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MATTHEW GELFAND, COUNSEL <br />MATT@CAFORHOMES.ORG <br />TEL: (213) 739-8206 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> January 27, 2020 <br /> <br />VIA EMAIL <br />Planning Commission <br />City of Santa Ana <br />20 Civic Center Plaza <br />Santa Ana, CA 92701 <br />Email: frivera@santa-ana.org; mmcloughlin@santa-ana.org; knguyen20@santa-ana.org; <br />ccontreras-leo@santa-ana.org; acano@santa-ana.org; ngarcia@santa-ana.org <br />ecomments@santa-ana.org <br /> <br />RE: January 27, 2020 Planning Commission Meeting, Agenda Item 5. <br />To the Planning Commission: <br />Californians for Homeownership is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to using <br />legal tools to address California’s housing crisis. I am writing as part of our work monitoring local <br />compliance with California’s laws regarding accessory dwelling units (ADUs). <br />At your January 27 meeting, you will discuss an ordinance intended to address recent <br />changes to state ADU law. If the City adopts a compliant ADU ordinance, it will be able to <br />maintain certain local controls on ADU development. Unfortunately, we have very serious <br />concerns regarding the draft ordinance. <br />Our concerns include: <br /> The draft ordinance limits the definitions of “existing accessory structure” and <br />“existing garage” to structures that existed prior to May 4, 2018, depriving owners of later-created <br />structures of the benefit of the special conversion and parking replacement provisions in state ADU <br />law. This is unlawful. As the Department of Housing and Community Development and the <br />Legislature have repeatedly made clear, “existing” means “already present at the time of the ADU <br />application”; it does not mean “in existence on the City passed its first ADU law.” Every other <br />city advised by Best Best & Krieger, to our knowledge, has adopted the correct reading of the law. <br /> The draft ordinance limits ADUs to certain enumerated residential zones, which <br />appears to be unlawfully narrow. An ADU permitted under Section 65852.2(a) must be allowed <br />in any area “zoned to allow single-family or multifamily dwelling residential use.” Gov. Code <br />§ 65852.2(a)(1). An ADU permitted under Section 65852.2(e) is allowed in any “residential or <br />mixed-use zone.” Gov. Code § 65852.2(e)(1). The list of permitted zones must be updated to <br />include any commercial or other zone that allows residential use.