Monterey Times

City of Seaside issued the following announcement on Dec. 16.

Tonight the Seaside City Council adopted an SB 9 temporary, emergency ordinance and provided guidance on accessory dwelling unit codes. The temporary ordinance will primarily allow City officials to take more time to understand the impacts of Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) while also developing permanent zoning codes to be adopted in early 2022. “This is just a temporary measure so that we can have time for a study session…and consider what the residents really want” said Mayor Ogelsby. 

In the meantime, the new ordinance will provide for the development of a variety of small, affordable homes, in a manner that is compatible with both SB 9 and local needs. “We need a lot more community input and a more careful approach. We can discuss with our residents to make changes as appropriate,” remarked Mayor Pro Tem Pacheco.

On September 16, 2021, Governor Newsom signed SB 9 into law, substantially altering low-density, single-family zoning throughout the state. The most significant component of this bill is that it requires local approval of lot splits and/or development projects for up to two units per lot. The new law is scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2022, and has many cities wondering how this law fits within their zoning code. 

The City of Seaside recognizes the acute, statewide, affordable housing crisis and the leaps that each City must take to address affordability immediately. We also recognize that a large component of the affordability of homes is that most California cities have regulated small houses, and variety of housing, out of the housing market—favoring standard lot sizes with supersized homes. This is not necessarily the case in Seaside, with much of the housing stock having been constructed in the previous century. Back then houses were on average 1,000 square feet smaller and sited on right-sized lots. Today they are called ADU’s but back then they were just called houses. Seaside already has the relatively more dense single-family zoning intended by SB 9. Unfortunately, SB 9 was primarily written to solve the wrong problem for the City of Seaside. 

Seaside needs more affordable homes, but SB 9 offers no affordable housing protections for lower income residents. Therefore, the City of Seaside has decided to make affordable housing a priority. By establishing accessory dwelling unit codes and adopting temporary changes to the zoning code the City can re-legalize smaller homes, adding more variety and affordability to the local housing stock, while also protecting quality of life in neighborhoods. The City has also taken great strides to develop locally vetted projects like Campus Town and Ascent, which will add substantially to the diversity of affordable housing. 

Original source can be found here.