SB 9 Guide – Duplexes and Land Divisions January 5, 2022

CITY OF SANTA CRUZ PLANNING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
809 Center Street • Room 206 • Santa Cruz, CA 95060
www.cityofsantacruz.com
Lee Butler, Director

SB 9 is part of the Senate’s “Building Opportunities for All” housing package that was created to address the severe housing shortage in California. SB 9 was signed by Governor Newsom and chaptered by the Secretary of State. This bill went into effect on January 1, 2022. PLEASE NOTE that this is a new process that is subject to further interpretation by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and code amendments are expected in early 2022. When code amendments and/or additional guidance are published, the City will update criteria and procedures accordingly, therefore, the information in this guide is subject to change under State law.

SB 9 makes two changes to State law:

• It allows homeowners in most areas around the state (those zoned for single-family) to divide their property into two lots, thereby increasing opportunities for homeownership in their neighborhood; and
• It allows two homes to be built on each of those lots, with the effect of allowing four homes in areas that previously only allowed one home.

What does SB 9 allow?
SB 9 allows for a proposed housing development, including a minor land division to divide one lot into two, containing no more than two residential units on a single lot within a single-family residential zone to be considered ministerially if it meets the below criteria. The term ”ministerial” means that no discretionary review is required, i.e. no use permits, design permits, or tentative map approval. (See below for more details on the term “discretionary.”) Therefore, SB 9 projects must only obtain non-discretionary permits such as those that are required through the Building, Fire, Water, and Public Works Departments, and comply with non- discretionary requirements.

What is a Housing Development?
A housing development is a project that includes no more than two units on a single parcel. This can include the construction of up to two new units, the legalization of up to two existing units, or the construction of one new unit to one existing unit. There are also some exceptions for an ADU to be considered as the third unit on one parcel – see below.

Can I split my parcel and propose two housing developments on each new parcel under SB 9?
Yes, under SB 9, you can split your parcel (assuming it is in an R-1 or R-S Zoning District) into two parcels and create a housing development on each lot with a ministerial, non-discretionary permitting process. However, the project will need to meet the qualifying criteria for both a housing development and a lot split as described below.

How do I submit an application for a SB 9 Lot Split and/or Housing Development?
First, you’ll want to review the qualifying criteria below to confirm that the project meets all of the requirements. If you have questions, feel free to speak with a Planner during public counter hours, Monday through Thursday, 7:30 am -11:30 am, or via phone (831-420-5416), or email planningcounter@cityofsantacruz.com

If you’ve determined that your project is eligible, you’ll need to contact the Building Department for information on the Building Permit Process. If your project includes a lot split, please also contact the Public Works Department for information on submitting a parcel map for review and recordation.

• • Building Department (831) 420-5110 or bcounter@cityofsantacruz.com
  • Public Works (831) 420-5160 or citypw@cityofsantacruz.com

Qualifying Criteria for a Housing Development or Lot Split:

