HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 10999
City of Palo Alto (ID # 10999)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Informational Report Meeting Date: 5/18/2020
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: ADU Quarterly Report- Q4 2019
Title: Report to City Council on Accessory Dwelling Unit/Junior Accessory
Dwelling Unit Development Activity for Fourth Quarter 2019
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Planning and Development Services
Recommendation
This is an informational report and no action is requested.
Background
In June 2017, the City of Palo Alto amended the Zoning Code (Title 18) to adopt Accessory
Dwelling Unit (ADU) regulations to comply with State adopted requirements. At adoption,
the City Council directed staff to provide quarterly reports on the number of permits filed
for the construction of ADUs. The City Council received the last development report for the
second and third quarter 2019 on January 13, 2020 (Report ID# 10869).
Discussion
Following adoption of the regulations in 2017, the City experienced a significant increase in
the number of ADU permits filed. The following table shows a ‘snapshot’ in the rise of ADU
permit applications before and after adoption of new regulations.
City of Palo Alto Page 2
Table 1: Summary of ADU Permits from 2015-2019
CATEGORY 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
New ADU Applications Filed 1 10 9 28 55 75
Permits: Ready to Issue (City Approved) 2 8 5 12 39 63
Permits: Issued (Permit Obtained) 3 8 5 12 35 62
Permits: Final Inspection Approved 4 12 33
Detached ADUs (Submitted/Issued) 5 21/8 35/24 52/41
Attached ADUs (Submitted/ Issued) 6 7/4 19/11 22/20
Junior ADUs (Submitted / Issued) 7 0/0 1/0 1/1
Average Application Processing Time (Days Including
Weekends) 8 127 214 118 183 135
Average Construction Time
(Days Including Weekends) 9
287 173
City Impact Fees Collected for New ADU/JADU’s
10 $96,534 $558,218 $350,360
Notes:
1. Any ADU/JADU Application Submitted for the year
2. Any ADU/JADU application Permit Approved and Ready to Issue, regardless of when the application was submitted.
3. Any ADU/JADU Permit Issued for the year, regardless of when the application was submitted.
4. Any ADU/JADU Permit receiving a Final Inspection (Ready to Occupy) for the year, regardless of when the application was
submitted. Years 2015-2017 data point not available.
5. Any Detached ADU Permit Application submitted for the year/Any Detached ADU Permit Issued for the year, regardless of
when the application was submitted. Years 2015-2016 data point not available.
6. Any Attached ADU Permit Application submitted for the year/Any Attached ADU Permit Issued for the year, regardless of when
the application was submitted. Years 2015-2016 data point not available.
7. Any JADU Permit Application submitted for the year/Any JADU Permit Issued for the year, regardless of when the application
was submitted. Years 2015-2016 data point not available.
8. Average number of days from permit application submittal to when permit is approved and ready to issue. This average
includes weekends and days application is pending due to applicant preparation of resubmittal or additional information from
applicant.
9. Average number of days from permit issued to final inspection completed. This average includes weekends and days staff is
waiting for applicant to schedule the next required inspection.
1.
2. Impact Fees collected for new ADU/JADU’s. Years 2015-2016 data point not available.
City of Palo Alto Page 3
Data from Table 1 shows that 62 ADU/JADU permits were issued in 2019 or 122 ADU/JADU
permits issued since 2015. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the City received a total of 18 ADU
building permit applications. All ADU applications except one are in the R-1 single family
zone district. Over sixty percent of the applications filed are in North Palo Alto, North of
Page Mill Road/Oregon Expressway. Five ADU applications are for construction of new units,
while the remaining 13 applications are for conversions of existing spaces, namely detached
garages. The majority of the ADU applications filed are for one-bedroom units. The unit
sizes ranged from 220 to 790 square feet, with an average unit size of 466 square feet. Only
two projects utilized the floor area bonus allowed under the City’s ordinance.
ADUs represent just over 20% of the total market rate regional housing need allocation
assigned to the City.
Next Steps
The City Council adopted an Interim Urgency Ordinance for ADUs and JADUs on
January 13, 2020. The ordinance is viewable here:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/75357. The adoption of
this Interim Ordinance enabled the existing city codes to comply with the recent
state laws on ADUs and JADUs. The Interim Ordinance is effective until January 31,
2021 or until City Council adopts a ‘permanent’ or updated ordinance. The City
Council at-places memorandum of January 13, 2020 is viewable here:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/74864. The at-places
memorandum modified the ordinance provisions presented in the packet report
(Report ID # 10953)2 Council action minutes are viewable here:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/blobdload.aspx?t=58940.61&BlobID
=74845
This year an updated ordinance will be presented to Council will recommendations
that further refine the City’s ADU regulations to streamline the permitting process
for ADUs while incorporating the state regulations. The permanent ordinance will
incorporate feedback from stakeholders and recommendations from the Planning
and Transportation Commission (PTC).
Attachments:
Attachment A: List of ADU Building Permit Applications (October to December)
2019 (PDF)
1Link to Staff Report ID # 10869:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/74725
City of Palo Alto Page 4
2Link to Staff Report ID # 10953:
https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civicax/filebank/documents/74731
Attachments:
Attachment A: List of ADU Building Permit Applications Fourth Quarter 2019 (PDF)
Attached Detached Attached Detached Garage
Other
Accessory
Structure /
Space
1 South Palo Alto R-1 10/10/2019 In Plan Check No x 1 509
2 North Palo Alto R-1 10/18/2019 In Plan Check No x x 1 372
3 South Palo Alto R-1 (S) 10/21/2019 In Plan Check No x x 0 378
4 North Palo Alto R-1 11/20/2019 In Plan Check No x x 1 721
5 South Palo Alto R-1 (8000)(S) 11/20/2019 In Plan Check No x x 1 379
6 South Palo Alto R-1 11/26/2019 In Plan Check No x 1 515
7 North Palo Alto RM-15 12/12/2019 In Plan Check No x x 1 386
8 South Palo Alto R-1 (8000) 12/13/2019 In Plan Check No x 1 611
9 North Palo Alto R-1 12/18/2019 In Plan Check No x 1 476
10 North Palo Alto R-1 12/20/2019 In Plan Check No x x 1 367
11 South Palo Alto R-1 12/23/2019 In Plan Check No x x 1 660
12 North Palo Alto R-1 11/05/2019 In Plan Check No x x 0 220
13 North Palo Alto R-1 12/19/2019 In Plan Check No x 0 385
14 North Palo Alto R-1 12/19/2019 In Plan Check No x 1 790
15 North Palo Alto R-1 12/19/2019 In Plan Check No x x 1 522
16 South Palo Alto R-1 12/19/2019 In Plan Check No x x 0 312
17 North Palo Alto R-1 12/19/2019 In Plan Check No x x 1 500
18 North Palo Alto R-1 12/20/2019 Incomplete No 0 220
Source: City of Palo Alto Accela Data. October 1 through December 31, 2019
Building Permit
Issued
# of
Bedrooms
ADU Size
(SQFT)
List of ADU Building Permit Applications from October to December, 2019
ATTACHMENT A
New Construction Conversion Type of Conversion
Number of
Applications Project Location Zoning Date Filed Application Status