DATE:
January 9, 2024
13
TO:
Board of Supervisors
SUBJECT
Title
ORDINANCE REVISION EXTENDING THE COUNTY'S ACCESSORY DWELLING UNIT (ADU) FEE WAIVER PROGRAM (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
Although the housing crisis continues to severely impact our region, there have been recent positive examples of steps the County took to make a dent to address the region's need for more housing. One such example is the County's fee waiver program for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). On October 10, 2018 (2), the Board of Supervisors (Board) received the report Options to Improve Housing Affordability in the Unincorporated Area and directed staff to develop a trial program to waive plan check fees, permit fees, and County development impact fees for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU) projects located on a lot with an existing single-family dwelling. ADUs are structures that are accessory to a primary residence, constructed with independent living facilities for one or more persons. Broadly speaking, they are allowed up to 1,200 square feet in size, can be attached or detached from the primary residence, and are an incredibly important tool to increase the availability of housing that can be built within our existing communities.
On January 30, 2019 (1), the Board adopted ordinances to create a five-year trial fee waiver program that would waive plan check fees (staff review of submitted materials), permit fees (such as building and septic system fees) and County development impact fees (such as transportation, park, and drainage fees) for newly constructed ADUs located on a lot with an existing single-family dwelling in the unincorporated County. This program has been running successfully and expires (or "sunsets") on January 9, 2024. By its sunset date, the program is expected to have waived fees for roughly 1,500 ADU projects and will result in an estimated cumulative savings to applicants of nearly $15 million - a definite success.
Beyond the fee waiver program, the...
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