• The development must occur on a legal lot.
• The development or lot split is not located on a site that is any of the following:
  • Either prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance, as defined pursuant to United States Department of Agriculture land inventory and monitoring criteria, as modified for California, and designated on the maps prepared by the Farmland Mapping and Monitoring Program of the Department of Conservation, or land zoned or designated for agricultural protection or preservation by a local ballot measure that was approved by the voters of that jurisdiction.
  • Wetlands, as defined in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Manual, Part 660 FW 2 (June 21, 1993).
  • Within a very high fire hazard severity zone, as determined by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Section 51178, or within a high or very high fire hazard severity zone as indicated on maps adopted by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to Section 4202 of the Public Resources Code. This subparagraph does not apply to sites excluded from the specified hazard zones by a local agency, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51179, or sites that have adopted fire hazard mitigation measures pursuant to existing building standards or state fire mitigation measures applicable to the development.
  • A hazardous waste site that is listed pursuant to Section 65962.5 or a hazardous waste site designated by the Department of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to Section 25356 of the Health and Safety Code, unless the State Department of Public Health, State Water Resources Control Board, or Department of Toxic Substances Control has cleared the site for residential use or residential mixed uses.
  • Within a delineated earthquake fault zone as determined by the State Geologist in any official maps published by the State Geologist, unless the development complies with applicable seismic protection building code standards adopted by the California Building Standards Commission under the California Building Standards Law (Part 2.5 (commencing with Section 18901) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code), and by any local building department under Chapter 12.2 (commencing with Section 8875) of Division 1 of Title 2.
  • Within a special flood hazard area subject to inundation by the 1 percent annual chance flood (100-year flood) as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any official maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If a development proponent is able to satisfy all applicable federal qualifying criteria in order to provide that the site satisfies this subparagraph and is otherwise eligible for streamlined approval under this section, a local government shall not deny the application on the basis that the development proponent did not comply with any additional permit requirement, standard, or action adopted by that local government that is applicable to that site. A development may be located on a site described in this subparagraph if either of the following are met:
  • The site has been subject to a Letter of Map Revision prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and issued to the local jurisdiction.
  • The site meets Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements necessary to meet minimum flood plain management criteria of the National Flood Insurance Program pursuant to Part 59 (commencing with Section 59.1) and Part 60 (commencing with Section 60.1) of Subchapter B of Chapter I of Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
  • Within a regulatory floodway as determined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in any official maps published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, unless the development has received a no-rise certification in accordance with Section 60.3(d)(3) of Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations. If a development proponent is able to satisfy all applicable federal qualifying criteria in order to provide that the site satisfies this subparagraph and is otherwise eligible for streamlined approval under this section, a local government shall not deny the application on the basis that the development proponent did not comply with any additional permit requirement, standard, or action adopted by that local government that is applicable to that site.
  • Lands identified for conservation in an adopted natural community conservation plan pursuant to the Natural Community Conservation Planning Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 2800) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), habitat conservation plan pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.), or other adopted natural resource protection plan.
  • Habitat for protected species identified as candidate, sensitive, or species of special status by state or federal agencies, fully protected species, or species protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.), the California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), or the Native Plant Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 1900) of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code).
  • Lands under conservation easement.

Qualifying Criteria for a Housing Development:
[X] The lot is located within an urbanized area or urban cluster, or within a city that has an urbanized area or urban cluster. All parcels within the City of Santa Cruz comply with this requirement.

[ ] The project does not involve the demolition or alteration of housing occupied by a tenant in the past three years or any affordable housing, rent-controlled housing, or housing that was withdrawn from rent within the last 15 years through the Ellis Act.

• During review of your application, City staff will confirm that the unit is not registered with the Rental Inspection Program and will confirm that an Affordable Housing Agreement is not recorded on the property.
• Additionally, the property owner will be required to sign an affidavit confirming that the housing to be demolished is not rent restricted under any local, State or Federal agreements and that the housing has not been rented within the last three years.
• If it is found that an existing housing unit meets any of the above criteria or the property owner is unwilling to sign the above described statement, the unit will not be permitted to be demolished or altered.

[ ] The project does not involve demolition of more than 50 percent of the existing exterior walls of an existing dwelling if the site was rented in the last 3 years.

• Plans submitted for building permit issuance shall include details showing the extent of demolition, including calculations and dimensions. On walls to remain, the wall studs, existing window/door openings, existing window and door headers, and existing top and bottom wall plates shall be preserved in place and shall not be removed and reconstructed with the same or similar materials, or reinforced through techniques such as sistering, regardless of the state of decay or non-compliance with building code requirements.

[ ] The site is not located within a historic district, is not included on the State Historic Resources Inventory, or is not within a site that is legally designated or listed as a city or county landmark, or historic property or district.

Please complete the following steps to determine if your property is a within a local historic district or a local historic resource:

Site and Design Standards

• The City may only impose objective zoning standards, objective subdivision standards, and objective design standards on an eligible two-unit development project.
• Despite any objective standards in place, the maximum required interior side and rear yard setbacks shall be four feet.
• Nosetbacksarerequiredforexistingstructureornewstructuresthatareconstructedin the same location and to the same dimensions as an existing structure.
• The terms “objective zoning standards,”“objective subdivision standards,”and “objective design review standards” mean standards that involve no personal or subjective judgment by a public official and are uniformly verifiable by reference to an external and uniform benchmark or criterion available and knowable by both the development applicant or proponent and the public official prior to submittal. These standards may be embodied in alternative objective land use specifications adopted by a local agency, and may include, but are not limited to, housing overlay zones, specific plans, inclusionary zoning ordinances, and density bonus ordinances.
• Objectivestandardsmustnotphysicallyprecludetheconstructionoftwounitsofat least 800 square feet.
  • This does not include a property owner’s preference for a specific location on the lot. If there is a question about the buildability of an 800 square foot unit in a location that meets objective standards, the applicant shall be required to provide evidence of such determination including obtaining concurrence from any other department, division, agency, or professional, as necessary.
  • A new lot created by an SB 9 land division shall comply with the objective standards in the Subdivision Ordinance so long as such standards do not preclude a land subdivision that meets the lot requirements above and allows for a project of two lots with two units on each lot of at least 800 square feet per unit.
• The city shall not require corrections of non-conformities as a part of the SB9 process. Non-conformities are features that were legally constructed prior to the current ordinance and that have become non-conforming due to subsequent ordinance amendments. Unpermitted features may be required to be resolved as a part of the building permit or parcel map process.

