Summary – 21 Elements Meeting TAC 30
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Mist Room, Foster City Recreation Center, 650 Shell Blvd., Foster City
1:00 – 3:00pm
21 Elements hosted a meeting to discuss a variety of updates and topics. Guest speakers
presented on Accessory Dwelling Unit amnesty programs, the Home for All taskforce, and other
topics. The meeting was facilitated by Jeffery Baird and Joshua Abrams of Baird + Driskell
Community Planning, who also reviewed recently completed work products.
Jurisdictions in Attendance
Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Foster City,
Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo City, San
Mateo County, South San Francisco and Woodside (18 out of 21 jurisdictions).
Also in attendance were ABAG, County Health System, DOH, HEART, Housing Leadership
Council and Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
Updates
Josh presented the new logo for 21 Elements, which is at the top of this summary.
Janet summarized the work of Home for All, which includes visits to City Council’s, a steering
committee and several work groups.
Rose Cade summarized plans for helping San Mateo County jurisdictions be more competitive
for Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities projects. Specifically, there will be a
conference held immediately before the next 21 Elements meeting and a white paper about
what cities can do to be more competitive.
Alessandra Thompson presented work on collaboratively approaching the Affirmatively
Furthering Fair Housing requirements. A consultant has been chosen and jurisdictions are
encouraged to be involved.
Presentation 1: Amnesty Programs for ADUs
Two speakers, Jeffrey Lambert, AICP, Community Development Director, City of Ventura and
Curtis Havel, Senior Planner, Marin County talked about their experience with second unit
amnesty programs. The presentation is available here:
https://recordings.join.me/EHsiQKjVTUurfrK8mBlZFw
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Key Lessons Learned
Ventura
 Establish impact fees based on the in-service date of the ADU (the verified date the ADU
was first occupied).
 Eliminate energy efficiency measures as part of the requirements. Energy code
compliance was found to be too onerous for amnesty ADU’s by Ventura staff.
 Enhance the public trust in government because it is critical to the success of an
amnesty program.
 Provide knowledge about the process and the expectations up-front: (a) provide upfront costs and all fees information before applicants start the permit process; and (b)
allow people to evaluate their potential for success at getting approval of their ADU by
using the required “contractor’s checklist” before applicants started the permit process.
 Provide materials that present a clear, direct (blunt) presentation of the process, costs
and requirements.
 No noticing, since these are existing ADU’s.
Marin County
 Provide a single point of contact for each required sign-off (planning, building,
environmental health).
 Recognize public trust as critical to success.
 Provide applicants with a self-assessment checklist early on in the permit process so
they know about all the requirements and the feasibility of obtaining an ADU amnesty
permit.
 Use the Uniform Housing Code for building requirements and reduced septic system
requirements so they are not so onerous as to make legalization of an ADU infeasible.
 Recognize the significant impacts on staff time to set-up, market and administer an
amnesty program (more effort than Marin County originally anticipated).
 Strive to reduce water and utility districts fees. This would have resulted in more ADU’s
being amnestied in Marin County.
 Relax parking requirements, especially near transit or where there are narrow streets
and steep slopes.
 Provide good handouts and good illustrations of sample site plans and expectations for
the submittal of proper documents as part of the application review process (e.g., many
applicants in Marin County did not have the technical expertise or experience to know
how to draw a site plan).
 Consider ways to address septic system requirements, including creative alternatives
that can be responsive to locations where septic systems are constrained.
 Strive to enhance and manage public perceptions and knowledge about the process,
costs and requirements through effective materials and outreach at public meetings.
 No noticing, since these are existing ADU’s.
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Planning Directors Forum
Participants discussed holding a regular Planning Directors meeting and there was general
support for the concept. Some suggested that we do the meeting immediately before or after a
21 Elements meeting to make it easier for those who want to attend both meetings.
Participants suggested having a popular topic to draw directors to the first meeting and ABAG
offered to provide some facilitation support.
Status of Work Items
Key updates are summarized below:
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Short Term Vacation Rental: 21 Elements is tracking recent court cases and listing them
on our website.
