Twentynine Palms City Council aims to bring ADU laws in alignment with the state
The plan aims to replace city ordinance 19.134 which was last updated in 2023. There have been several changes to state law on the topic since then, and this change would bring city law into alignment. The changes include an increase in allowed Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, on multifamily properties, banning short-term rentals of ADUs and smaller Junior ADUs, an increase in ADU size standards, help with ADU planning, and a few occupancy rules.
The ordinance change would allow up to eight detached ADUs on a lot if it already has a multifamily dwelling, such as an apartment building or duplex, and is at least 20,000 square feet. However, the number of detached ADUs cannot be larger than the number of existing dwelling units. Existing multifamily lots may also create new ADUs from already existing structures, but only up to 25% of already existing units.
These ADU or JADUs will not be allowed to host guests for short-term rental periods. Anyone staying in these units will require at least a 30-day lease. If you have an ADU with an already approved Vacation Home Rental permit, you may continue to renew that permit, but it will be terminated if it is allowed to be expired, revoked, or abandoned.
When it comes to size a JADU would stay the same at a maximum of 500 square feet, but ADUs would be allowed to increase to up to 1,200 square feet. The current city ordinance only allows ADUs up to 850 square feet.
The plan also hopes to streamline permit applications for these units by providing standardized plans which would be eligible for fast-track administrative review. However, Community Development Director Keith Gardner clarified at the meeting that this would not exclude any applicants from going through the standard building permit process, including drawing up engineering, electrical, and fire safety plans, among others. Commissioner Jessica Cure also pointed out that current city ordinance only allows a single septic tank on a property, which could lead to unintentional limits to the number of ADUs possible on a single lot.
An audience member, Amanda Grill, did have some constructive criticism of the plan, suggesting the instruction guides intended to be released to the public be rewritten in a more specific way for Twentynine Palms. “I would strongly encourage that these be rewritten with a more clear focus on who the audience is, keeping in mind that these are homeowners. They have probably never developed a property in their life. They don’t know to look at the building code for septic. They don’t know where to find the fee schedule for the city.” Grill’s company, Homefrontally, worked on navigating new ADU laws in Orange County previously. She suggested adding a map people could use to determine their property’s proximity to public transit due to parking requirements and making the fee schedule easier to find.
The plan now moves on to the City Council for consideration in October.
