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SB 330

  • 1.  SB 330

    Posted 10-28-2019 11:37 AM
    Edited by Willard E. Williams Jr. AIA 10-28-2019 11:39 AM
    Does anyone have any more information about SB 330 and AB 68 laws in California?  The main question I have is it going to in effect January 1st?  And how does this affect local building, and planning codes?

    I have read through a few articles like, "California's 2020 Housing Laws: What You Need to Know: Insights." Holland & Knight, California's 2020 Housing Laws: What You Need to Know | Insights | Holland & Knight
    Hklaw remove preview
    California's 2020 Housing Laws: What You Need to Know | Insights | Holland & Knight
    As California's housing supply and homelessness crisis continues, the State Legislature has for the past several years passed numerous pieces of housing legislation in each legislative session. (See Holland & Knight's previous alerts, " A Closer Look at California's New Housing Production Laws," Dec.
    View this on Hklaw >
    . California's 2020 Housing Laws: What You Need to Know | Insights | Holland & Knight



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    Willard Williams AIA
    Seattle WA
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  • 2.  RE: SB 330

    Posted 10-29-2019 05:32 PM
    SB 330 received bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature, winning approval in the Assembly on a 67-8 vote, and in the state Senate, on a 30-4 vote. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2020 and sunsets in 2025.

    As for how it affects local laws, each jurisdiction will be different. Makes our work "very interesting"; you have to check with each town and county for each project. As with previous ADU rules, not every planner or plan checker will know what the rules are. Make friends with someone higher up in the department hierarchy and confirm every ruling by return email.

    Judith Wasserman AIA



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    Judith Wasserman AIA
    Bressack & Wasserman
    Palo Alto CA
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  • 3.  RE: SB 330

    Posted 10-29-2019 05:43 PM
    My understanding is that SB330 takes effect 1-1-20.  It is supposed to sunset in 5 years.  It's not hard to imagine that for a while there will be incompatibility between state and local requirements.

    I'm not totally confident that solving housing problems legislatively will work.  Years ago the state mandated that cities (and counties) had to determine whether an application for zoning review was complete within 30 days of filing the application.  It was thought that this would speed up the approval process.

    What happened, as I've seen on some of my projects is that a). Once the application is determined complete they can still take whatever time (years in some cases) to review it after it was determined to be complete; and, b) some agencies use the determination of "completeness" as a way to compel design changes---by saying it is not complete when in fact they just did not like aspects of the project.

    I spend a big chunk of time on every project just managing the regulatory issues.  It greatly frustrates clients when they see what is arrayed against them, and it makes them think twice about doing more projects.

    In my opinion bureaucracies, at any level--Federal/State/Local--should be viewed like gardens.  Periodically things need major pruning to ensure the health of the garden.  Gardens yield.  Bureaucracies not so much.  It's just as bad at the local level as anywhere else.

    Appreciate the link.  Thanks for sharing that.

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    Donald Wardlaw AIA
    More Than Construction, Inc.
    Oakland CA
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  • 4.  RE: SB 330

    Posted 10-30-2019 11:42 AM

    The debate about whether or not the current climate crisis is primarily caused by human behavior is over.   Now, we AIA members can ask if our Institute should be involved in this non-political issue.   If the AIA gets involved with issues of building codes and life safety, then we should also be involved in the life safety issue of climate change.   I say the AIA should act now to reduce the effects of this crisis.

    -Russ Ver Ploeg, AIA, LEED AP






  • 5.  RE: SB 330

    Posted 10-31-2019 07:14 PM
    I agree with Mr VerPloeg. Climate Change is a fact, the science has been clear for many years. As the Institute addresses the many issues that impact our practices; codes, regulations, tax law, contracts, and many more, it is appropriate for AIA to be clear where the profession stands. As a signatory to the climate resolution passed overwhelmingly at the Business Meeting in Las Vegas this year, I applaud the Board for clearly stating our profession's obligation to protecting the future of our species on the planet. 

    If you don't want to believe climate change is real I suggest you talk to your legal advisors and insurance providers. As the linked article below on the Schinnerer Risk Management Blog clearly states, you may become professionally liable for failing to design for the effects of climate change being described by the scientific community. The standard of care is changing to reflect the reality of a changing climate. Ignore it at your risk.


