The session at the New Vic Theatre in Santa Barbara was at maximum capacity with 300 people attending.
Property owners, architects, contractors, land use-planning consultants, planning commissioners, neighborhood activists, and Santa Barbara city government representatives reflected the diversity of attendees.
While the vast majority of the audience were in favor of the ADU legislation, there were some critics who voiced opposition.
Wieckowski began by recapping the 25-plus years of history throughout the state of local agencies enacting and using development standards, discretionary review practices, and development fees to restrict secondary dwelling unit permits.
He said some cities “got cute” with laws pertaining to lot size, parking, and development impact fees, etc., as work-arounds to permitting.
The senator estimates there are 3 million illegal secondary dwelling units in California. He believes the ADU legislation allows cities and counties to generate revenue, since the cost is carried by the property owner.
He repeated several times the fact that this requires no government funding. Wieckowski strongly believes this legislation is “one brick in the wall” to help alleviate the shortage of housing supply throughout the state.
In drafting Senate Bill 1069 several components were of paramount importance to him:
» Streamline permitting through a ministerial process (no more discretionary, public review).
» Utility fees must be proportional to use (cannot be charged the same fees as a much larger main residence).
» Onerous parking standards must be removed.
The session was hosted by the Santa Barbara Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and Santa Barbara Contractors Association.
— David Kim is a licensed real estate broker with Village Properties and the 2017 president of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. Contact him at david@villagesite.com or 805-296-0662. The opinions expressed are his own.