Stringent housing standards considered
Senate Bill 9 law allows property owners to split lots
CUPERTINO >> After opposing a controversial state housing bill earlier this year that will allow property owners to split their single-family lots into two parcels, the Cupertino City Council is looking to enact the most stringent design standards it can under the newly-signed law.
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 9 into law, allowing lot splits and the construction of up to four units on a property originally zoned for a single-family home. The four units could take the form of two duplexes, a single family home with a granny flat or a combination of the two.
The law, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, aims to tackle California’s burgeoning housing crisis and could lead to the construction of 700,000 new homes in the state and 40,000 in Santa Clara County that weren’t feasible before, according to a report from the UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation.
Critics of the law, however, have lambasted state lawmakers for taking away local control from cities.
While projects under SB9 will be automatically approved, a section of the law allows cities to create certain design and zoning standards dealing with issues such as the architectural look of the properties and parking.
On Nov. 2, the Cupertino council held a study session to discuss how they would implement those standards.
A majority of the council opted for city officials to craft its ordinance with as many restrictions possible within the legal limits.
“Since we’re going to look at this again, let’s go as strict as possible from the get-go because that’s the easiest way for me to think it through,” Council member Kitty Moore said. “Then we could go back and loosen up those standards.”
Moore also requested the city ban the addition of accessory dwelling units or junior accessory dwelling units on lots where duplexes are being built.
To avoid potential litigation, Mayor Darcy Paul suggested that Cupertino should work with Sen. Dave Cortese, D-san Jose, who Paul said offered his assistance along with an assurance that the city has a “brand range of latitude” in coming up with design standards.
“I’m of the opinion that if the state legislature invites us to work with them, then we should be working with them,” Paul said.
“We shouldn’t be banding about in fear that our legitimate points are being punted around by what essentially amounts to profit mongering, trickled down to the effect of basically upending the democratic process.”
Several community members spoke out against the law, including Jenny Griffin, who called SB9 and its counterpart, SB10, “two of the biggest baloney bills that have ever been made.”
“I would never have bought my house if I had known that someone next door could subdivide the property,” she said.
Councilwoman Hung Wei was the only member Tuesday to object to the city defaulting to the most restrictive standards it could enact, saying that “the most strict ones, may not be the most beneficial ones.”
The council will review a draft of the urgency ordinance for SB9 implementation at its Dec. 7 meeting.