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PRESS RELEASE
The City of South Pasadena Planning Division will be sharing draft proposals with the community to amend the Zoning Code’s regulations for building accessory dwelling units (ADUs) at a virtual meeting to be held on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Homeowners across South Pasadena have shown increasing interest in building ADUs, with 27 applications submitted in 2020 compared with just five in 2017. State law requires all cities in California to allow ADUs and “Junior” ADUs on single family and multi-family properties through administrative processes.
Code amendments at the end of 2019 brought South Pasadena into compliance with the most recent State legislation, but over the past year homeowners interested in building an ADU have asked for additional refinements to clarify the requirements and ease the process. This includes, among other matters, objective design standards to allow compatible two-bedroom and two-story units, appropriate standards for ADUs in hillside areas and objective standards to ensure appropriate units on designated and identified historic properties.
The February 10 community meeting will review proposals the City is developing with support from Arup, a planning consultant firm, for most of the proposed changes. Specific objective standards for historic properties will be brought forward later through a separate process, funded through a State Office of Historic Preservation Certified Local Government (CLG) grant. That project is being conducted by Architectural Resources Group (ARG), a specialized historic preservation firm selected in January through an RFP process.
Separate community meetings focusing on ADUs on historic properties will be announced and recommendations are anticipated in the summer.
The Planning Division requests that you RSVP for the meeting by emailing housingelement@southpasadenaca.gov, but RSVPs are not required to join the meeting. The Zoom link is provided on the Planning Division web page.
