19.79.030 Permit application and procedures.
A. Permit Required. An accessory dwelling unit and/or junior accessory dwelling unit is allowed on any parcel in a single-family residential or multifamily residential zoning district with a primary unit. Unless exempt pursuant to Section 19.79.080, an accessory dwelling unit and junior accessory dwelling unit must receive a permit under this chapter.
B. Application and Review Authority. An application for an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit shall be made by the property owner and filed with the Planning Department on a form prescribed by the Director of Planning and Building, containing such information as reasonably requested by the Director of Planning and Building, and accompanied by the appropriate fee. In addition to an accessory dwelling unit permit, the applicant shall be required to obtain a building permit if repair, rehabilitation, or other work would otherwise require a building permit.
C. Ministerial Review. For applications that satisfy the requirements of this chapter, the Director of Planning and Building, or her/his designee, shall issue an accessory dwelling unit permit as a ministerial permit, without discretionary review, public hearing, or design review. The decision shall be final, and state in writing the reasons for approval or denial.
D. Review Timing. The City shall act upon an application to create an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit within sixty days from receiving a complete application. If the City does not act within sixty days, the application shall be deemed approved. If the application is submitted with an application to create a new single-family dwelling, the City may delay acting on the application for the accessory dwelling unit or the junior accessory dwelling unit until the City acts on the underlying permit application to create the new single-family dwelling. The portion of the application for the accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit shall be considered without discretionary review, including design review, or public hearing. If the City receives a demolition permit for a detached garage that is to be replaced with an accessory dwelling unit, the City shall review and issue the demolition permit for the detached garage at the same time that the City reviews and issues the permit for the accessory dwelling unit.
E. Denial of Application.
1. If the City denies an application to create an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit, the City shall within sixty days return in writing a full set of comments to the applicant with a list of defective or deficient items and a description of how the applicant can remedy the defective or deficient items.
2. The City shall not deny an application for an accessory dwelling unit that was previously unpermitted, but constructed before January 1, 2018, on the basis that (a) the accessory dwelling unit is in violation of the building standards pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 17960) of Chapter 5 of Part 1.5 of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code or (b) the accessory dwelling unit does not comply with Government Code Section 65852.2 or this chapter. (Ord. 2023-02 § 2, 2023; Ord. 2021-04 § 2, 2021.)