Parking

• One off-street parking space per unit is required unless the project site is located within 1⁄2-mile walking distance of a quality transit corridor or a major transit stop; or a car share vehicle is located within one block of the parcel, in which case no off-street parking is required and existing off-street parking may be removed and not replaced. These criteria are defined below and are also mapped on the City’s SantaCruzMap system.
  • A quality transit corridor is defined as a fixed route bus service with service intervals no longer than 15 minutes during peak commute hours. These areas are mapped on the City’s GIS in the “Major Transit Stops/Buffers” and “Car Share Locations/Buffers” layers.
  • Major transit stop definition:
    • An existing rail or bus rapid transit station.
    • The intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of
      service interval of 15 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon
      peak commute periods.
  • Car share definition: the City defines one block as 500 feet.
  • These regulations apply inside and outside of the Coastal Zone until such time that a code amendment is approved with differing requirements.

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s)

• ADU’s are permitted as part of an eligible housing development and must comply with the regulations in the zoning ordinance and State law with the following exceptions:
  • A maximum of four units total are allowed in a housing development project that utilizes an SB 9 lot split. ADU’s count towards the total of four units and may only be constructed on a lot with at least one main dwelling unit. An ADU may be permitted on a lot with a duplex as long as there are only four units total in the development.
• Note that if an ADU is created and utilizes the more relaxed standards of the ADU ordinance, it will not be able to be converted to a non-ADU housing unit in the future unless it is reconstructed to meet the objective zoning standards for a non-ADU unit.
• An existing ADU can be converted to a dwelling unit as part of a SB 9 duplex development if it meets the qualifying criteria including restrictions on demolition, alteration, and tenancy, and if the structure can meet the objective site development standards for the zone district and as required under SB 9.

Short-Term Rentals

• Housing units created or retained as part of an SB 9 development, through duplexes or lot split, shall not be used as short-term rentals. Rental of any SB 9 unit must be for a term longer than 30 days.

Project Denial Findings

• If a project meets applicable objective standards (unless deviation is necessary in order to allow for two units per lot of 800 square feet each), an SB 9 housing development project may be denied if the building official makes a written finding, based on a preponderance of evidence in the record, that the project would have a specific, adverse impact upon health and safety or the environment for which there is no satisfactory mitigation.

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)

• An SB9 housingdevelopment project requires ministerial review and is therefore not a project under CEQA.

Coastal Act

• SB 9 housing development projects that are located within the Coastal Zone are subject to the regulations in the Coastal Act. Such projects, if not eligible for an exemption or exclusion, shall obtain approval of an administrative Coastal Permit (no public hearing, staff review only) prior to building permit issuance or parcel map recordation.

Dedications and Off-Site Improvements

• No dedications or off-site improvements shall be required with an SB 9 project.

Permit Processing

• SB 9 Housing Projects do not require discretionary permits unless they are located within the Coastal Zone and are not eligible for an exemption or exclusion.
• If no Coastal Permit is required, Planning Staff will review SB 9 projects as part of the building permit application process or the Public Works Parcel Map process. Planning staff may ask for additional information as part of the review to ensure compliance with objective standards and State law requirements.
• Fees: The applicant should contact the Building Department to obtain a fee estimate. If the project includes a land division, the applicant should also contact the Public Works Department for a fee estimate of parcel map review and recordation.
  • Building Department (831) 420-5110 or bcounter@cityofsantacruz.com
  • Public Works (831) 420-5160 or citypw@cityofsantacruz.com