Home Build
“Hey, did you see the new law?” said my old friend Jack. “California has ended single-family zoning.” He laughed. “Any homeowner can now build three extra units on their lot.”
I had heard some talk about this new law being considered, allowing more building on singlefamily lots.
“Can you imagine pulling up to your house and your now your neighborhood is filled with fourplexes?” said Jack. “Cars parked all over the place, Two-story units towering over your backyard?”
I shook my head. “That can’t be right,” I said. “On the other hand,” said Jack, “this could be a great opportunity to build fourplexes and sell them to investors. Or keep them as rentals.” “Crazy,” I said. “Look it up,” said Jack. “It’s called ‘Senate Bill 9’ and it’s already signed into law!” I searched online and came up with the headline “What Just Happened in California with Single-Family Zoning?” Another headline was, “California Ends Single Family Zoning.” I contacted some bigwigs at the California Association of Realtors and some builders for more information. The explanations and opinions came rolling in, like this: SB 9 could have an immediate and direct effect on local zoning. Homeowners in single-family zones will have the right to divide their lots into two and build up to three additional homes on them, essentially turning a single-unit lot into a four-unit lot.
Nearly two-thirds of all residences in California are single-family homes, and as much as threequarters of the developable land is now zoned only for single-family housing.
Supporters of ending single-family zoning also argue that, in a state with such a deep affordability crisis, opening up neighborhoods to more development will allow less expensive housing to be built there.
Opponents of ending single-family zoning say they’re concerned that higher density could change the character of quiet neighborhoods and affect their property values. In a state that’s facing a drought and stress on the electrical grid, some question where additional utility resources for more housing would come from. Some fear
the market will be dominated by developers looking to make a cash grab by building flashy new housing as cheaply as possible and renting it for top dollar, and not helping with housing affordability at all.
But, SB 9 has numerous requirements that are
designed to preserve rental and low-income housing, push back investor/builders, and retain local governments’ control over design standards,
while also preventing local officials from adopting rules that undermine the law. These include:
•The zoning changes apply only to urban areas or urban clusters. Farms, wetlands, lots at high risk of fire or flooding, and sites in historic districts are among those that are specifically exempt.
•Units reserved for low-income housing or that had been rented within the previous three years could not be altered or demolished. The point is to avoid reducing the supply of rental and affordable units.
•Local governments can still require standards and regulate the appearance of units, and to some degree, their placement on a lot. They can’t, however, require more than one off-street parking spot per unit, or any off-street parking if the units are within half a mile of public transit.
•Units built under the terms of this act may not be offered for short-term rentals.
•Anyone applying to subdivide a lot must commit to living in one of the units there for at least
three years.
•The subdivided lots have to be at least 1,200 square feet each and roughly the same size. Cities would have to permit units to be at least 800 square feet and could not bar them from being adjacent or connected.
So, it won’t be easy for people to start major construction projects based on this new law, but it does make people nervous.
“We’ve had single-family zoning laws in effect for about a hundred years for good reason,” said one builder. “Why invite squalor everywhere?” A land developer told me, “Hey, by the time every city, county, or jurisdiction chews on this, it will be at least five years from now, and it will be lightweight impact.”
Stay tuned.
Doug Love is Sales Manager at Century 21 in Chico and would love to hear from you. Call or text 530-680-0817. Email dougwlove@gmail.com. See more columns at lovesrealstories.com.