SB 9 signed into law by Governor Newsom in September
SB 9, dubbed the California HOME (Housing Opportunity & More Efficiency) Act, sponsored by State Senator Toni G. Atkins, is a part of the Senate’s Building Opportunities for All housing package.
According to Senator Atkin’s fact sheet, “The bill establishes a statewide path for homeowners seeking to create a duplex or subdivide an existing residential parcel by ensuring local governments approve qualified applications without discretionary review, eliminating overly burdensome requirements that slows qualified applications.”
The law is an attempt to solve California’s affordable housing shortage by allowing for the development of new homes (duplexes, 4-plexes or ADUs) or the conversion of existing single-family homes into multiple units with distinctive titles.
Why it Matters
Well, the jury is still out on what it will mean to your neighborhood. The idea that a homeowner living beside you, or behind you, can decide to subdivide their lot may cause a sense of unease. Groups who opposed the bill, like the United Neighbors, are now starting to back the Californians for Community Choice initiative. They don’t believe the bill will increase affordable housing, but instead will cause the destruction of single-family homes, cause disenfranchisement, decrease local control and irrevocably change the nature of neighborhoods.
However, not everyone feels the new law will lead to the destruction of life as we know it in the suburbs. Many of the same things were said about allowing infill or accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Until very recently, most local jurisdictions had tight restrictions against anything resembling an ADU on a single-family lot. But the need for affordable housing pushed many localities to ease restrictions.
Organizations, like Homes for Sonoma, have sprung up in response to the unrelenting need for more housing through ADUs. This Santa Rosa-based nonprofit was founded in response to the 2017 fires, to build smart, affordable housing options. They’ve since expanded their mission to find efficient, scalable solutions to address the housing crisis in Sonoma County and throughout California.
Interestingly, SB 9, which goes into effect in 2022, will not apply to single-family parcels in fire-hazard zones, historic districts and rural areas. Just as with the loosened restrictions on ADUs some local requirements still exist, like lot size minimums and some other local regulations.
The speed at which a homeowner might be willing to consider a lot division may depend on market forces. And let’s not forget, they’d need to be flexibile to uproot their current lifestyle to add more density to their own living situation and to take on the responsibility of becoming a landlord in a duplex. This doesn’t touch upon the increased costs of remodeling their present home and/or the construction of a new building.
Some experts believe that more units will develop incrementally and at a modest rate due to SB 9. A report by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley, released in July, indicated that the main sticking point is that renting or selling a home developed under SB 9 would not prove to be financially possible for many homeowners. The report went on to say that while SB 9 could allow the development of units on 410,000 of California’s single-family parcels, that represents just 5.4% of the parcels in the state.
This is an issue worth monitoring but may be less worrisome than many homeowners fear. It may also begin making a small dent in the affordable housing market.
If you have questions about this issue or would like to discuss the feasibility of adding an ADU or digging deeper into SB 9, contact us today at 415-450-9504 x700 (Marin) or 707-241-4944 (Sonoma).