As the state Legislature wrapped up its regular session, lawmakers passed legislation authored by Sen. Toni Atkins of San Diego to close loopholes in Senate Bill 9 to encourage new housing in single-family neighborhoods.
The two-year-old SB 9, known as the HOME Act, allows property owners to split their lots and build up to four units on a single-family parcel. It has faced pushback from many localities, and Atkins’ new Senate Bill 450 attempts to circumvent that.
“Since the passage of SB 9, we have seen local jurisdictions impose overly-burdensome requirements on homeowners seeking to construct more housing in their communities with SB 9 duplexes and lot splits,” said Atkins, who is president pro tempore emeritus of the state Senate
“SB 450 will ensure that homeowners have the tools they need to build additional housing on their property, creating intergenerational wealth and providing access to more rental and ownership opportunities for Californians,” she said on Thursday.
The updates to the original law include:
- Requiring local governments to either approve or deny an application for a new SB 9 unit or lot split within 60 days.
- Requiring a local government to provide homeowners with a reason and remedies if their application is denied.
- Deleting unnecessary and redundant language relating to the demolition of a property and maintaining key tenant protections.
- Requiring consistency in local zoning, subdivision, and design standards to prevent governments from imposing overly burdensome requirements.
The legislation now to goes Gov. Gavin Newsom for his consideration.
