|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Mountain View City Council took a cleaver to its regulations on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) last week, responding to a raft of new state laws that invalidated key parts of the city’s restrictions on newly constructed in-law units.
ADUs are seen as a cheap and relatively easy way to create more housing by allowing property owners to build additional units, including in the backyards of single-family homes. State lawmakers, eager to deliver on that potential, pushed forward six new bills last year aimed at cutting down the regulatory hurdles that cities can put on ADUs.
At its Oct. 27 meeting, City Council members voted unanimously to part ways with numerous provisions of Mountain View’s old ADU ordinance that were outdated as of the beginning of this year. ADUs could previously cover only 30% of a rear yard of a single-family home; now there are no limits. And instead of a 10-foot buffer between the ADU and both the primary structure and the rear of the property, the city can only require a 4-foot setback.
Even the visual appearance requirements have been relaxed. City staff had previously recommended a requirement that ADUs be built with the same architectural style and similar materials as the primary residence, but that too was struck from the ordinance.
Mountain View also struck down its prohibition on ADUs on multifamily properties. State law now mandates that property owners be allowed to construct up to two detached units on any site, and to repurpose existing interior space to create up to 25% additional housing units.
Despite early fanfare about ADUs as a solution to the housing crisis and a means to generate thousands of new units, participation has been modest. Between 2013 and 2016, Mountain View was averaging just one ADU per year, prompting city officials to reduce development standards and lower fees to encourage more homeowners. Since 2017, the city has averaged about five units per year, comprising only a tiny fraction of the city’s housing growth.
By comparison, the neighboring city of Palo Alto — despite its modest rate of housing growth — is running circles around Mountain View. When Palo Alto made a similar move in reducing regulations on ADUs in May 2017, it started receiving four permit applications for ADUs per month. Recent data shows the city received 82 permit requests in 2017 and 2018.
Housing advocates for years have advocated for streamlined approval of ADUs, particularly in suburban Bay Area cities dominated by single-family homes with backyards. The Casa Compact, an aggressive regional roadmap for boosting housing growth, called for automatic approval of ADUs and so-called Junior Accessory Dwelling Units, which are self-contained housing units within the walls of an existing single-family home.
A 2018 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report found that ADUs have become a “major component” of affordable housing efforts in several small suburban cities including Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Saratoga, and Los Gatos — in part because of the mostly large-lot single-family homes. But in Mountain View, ADUs are neither plentiful nor affordable. None of the city’s ADUs have been deed-restricted for lower-income residents, and city staff say they appear to be rented out at market rate.
The statewide laws that spurred the city’s changes to the ADU ordinance were part of a comprehensive package of housing legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year, many of which took effect at the beginning of 2020. The package included a statewide rent cap, eviction protections and a powerful bill to prevent displacement.
Sea lion found on Mountain View street returns to ocean after months of recoveryMarch 28, 2026 9:12 am
“Year” should be “yard” in “30% of a rear year of a single-family home”.
“City staff had previously recommended a requirement that ADUs be built with the same architectural style and similar materials as the primary residents, but that too was struck from the ordinance.”
Almost all residents, whether primary or secondary, are made of flesh and blood, so I’m really pleased that ADUs will no longer be required to be constructed from those materials. 😉
I’m furious about this–I tried to build an ADU when I was remodeling my house. But the restrictions were so odious that I couldn’t build a reasonable structure. I reached out to Lisa Matichak with this issue and she was an utterly wretched person about this issue. Vote her out.
“But in Mountain View, ADUs are neither plentiful nor affordable. None of the city’s ADUs have been deed-restricted for lower-income residents, and city staff say they appear to be rented out at market rate.”
Note: The City staff is speculating on the rents being at market rate since they have no data on the rents. Kevin is also speculating that ADUs are not affordable since he has no data on the rents. Kevin – you have data to support ADUs not being plentiful, but not that they’re unaffordable.
Has the City reached out to residents with approved ADUs to ask about their experience going through the approval process and what could make it easier? Answer = No. I know this because I have an ADU that was approved in late-2016. I have offered to provide feedback to the City about their ADU process. I have heard nothing but silence.
The City had no idea how to process ADU applications. The various departments didn’t communicate and didn’t know what they were. The Public Works department wanted to treat it like creating a duplex and add a $6k sewer surcharge. The parks/school fee was over $4k. The Planning Department couldn’t figure out whether the ADU had its own “front yard” setback requirements. I had to make multiple trips to City Hall to advocate for my project and try to explain the rules to the City.
In my opinion, what would really boost ADU applications would be:
1) a streamlined and expedited review/approval process
2) a coordinated, interdepartmental partnership review
3) eliminating or reducing the various fees the City charges for ADUs. If I add on 2-bedrooms to my house, I’m not charged these fees, but if I build a 300sf ADU the City wants to charge ~$10k in park/school/sewer fees. There’s no difference in the number of people living on the property!
4) increasing the allowable floor-area-ratio (FAR) for a lot with an ADU by 15-20%. Or, don’t count unfinished garage square footage in the FAR calculation. MV is an outlier in that it counts garage square footage against how much you can build on your property. A 6,000 square foot lot can support a 2,500sf structure. Subtract 400sf for the existing 2-car garage and you’re left with just over 2,000sf for the house. What property owner will limit their own home’s allowable footprint to construct an ADU? I’d say about 5 a year (and that’s based on data, not guesswork). If the City wants to change people’s behavior, they need to incentivize them. Right now, there are no incentives to go through the hassle to build an ADU – only fees.
Final thing: I rented my ADU to a local 4th grade teacher. I charge the minimum rent I can justify as being within the range of “market rate” to avoid those tax penalties. And, over 4 years I’ve only raised the rent by a grand total of $30/month. That’s data.
I’m glad to be able to help out someone in our community by providing an affordable and safe place to stay. MV could be doing much more to expand the ADU program in a responsible way that respects the character of our neighborhoods.
ML Kyle – NIMBYism… it’s what Matichak got into politics to do. I guess we can extend it to – Not In Your Backyard Either!
We, it appears, will have to deal with Lisa M. on Council in the coming 4 years. 🙁 even though I voted for her 4 years ago (my bad, I had ‘hope’).
This is GREAT! The state has shown again that it, and it’s SOVEREIGN POWER, is what governs this part of The Republic. It is not local self-interested city council majorities or their professional staffs. Our city staff – wisely decided to ask the council to FOLLOW THE LAW and not FIGHT THE LAWs like our wealthier/ dumber neighbors directly to the South. (saves Millions of Taxpayer dollars)
The City of San Jose has fast-tracked standardized ADU design plans (can come from multiple competing companies) that meet city codes and are guaranteed a Reduction in Fees and quicker Code approval. Pre-build designs to drop-in-place make sense, are speedy, are easy to install, AND easy to remove/sell if next owner “changes their mind”.