On Monday, Oct. 14, after a public hearing, the council voted 4-1 to introduce an update to the city code covering so-called granny flats. District Three Councilwoman Lisa Landau cast the dissenting vote.
According to staff, the amendment to the city code was necessary to comply with state laws for accessory dwelling units and junior accessory dwelling units, also known as granny flats. However, one resident argued in a letter that some of the changes in the law were not state mandates.
The code amendment is expected to return to the next council meeting for adoption (also known as a second reading).
What is an ADU?
An ADU is defined as a complete living space for one or more individuals, according to sealbeachca.gov. “Generally, you should be able to build an ADU that’s at least one-story and 16 feet in height,” according to symbium.com.
An ADU may be attached to another residence or detached, according to sealbeachca.gov.
A junior ADU “must be built within an existing single-family residence,” according to sealbeachca.gov.
Letter to council
No members of the public spoke during the hearing. However, Seal Beach resident Elaine Murphy wrote a two-page letter opposing the proposed adoption of the zoning text amendment.
“The changes before you are not just administrative changes triggered by the State of California amendments to its ADU legislation,” Murphy wrote.
“The matter before you includes more restrictive additive language specific to Seal Beach. The restrictive language which has been added is not in keeping with the purpose and intent of ADU legislation,” Murphy wrote.
“The time frame for the public and residents of the City to obtain pertinent and relevant information and then to research it related to issues such as this one is way too short before it is being presented in a Council Meeting Agenda as a ‘public hearing’ and to be voted upon that same night,” Murphy wrote.
“Extremely disappointing to me is the lack of City engagement and the opportunity for public discourse about this issue,” Murphy wrote.
“I ask you to please step back and allow for further public input prior to voting and adopting the proposed text revisions before you tonight,” Murphy wrote.
Council discussion
The following are highlights from the meeting.
District Five Councilman Nathan Steele asked if ADUs could be short term rentals.
Community Development Director Alexa Smittle said no. (State law allows cities to say if an accessory dwelling unit may be rented for 30 days or more. )
District Four Councilwoman Lisa Landau said there were lingering questions she thought needed to be answered before the council approved the zoning text amendment.
Landau asked if she built an ADU or JADU, would the property taxes be reassessed.
Smittle said yes based on the improved value of the property, not on the land itself.
Landau asked for confirmation that an ADU could be sold.
Smittle said yes under certain circumstances.
Landau asked if the Post Office would re-assign addresses.
Smittle said ADUs would go through “a process of addressing” so a fire agency could reach the unit.
Landau asked if the city had budgeted the revenue the city would generate from the addition of ADUs and JADUs.
Smittle said the Community Development Department had not budgeted revenue from ADUs because they have not seen a lot of ADU development.
“Our property tax is 15 cents on the dollar, so the addition of the limited number of ADUs that we’ve experienced so far is negligible at best,” Smittle said.
According to Smittle, building ADUs has not become popular or widespread within Seal Beach.
Landau asked if she was reading correctly that the city doesn’t have to accommodate additional parking for ADUs. Landau asked if that was just because they were ADUs or did that apply to low income renters.
“It’s just because it’s an ADU. It does not have to be income restricted,” Smittle said.
“So we don’t have to worry about policing who’s renting,” Landau said.
Landau said that normally when there is new construction, taxes have to be paid.
“Is that still a requirement?”
Smittle said an ADU that was less than 750 square feet did not have to pay an impact fee. Smittle said if an ADU is more than 750 square feet, the impact fee would be proportional to the size of the home.
Landau also asked about utilities.
Smittle said the city provides utilities based on what is there for the primary home.
“So no additional water and sewer hook ups?” Landau asked.
“Correct,” Smittle said.
Responding to another question from Landau, Smittle said if a property owner is renting out ADU units they should have a business license.
Landau asked if the rental income would be taxable.
Finance Director Barbara Arenado said the rental revenue would be taxed by the state and federal government. She said the money would not come to the city.
Landau also asked if FEMA required new construction in Old Town be raised 3 feet.
Planning Manager Shaun Temple said the requirement was not directly from FEMA. He said the requirement comes from the California Coastal Commission. He said the Coastal Commission uses FEMA maps. He said it was not a blanket requirement for Old Town; just in areas that are more prone to flooding.
Landau asked if an ADU was built in that area, would the ADU have to comply with FEMA?
Temple said there’s a review done with the Coastal Commission. He said when an application comes in, the city advises the applicant to contact the Coastal Commission.
Landau expressed concern about the city’s evacuation plan. She said if they were adding ADUs, there would be an issue with safety.
“Our evacuation plan remains in place, regardless of how many units we have in Old Town,” Smittle said.
She said the evacuation plan is meant to accommodate the maximum number of people.
Landau said it didn’t seem like Leisure World is excluded. She said a carport could be converted to an ADU.
Temple said Leisure World is an interesting case. He said Leisure World was actually six or seven properties in total. He said the ADU standards are per-property.
City Attorney Nicholas Ghirelli said no law precludes developing an ADU in Leisure World.
“In theory, yes, you could build in Leisure World,” Temple said.
However, he said given the ownership structure of Leisure World with thousands of owners with one property, coming to an agreement to build an ADU would be incredibly difficult.
Ghirelli said an applicant couldn’t come in and get a building permit without the approval of the property owners.
According to Ghirelli, the shareholders of each co-op in Leisure World would have to approve that.
Landau asked what happens if the zoning amendment is not approved.
Temple said it was state law so the city has to approve it.
According to Temple, the letter that the California Housing and Community Development sent stated that if Seal Beach refused to approve the amendment, the HCD would refer the matter to the California Attorney General’s Office.
“But it also said that if we didn’t, we’d have to give our reasons why,” Landau said.
Ghirelli speculated that if the council did not amend the city code for ADUs, the HCD would recommend that Seal Beach repeal its entire ADU ordinance and instead rely on state law.
He also said if Seal Beach kept an ordinance that didn’t meet all the requirements of state law, the HCD could refer Seal Beach to the Attorney General’s Office.
“We would not be able to enforce that ordinance to deny an ADU,” Ghirelli said.
Smittle said the proposed amendment was fairly limited in scope.
Landau asked if there is a requirement that an ADU be proportionate to the neighborhood.
Smittle said there is no proportion requirement. She said the maximum size of an ADU is 1,200 square feet and the maximum size of a JADU that is a conversion of interior space is 500 square feet.
Landau expressed concern about the city’s aging infrastructure and adding more people before those things are fixed.
Councilman Steele asked what would happen if the city left the current ADU ordinance as it is.
He asked if that would have an impact on the certification of the city’s Housing Element.
Smittle speculated that it would be problematic.
According to District Two Council Member Tom Moore, if the city didn’t amend the ordinance, Seal Beach could lose local control.
Smittle said what the city can guide is shrinking, but yes, there is still some local control.
“Philosophically, it’s a bummer for Old Town,” said District One Council Member Joe Kalmick.
“I don’t think we’re in a position to not comply with the state law at this point,” Kalmick said.
Background
The last council update to the Municipal Code for accessory dwelling units and junior ADUs was was on Sept. 11, 2023, according to the staff report by Smittle.
“Since that time, new State legislation has been passed that requires the City to modify the zoning code text to align with the most recent State legislation regarding ADUs,” Smittle wrote.
Meanwhile, the city received comments from the California Department of Housing and Community Development about the 2023 city code update that required additional changes to the Seal Beach Municipal Code.
“The proposed Zone Text Amendment (ZTA) addresses changes to the law and comments from HCD,” Smittle wrote.