    RK Stewart FAIA
    2007 AIA President 





  • 6.  RE: SB 330

    Posted 11-01-2019 12:39 AM
    Oh boy! When the insurance people get involved, you know it's serious!
    Judith

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    Judith Wasserman AIA
    Bressack & Wasserman
    Palo Alto CA
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  • 7.  RE: SB 330

    Posted 11-01-2019 01:25 AM
    I'm aware of the many positive contributions that RK Stewart has made to AIA governance.  I respect and salute them.  He is a good man in my book.

    But his post on climate change deviates from that work.  It is nonsense.  It is at odds with much of current scientific thought.  It simply follows the current political hysteria.  It is non-thinking or at least erroneous thinking. It is no excuse for shabby thinking by AIA on these issues.  I expect more from AIA.

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    Donald Wardlaw AIA
    More Than Construction, Inc.
    Oakland CA
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  • 8.  RE: SB 330

    Posted 11-01-2019 05:53 PM
    Thank you, RK Stewart for your very clear-eyed email about this issue. Funny, I happen to be overseas as I write this and very few people here, compared to the USA in general and some in this forum in particular, question the scientific consensus relating to climate change. All however seem sensitive to the implications - economic, etc - for the various responses to the issue. 

    Daniel Alter, AIA

    DANIEL ALTER ARCHITECT PLLC

    www.danielalter.com


    A



    Daniel Alter, AIA

    DANIEL ALTER ARCHITECT PLLC

    www.danielalter.com


    A






  • 9.  RE: SB 330

    Posted 10-30-2019 08:15 PM
    Willard,

    AB68 takes effect 1/1/2020. It modifies the current sections regarding ADUs.

    The full text is found here: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB68

    This revision introduces and requires local municipal zoning allowance for secondary, "junior ADUs". It defines those as being smaller (max 500sf) and required to be fully within the single-family dwelling on the property.

    As I read it (and: I'm not a lawyer!) among other things:
    No additional parking can be required (subject to any Coastal requirements to the contrary, that, as state law, are not legally subservient to AB68 as are municipal zoning laws.)
    No fire separation can be required (prescribed that it "shall not be considered a separate or new dwelling unit" with respect "fire or life protection").
    It requires a deed restriction on the junior ADU to limit it to as approved (no expansion or sale)

    The net result will still look like what we now get with 2017 ADUs (one primary home, one minor accessory one) but now instead of one family in the main house and one in the ADU, it will be that plus one more family in the main house. In effect a stunted duplex with a small single family home in back, so yeah... not at all a single-family use.

    There are some other tweaks to the original ADU minimum requirements, mostly limits on minimum sizes, Owner-occupancy requirements, etc.

    This bill also now allows ADUs in multifamily structures, min one per structure and up to 25% of the units in the structure.

    The bill does appear to allow a new home to be built with both ADUs although the CO issuance is still required to be in the order of main home first, ADU's next. When it is sold, it can only be sold as a package, and if rented out, the owner must live in one of the units, and they can't be rented short term.


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    Michael Poloukhine AIA
    Owner
    ReSquare Architecture + Construction
    Los Angeles CA
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  • 10.  RE: SB 330

    Posted 11-04-2019 05:50 PM

    Further update on this, it is AB881 language which will in fact become law on 1/1/2020

    https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB881

    Some additional details:
    - Parking spaces lost in a garage demolition making way for an ADU *cannot* be required to be replaced on site
    - Min ADU sizes *must* be allowed, even if exceeding those imposed by "any other ordinance" (eg: Zoning site FAR etc.)
    - Location on site cannot be dictated "by any other ordinance" (eg: Zoning rear yard accessory structure requirement)
    - Owner-occupancy if any are rented out *cannot* be required (sunsets in 2025 unless renewed by ADU law)

    Note, there is also AB 587 which allows, under certain conditions (qualified low income, qualified non-profits: eg: Habitat) for ADUs to be sold separately from the main dwelling:
    https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB587



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    Michael Poloukhine AIA
    Owner
    ReSquare Architecture + Construction
    Los Angeles CA
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