San Rafael temporarily suspends granny flats approvals in hillsides

Concern about wildfires and evacuations has inspired potential 45-day moratorium

The San Rafael City Council has temporarily prohibited the approval of accessory dwelling units — also known as ADUs or granny flats — in some hillside neighborhoods because of wildfire and safety concerns.

The 45-day moratorium will provide city staff time to study whether the most recent state housing laws allow the city to regulate parking where emergency access is a concern, said Jacob Noonan, the city’s housing manager.

The moratorium was approved in a 4-0-1 vote, with

Councilwoman Maika Llorens Gulati absent.

“The state law is fairly clear that parking is not a requirement for ADUs or JADUs anymore,” Noonan said, referring to junior accessory dwelling units. “So it creates a little bit of confusion for us if we’re looking at a health safety issue around parking and yet parking is not required.”

Oakland is considering a similar ban. That city’s Planning Commission agreed to prohibit construction of most ADUs in hillside areas that have the highest fire danger. The Oakland City Council has yet to take up the measure.

The San Rafael moratorium took effect immediately and expires Dec. 2. Four pending ADU applications are affected, Noonan said.

The moratorium applies to about 40 residential roads.

Over the years, state legislators have passed a raft of laws to stimulate housing creation by curbing limitations set by local governments. An update to ADU laws in January makes it easier for people to win approval for their projects.

However, while surveying San Rafael neighborhoods for fire safety and emergency access, fire officials identified several residential streets where parked cars posed problems.

As an example, San

Rafael Fire Chief Darin White cited a fire on Fremont Road in 2016, when firefighters could not navigate their equipment up to the end of the road. Firefighters had to park and carry equipment, he said.

City staff will study the success of newly painted parking boxes designed to ease the passage of emergency vehicles on some of these hillside roads to determine which should remain on the list of prohibited streets for ADUs.

“We believe it is possible that the city could defensibly restrict ADUs permanently in certain locations because of life safety considerations,” Assistant City Attorney Nira Doherty said.

Resident Victoria DeWitt

said a video of the Oakland hills fire in 1991 was an eye-opener highlighting the need to keep hillside residential streets clear in case of a neighborhood evacuation.

“It was total pandemonium,” she said. “Cars are gridlocked, sirens are blaring, horns are honking, embers are flying everywhere, people are being told to get out of their cars and walk.

“It’s very sobering to watch,” she said. “And the scary thing is it could happen here, and that’s why it’s very important to move forward with a permanent ADU ordinance.”

Resident John Reynolds said he supported the prohibition but said the city needs to make it clear that the prohibition applies to only certain hillside roads and that “we really are encouraging otherwise ADUS and JADUs to be built.”

The council agreed. Councilman Eli Hill said the city is committed to the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, the state mandate to approve more residences.

“We stand as a pro-housing city,” Councilman Eli Hill said.

Mayor Kate Colin said the urgency ordinance “addresses the health and safety concerns we have and balances the fact that we are a pro-housing ADU/ JADU city.”

Noonan said he expects that a permanent ordinance will be presented to the council for consideration before the moratorium expires.