HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 13410
City of Palo Alto (ID # 13410)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Informational Report Meeting Date: 8/30/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Summary Title: ADU Quarterly Report (Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 2020)
Title: Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Quarterly Report (Quarter 3 and
Quarter 4, Calendar Year 2020)
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Planning and Development Services
Recommendation
This is an informational report and no action is requested.
Executive Summary
The Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Quarterly Report keeps track of the ADU permit applications
received, approved, and finalized yearly by the City, as well as the details of quarterly applications
received. Since 2015, the City has issued a total of 135 permits; 45% of these permits were issued
during 2019. During 2020, Palo Alto received a total of 78 ADU building permit applications, or an
average of over 19 per each quarter. The details of the applications are provided in Attachment A of
the staff report.
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 first two
quarters of 2020 on August 17, 2020 (Report ID # 11464).
Since June 2017, the City Council has adopted Ordinances 5489 and 5507 to update the City’s
ADU regulations in response to changes in state law and to create additional local policies to
incentivize creation of ADUs.
Discussion
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This report tracks the ADU permit applications filed with the City and their status since 2015.
The following table (Table 1) shows the rise in ADU permit applications with the adoption of
new regulations.
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Table 1: Summary of ADU Permits from 2015-2020
Category 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
New ADU Applications Filed1 10 9 28 55 75 78
Permits: Ready to Issue (City Approved)2 8 5 12 39 62 46
Permits: Issued (Permit Obtained)3 8 5 12 35 62 43
Permits: Final Inspection Approved4 3 4 9 12 33 46
Permits Expired 1 1
Detached ADUs (Submitted)5 20 35 52 52
Detached ADUs (Issued)5 8 24 41 33
Attached ADUs (Submitted)6 8 20 23 20
Attached ADUs (Issued)6 4 11 21 9
Junior ADUs (Submitted)7 1 1 1
Junior ADUs (Issued)7 1 1 1
Average Application Processing Time (Days
Including Weekends)8 127 214 118 183 135 197
Average Construction Time (Days Including
Weekends)9 578 751 330 287 173 262
City Impact Fees Collected for New ADUs10 $451,514 $402,012 $198,962 $44,057
Source: City of Palo Alto Accela Data January 2015 through December 2020
Notes:
1. Any ADU/JADU Application SUBMITTED for the year
2. Any ADU/JADU application Permit 'READY TO Issue' for the year (regardless of when it was submitted)
3. Any ADU/JADU Permit ISSUED for the year (regardless of when it was submitted)
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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.
10. Impact Fees collected for new ADU/JADU’s. Years 2015-2016 data point not available.
Data from Table 1 shows that the City received 78 new ADU applications in 2020, which is
remarkable given the pandemic. In 2020 the City issued 43 ADU/JADU permits, less than 2019,
as Planning and Development Services transitioned to the Online Permitting Services system
affecting permit processing times. Of the 43 ADU and JADU permits issued in 2020, the average
processing time was 197 days or a little over 6 months, which is over 2 months longer than the
2019 average processing time. Impact Fees collected for ADU permits also decreased mainly
due to the 31% decrease of ADU permits issued from 2019 to 2020 and implementation of
legislation exempting impact fees for ADU’s less than 750 square feet or ADU’s resulting from
garage or carport conversions.
Of the 43 ADU and JADU permits issued in 2020 - the average construction time is 262 days or
almost 9 months. This can partly be attributed to the temporary suspension of construction
activity and subsequent protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The majority of the ADU applications filed are for one-bedroom units. The unit sizes ranged from
208 to 1000 square feet, with an average unit size of 518 square feet.
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Resource Impact
The ADU/JADU process does not have any unancitipated resource impacts on the Department.
ADU permit fees cover the cost of processing the applications.
Timeline/Stakeholder Engagement
This is a quarterly report published by the Planning and Development Services Department.
Environmental Review
There is no action in this report and is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act.
