Solana Beach City Council members unanimously approved an ordinance during their meeting last week that updates local accessory dwelling unit regulations to comply with state law.
“We’ve heard pros and cons about ADUs,” Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner said. “The pros are that hopefully it provides some housing for some folks and provides options for people to maybe have their in-laws or adult children stay. We’re seeing a whole lot of yoga studios and home offices. It would really be nice to see more that are rented, and there are some incentives in here for those that could be rented at affordable rates.”
State law counts all new ADUs as housing units, but there is no requirement for them to actually be used as housing units. Council members in Del Mar, who have also been discussing an ADU ordinance, have also discussed options for requiring ADUs to be used as housing.
Over the last few years, the state Legislature has passed multiple laws with the goal of streamlining ADU construction to help alleviate the housing shortage.
Council members initially approved ADU regulations in 2019, according to a city staff report. Since then, the city has received 102 applications. From 2020 through October 2023, 31 ADUs have been built in Solana Beach. According to city data, there have been an average of about 25 ADU applications each year over those four calendar years.
“These ADUs are particularly compatible with our community, if they’re done in a compatible way,” Heebner said.
The city will offer incentives, such as waiving fees and parking requirements, if applicants deed-restrict their newly constructed ADUs for lower-income tenants. City staff initially recommended 99 years, but council members decided to reduce that number to something that would still be permissible under state law.
Solana Beach City Councilmember Jewel Edson said she had asked city staff about reducing the number of years included in that deed restriction.
“If we can modify the term so it’s not so long, we might have more interest,” she said. “But many times, they’re just not interested in renting to anything affordable, or renting period.”
The ordinance also makes modifications based on state law to ADU height limitations, parking requirements, and lifting restrictions on building them in certain areas of the city — such as environmentally sensitive habitat areas, the hillside overlay zone and fire hazard zones, according to city staff.
Building ADUs is part of the city’s housing element for the sixth cycle Regional Housing Needs Allocation, a state-mandated program that runs from 2021 to 2029. It requires Solana Beach to provide zoning for nearly 900 new housing units across all income levels.
