Santa Rosa eyes new policies allowing ADU sales, upzoning to increase housing supply

Santa Rosa leaders are studying updates to the city's zoning code that would allow property owners with a granny unit on their land to sell those homes.

Such units historically could only be rented, but a 2024 state law opened the door to selling them separately as condominiums. Sebastopol in January became the first municipality in Sonoma County to adopt regulations allowing the sale of so-called accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

Proponents of the measure say it could reduce barriers to homeownership by providing a lower-cost entry into the market for first-time homeowners.

Santa Rosa also will examine amendments to bring the city code in line with another state law that allows smaller-scale infill housing to be built in existing neighborhoods.

The pair of initiatives were discussed Tuesday as part of a broader council study session about the city's housing strategy that also included an overview of efforts the city has made to increase housing production.

The city over the last decade has worked toward streamlining development processes, reducing the time it takes to review permit applications, lowering fees and adopting incentives intended to increase construction by allowing developers to build higher and provide less parking in certain areas.

City officials also have looked to redevelop city properties as another way to increase housing in the urban center. Planning officials are expected to return to the council later this month to further discuss that effort, including potentially redeveloping City Hall, as part of an in-depth session on downtown economic development.

Gabe Osburn, the Planning and Economic Development director, said adopting the new state laws, which are optional, could provide additional tools for the city to further diversify and increase the local housing supply.

Housing advocacy groups have championed the measures as ways to help fill a gap in the local housing market and better serve working-class residents, young families and older adults who want to rent or own in a city that has seen housing become increasingly out of reach.

"These two ordinances will help expand homeownership opportunities, expand unit availability and expand the supply in a way that minimizes both new liability and new impacts because these are infill opportunities that we're talking about," said Adrian Covert of Santa Rosa YIMBY, who joined officials with several housing advocacy and business groups, including Generation Housing and the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber, to advocate for the proposals.

There's no clear timeline for when either ordinance will return to the City Council for additional discussion or possible adoption.

Osburn warned that moving forward with implementing the state laws will require significant staff time and could potentially impact progress on other projects as staff balances a heavy workload.

Council members directed staff to continue studying both as other work allowed.

Addressing pathways to homeownership

State officials since 2016 have sought to make ADUs, which can be attached or detached from the main home and are under 1,200 square feet, easier to build, allowing them in residential zones and reducing building requirements related to setbacks and parking.

In Santa Rosa, property owners can build up to two ADUs on their land as well as a junior unit, which is defined as those smaller than 500 square feet.

City planning officials between 2016 and 2025 have approved building permits for a little more than 700 ADUs and the city has received 70 applications so far this year, city spokesperson Misti Wood said.

Amy Nicholson, a supervising planner in the planning department, said property owners seeking to sell their granny unit would need to seek a parcel map to split and define the boundaries of the individual lots.

Converting the unit into a condominium would require landowners to prepare legal agreements related to the maintenance and access of driveways, pedestrian pathways and other shared spaces on the property, she said.

Landowners also would be tasked with coordinating with utility providers to make any necessary water, sewer, gas or electric upgrades needed to serve the granny unit, which must have separate utilities from the main home.

The secondary home would have its own address and own property tax bill once split.

Osburn said his team will examine similar ordinances in other communities and will craft a proposed local version they will bring back for council consideration.

He noted the city is unlikely to see a flood of granny units hitting the market, if approved, given the somewhat tedious and potentially costly process of converting the unit into a condominium. San Jose, which was the first city to adopt the state law in July 2024, approved its first conversion just last summer, he added.

Still, Osburn said as the city's top planning official one of the problems he most often hears about is the lack of pathways toward homeownership.

Allowing the sale of accessory dwelling units as condominiums - which are built at far smaller rates than other types of housing in the city - could allow people to buy houses at a cheaper price point and build equity, he said.

Increasing density in developed areas

Senate Bill 10, passed by the Legislature in 2021, would allow properties to be upzoned to accommodate up to 10 housing units on a parcel.

Supporters have said the bill could increase housing supply in already developed areas close to employment hubs, schools, public transportation and other existing neighborhood amenities and limit sprawl.

Santa Rosa already has taken some steps to allow such infill construction, updating its zoning code to allow duplexes and small apartment complexes with up to 20 units on nearly 2,000 properties zoned for single-family homes in areas on the edges of the city center and near some commercial corridors.

Adopting the state bill would expand areas of the city where such upzoning would be allowed.

Higher density developments would be allowed within a half-mile of the city's two passenger rail stations and urban infill sites defined as those that were previously developed or are mostly surrounded by urban uses, Nicholson said.

Upzoning would not be allowed in areas designated by state fire authorities as very high fire severity zones or voter-approved open spaces and recreational land.

Specific details about how the state law would be implemented locally must still be hammered out.

Nicholson said the city would have discretion to determine how many units would be allowed per parcel and what specific parcels could be upzoned. The city also would be allowed to establish development standards and review processes for projects built on identified properties. The city could opt to streamline the development process by allowing projects on properties that are upzoned to be approved over the counter by staff if they meet specific design guidelines, she said.

Nicholson said developing the ordinance would require that officials conduct extensive site analysis to determine where upzoning would be appropriate, among other issues, and the proposal would require community input to ensure impacts on existing neighborhoods are limited.

Staff will continue studying the idea and will provide more details to the council at a future study session.

Council member Caroline Bañuelos, who represents District 5, which takes in most of the city center, said while she recognized that pursuing both efforts will be a significant lift for planning staff, "I also think we need to find ways to continue to build more housing, particularly affordable housing and different types of housing, which is what I'm interested in."

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.

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