Attachments:
Attachment10.a: Attachment A: ADU Quarterly Report, Q3 and Q4 Calendar Year 2020
(PDF)
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Building Permits Applied for in Q3 of 2020
Q3: New Construction Conversion Type of Conversion
Number of
Applications
Dwelling
Type
Project
Location Zoning Date Filed Application Status
Building
Permit
Issued
Attached Detached Attached2 Detached2 Garage Other Accessory
Structure/Space
# of
Bedrooms ADU Size (SF)
1 ADU SOUTH R-1 07/21/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 392
2 ADU SOUTH R-1 07/21/2020 Permit Issued Yes X 0 252
3 ADU NORTH R-1 07/17/2020 Permit Issued Yes X X 0 380
4 ADU SOUTH R-1 07/16/2020 Permit Issued Yes X X 1 405
5 ADU NORTH R-1 07/16/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 347
6 ADU SOUTH R-1 07/15/2020 Permit Issued Yes X 1 504
7 ADU SOUTH R-1 09/25/2020 Permit Issued Yes X 1 745
8 ADU NORTH R-1 08/12/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 375
9 ADU SOUTH R-1 07/31/2020 Permit Issued Yes X 1 847
10 ADU NORTH R-1 07/31/2020 Permit Issued Yes X 2 994
11 ADU NORTH R-1 07/09/2020 In Plan Check No X 1 597
12 ADU NORTH R-1 07/10/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 895
13 ADU NORTH R-1 (10000) 07/29/2020 In Plan Check No X X 0 488
14 ADU NORTH R-1 08/26/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 219
15 ADU NORTH R-1 08/27/2020 Permit Issued Yes X 1 892
16 ADU NORTH R-1 09/07/2020 Permit Issued Yes X X 1 471
17 ADU NORTH R-1 09/22/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 352
18 ADU SOUTH R-1 (7000) 09/24/2020 Permit Issued Yes X X 1 343
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Building Permits Applied for in Q4 of 2020
Q4: New Construction Conversion Type of Conversion
Number of
Application
Dwelling
Type
Project
Location Zoning Date Filed Application Status
Building
Permit Issued Attached Detached Attached2 Detached2 Garage Other Accessory
Structure/Space
# of
Bedrooms ADU Size (SF)
1 ADU SOUTH R-1 12/01/2020 In Plan Check No X 2 1,000
2 ADU NORTH R-1 11/25/2020 Permit Issued Yes X 1 238
3 ADU SOUTH R-1 10/09/2020 In Plan Check No X 1 679
4 ADU NORTH R-1 10/07/2020 In Plan Check No X 1 448
5 ADU NORTH R-1 10/06/2020 In Plan Check No X 2 800
6 ADU NORTH R-1 12/16/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 315
7 ADU NORTH R-1 12/03/2020 Incomplete No X 1 601
8 ADU NORTH R-1 (10000) 12/03/2020 In Plan Check No X 1 900
9 ADU SOUTH R-1 12/02/2020 Incomplete No X 2 738
10 ADU SOUTH RE 11/18/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 650
11 ADU SOUTH R-1 10/01/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 534
12 ADU SOUTH R-1 10/28/2020 Permit Issued Yes X 2 510
13 ADU SOUTH R-1 11/04/2020 In Plan Check No X 2 800
14 ADU NORTH R-1 11/12/2020 Permit Issued Yes X 1 609
15 ADU NORTH R-1 11/20/2020 In Plan Check No X 2 781
16 ADU NORTH R-1 11/23/2020 In Plan Check No X X 2 673
17 ADU SOUTH R-1 12/16/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 440
18 ADU SOUTH R-1 (8000) 12/17/2020 In Plan Check No X X 1 474
10.a
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Schedule of Meetings
Published August 19, 2021
This is a courtesy notice only. Meeting dates, times, and locations are subject to change. Almost all Palo Alto
Council and some Standing Committee meetings are cablecast live on Channel 26. If there happens to be
concurrent meetings, one meeting will be broadcast on Channel 29.
Until further notice, all meetings will be held by virtual teleconference
via Zoom and streamed on YouTube.
Persons with disabilities who require auxiliary aids or services in using City facilities or programs, or who would like information on the City’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact: ADA Coordinator, City of Palo Alto, 650-329-2550 (voice) or 329-1199 (TDD), ada@cityofpaloalto.org. Listening assistive devices are available in the Council Chambers. Sign language interpreters will be provided upon request with 72 hours advance notice. Please advise the City Clerk's Office (650-329-2571) of meetings or changes by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesdays for inclusion in the following week’s schedule.
08/19/2021
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19
Public Art Commission Meeting, 7 p.m.
MONDAY, AUGUST 23
Sp. City Council Meeting, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 24
Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting, 7 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25 (CANCELLED)
Planning & Transportation Commission Meeting, 6 p.m.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 26 (CANCELLED)
Historic Resources Board 8:30 a.m.
MONDAY, AUGUST 30
Sp. City Council Meeting, 5 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
Sp. Utilities Advisory Commission, 5 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Architectural Review Board Meeting, 8:30 a.m.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 (CANCELLED DUE TO HOLIDAY)
Sp. City Council Meeting, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7
Sp. Finance Committee Meeting, 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8
Planning & Transportation Commission Meeting, 6 p.m.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9
Historic Resources Board Meeting, 8:30 a.m. (CANCELLED)
Human Relations Commission Meeting, 6 p.m.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
Sp. City Council Meeting, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
Policy & Services Committee Meeting, 7 p.m.
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