Changes may be coming to Healdsburg’s Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance as the Healdsburg Planning Commission held a public hearing to discuss possible changes.
The Healdsburg Planning Commission held the hearing on Tuesday, April 9 to discuss the proposed changes which include an increase in the maximum ADU square footage from 850 to 1,200 square feet, altering the ADU to house size ratio, adding ADUs to the Multi-Family Residential Zoning District (RM), adding required parking for garage conversions and reorganizing ADU information making it more user friendly.
Commissioners voted unanimously to recommend the proposed changes — with a few alterations to the proposed fixes — to Healdsburg City Council.
Commission Chairperson Jeff Civian and Commissioner Jerry Eddinger were absent.
The majority of the commissioners liked the idea of encouraging the construction of ADUs, otherwise known as granny or in-law units, by making the process a bit easier via the proposed altered ordinance.
According to Healdsburg Senior Planner Shaunn Mendrin, 12 ADU permits were issued in 2017 and eight are currently in the works. Yet many voiced concerns that the ADU-to-house size ratio was too restricting, especially for folks who may have a small house but a large property and that a maximum of 1,200 square feet would be too big.
Commissioners were also concerned about developmental impact fees (fees charged to the applicant for things such as city services like parks and drainage) that would still be included.
With ADUs being a popular topic among the 2018 Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) Report and community workgroups when discussing affordable housing solutions, residents also seemed to be in favor of the proposed changes but shared similar concerns.
Around seven residents spoke about the ADU during public comment.
“Keep in mind with the ADU ordinance we are trying to encourage housing in this community, we have a housing crisis so any way that we can encourage building additional ADUs in town we should be hell bent in supporting this,” said Kenneth Munson, a Healdsburg architect and former Healdsburg planning commissioner.
Current regulations in the ADU ordinance allow for ADUs that do not exceed a 45% ratio of the of the main house, are no larger than 850 square feet and must comply with the same setback height of the main house, among others.
Size
City staff recommended the maximum ADU square footage be increased from 850 to 1,200 square feet.
While the Healdsburg city attorney said folks are saying they need larger affordable homes, commissioners unanimously agreed to recommend a maximum square footage of 1,000 square feet.
Despite the change, resident Sharon O., who is hoping to build an ADU, said she had “no problem with 1,200 square feet,” and other residents shared her sentiment.
Commissioner Vesna Breznikar opined that 1,200 square feet seemed too big for a two bedroom ADU and other commissioners agreed that a 1,000 square foot maximum was adequate.
The other tweak would be to encourage more efficiency units by limiting the max area of the ADU to 45% of the main house for any addition or new construction of over 500 square feet.
In other words, the ADU would have to be a little less than half the size of the main house. Commissioners agreed not to recommend the ratio, citing the desire to keep things more simple.
“I don’t see a purpose in relating the size of the ADU to the size of the primary house. I think the charms of smaller towns and cities is that you see a lot of unusual structures and that you don’t have to have a primary dwelling be the dominant and have everything else subservient to that,” Commissioner Dan Petrik said of the ADU to house size ratio.
Zoning
Another ordinance change would allow ADUs in multi-family zoning areas. Adding ADUs to the Multi-Family Residential Zoning District allows for one ADU per an existing single-family home in that zone.
Overall commissioners didn’t take issue with the change. Parking While an ordinance change from a Dec. 19, 2016 city council meeting eliminated required parking, a new modification would require replacement parking of two uncovered parking spots for garage or carport conversions.
The replacement parking would be located within the side and rear setbacks or in the front or side yard of an existing driveway.
Ordinance organization
Lastly, city staff wants to organize information about ADUs so that it is more user friendly. For instance the San Mateo County Second Unit (ADU) Resource Center has a website that features an informational video about ADUs.
There are also easy to view sections people can click through that will take them through the how-to’s of creating an ADU from design to construction and getting permits.
There’s also a section on the benefits of building an ADU, as well as a “Second Unit Calculator,” calculating the rough cost for an ADU build out.
Changes to how Healdsburg ADU information is presented would slightly reflect these features. The proposed changes include adding an ADU floor area calculation section, adding a design criteria section, reducing the ADU review timeframe from 120 days to 60 days and adding a general requirements section among other language tweaks.
Development Impact Fees
While some residents voiced that fees should be eliminated, Commissioner Richard Tracy said he would not be in favor of nixing the fees.
As a compromise, Commissioner Breznikar suggested eliminating fees for smaller ADU units. “I would like to eliminate the fees up to 750 square feet,” she said.
Vice Chairperson Phil Luks said he thinks there should be no fees for five years. Overall, commissioners liked the idea of making the impact fees a little less burdensome but did not want to eliminate them entirely.
Now that the ordinance has its recommended changes, it will be brought to a future city council meeting.
For more about ADUs, visit the city website here.
