Date:
August 19, 2026
04
To:
Board of Supervisors
Title
Noticed Public Hearing:
ADU Ordinance Amendment: ADU Separate Sale Implementation Options to Support Homeownership and Owner Occupancy and Related CEQA Exemptions (Districts: All)
End
Overview
This is a request for the County Board of Supervisors (Board) to amend the County Zoning Ordinance related to the separate sale of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). The proposed amendments build on the Board's prior adoption of the separate sale ordinance on March 4, 2026 (5) and provide options the Board directed staff to return and present. The ordinance adopted in March 2026 created a new for-sale housing type that may be more accessible to first-time homebuyers, older adults seeking to age in place, households looking to downsize, empty nesters, and buyers seeking potential lower-cost homeownership opportunities due to its smaller unit size and shared maintenance costs through a Homeowners Association (HOA) structure. At that hearing, the Board also directed staff to return with ordinance options that would build on these existing benefits, further encourage homeownership opportunities, and support owner occupancy of ADUs that are sold separately from the main dwelling on a single-family residential lot.
Staff prepared four options for the Board's consideration. These options were informed by County priorities related to homeownership opportunities and further refined through engagement with subject matter experts and the public to incorporate flexibility for the implementation of certain options. The options generally require additional actions by either the seller and/or buyer when the ADU condominium is created, marketed for sale or sold, adding steps to the existing condominium subdivision process and real estate transactions. The Board may choose to implement one, several, or none of these options. If the Board chooses not to adopt any new criteria (Option 1), the County will continue to allow...
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