The Avalon City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing Monday, Nov. 19, on a proposed ordinance to regulate accessory dwelling units, sometimes know as “granny flats” or “mother-in-law flats.” The ordinance is the result of new state legislation mandating zoning changes intended to increase California’s housing stock.
An additional dwelling unit is basically a small place for someone to live in that is on the same property as a larger residence.
The Planning Commission approved the draft ordinance last month following a brief public hearing. No members of the public spoke at that hearing.
According to an October staff report by Planning Director Amanda Cook, the draft ordinance forbids short-term rentals of accessory dwelling units and does not allow them to be sold sperately from the main residence and also requires that if a ADU eliminates a parking space, that space must be replaced. The ordinance specifically says that an ADU doesn’t change the status of any other non-conforming structure on a property.
Planners and council members also discussed the issue in a joint meeting in late August. At the time, Elizabeth Hull, of BBK Law, said the city must allow ADUs in some areas zoned for single family homes, but the city could resitrict the areas based on findings about the inadequacy of water and sewer services. “So you have to allow it somewhere, but you don’t have to allow it everywhere,” Hull said.
She said the city has the ability to restrict ADUs to just one per lot.
According to Cook, an ADU could only be built on a parcel with a single-family residence. Cook said that under state law, you could have two or three units on the property. Council members and planners indicated they would like to leave the “door open” to having more units if other city requirements were met.
Planners and the council did not want to restrict the ADUs to owner-occupancy, but did oppose short-term rentals. The new state laws require cities to allow rentals of ADUs.