Displacement: There will be a webinar in the coming months.
Impact Fees: 21 Elements produced guidance for cities to do their annual reports. They
also continue to update the tally of which cities have taken action here:
http://www.21elements.com/impact-fee-status.html
Second Units: There are a number of materials on the website to help jurisdictions
implement the new state laws. We will post more sample ordinances as soon as they
are available. Additionally, 21 Elements is working on an ADU manual. Participants were
asked to fill out a short survey about how the document can be useful. Results are
included in the appendix.
Next Steps
Upcoming meetings include:
 Jan 26th , 2017 – Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities conference, 11:00 –
12:30, Lunch provided, Oak Room, San Mateo Library
 Jan 26th , 2017 – 21 Elements meeting, 1:00 – 3:00, Oak Room, San Mateo Library
 April 20th, 2017 – 21 Elements meeting, 1:00 – 3:00
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Wallgraphic
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Returned Comment Sheets Regarding ADU Manual
What Could an ADU Manual Help to Address?
1. Provide explanation for process questions
2. Include general requirements (site and architecture)
3. Include design requirements and suggested design examples (site and
architecture)
4. Recognize that even with a manual it will still require that all the
challenges of home remodel are addressed plus more – it is
complicated
5. Enhance trust and community buy-in
6. Cover finances and costs
7. Include effective outreach - get people interested and willing to do it
8. Cover multiple code requirements
9. Eliminate planning jargon - should be non-professional
10. Use graphics to illustrate Code Regulations
11. Identify parking requirements
12. Provide information on density maximums
13. Address parking impact considerations
14. Identify what might be considerations from a neighborhood
opposition
15. Explain an onerous process in a simple way
16. Address peoples’ lack of information
17. Avoid making requirements and the process confusing
18. Include alternative parking design in non-driveway settings and access
w/o overly-wide driveways
19. Include alternative surfacing standards
20. Minimize safe maneuvering distances for alt parking locations
21. Recognize knowing what is allowable and the process is daunting
22. Identify technical aspects of application requirements (site plans,
other)
23. Understand potentially restrictive tax implications
24. Describe how to comply with state and local requirements (zoning,
design)
25. Include residents and homeowners in developing the manual
26. Cover small lots - trade off losing yard space
27. Cover utility installation and ongoing costs
28. Cover construction process, requirements and potential costs
29. Address potential neighbor impact and being a good neighbor
30. Cover garage conversions
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What Would Be the Most Useful Content?
1.
Provide sample site designs for ADUs
2.
Cover the application and approval process
3.
Include budget options and costs
4.
Cover project management
5.
Address liability concerns
6.
Describe the impacts on residents if they do not participate in process
7.
Identify possible income from an ADU
8.
Include development standards that are clear, not subjective
9.
Explain the ADU maximum size, parking and proof of owner-occupied
requirements
10. Provide a checklist of steps and cost chart
11. Include pictures of examples of ADUs
12. Provide easy-to-use checklists
13. Identify basic design considerations and how to work with a designer
14. Identify clear explanations of required application materials
15. Provide detailed, specific, quantitative standards, especially for
exteriors
16. Identify who can create an ADU
17. Explain what is required under state/local law
18. Describe how much an ADU would cost for various options
19. Describe how would the homeowner go about creating an ADU
20. Use simple, usable process and requirements guide
21. Provide template designs
22. Include an FAQ sheet
23. Identify the pros and cons of building an ADU
24. Address the “myths” about ADUs
25. Identify resources to better understand how units can be built
26. Cover all submittal requirements
27. Provide illustrations and standards for site plans, drawings, scale, etc.
28. Ask the users (focus group)
29. Identify all the rules and requirements to construct units
30. Illustrate examples — such as site plans, prototypes, alternative
approaches, etc.
31. Provide information on prefab, modular units, small homes, etc.
32. Cover garage conversions and likely code requirements
33. Address design issues, including neighborhood compatibility
Other Comments/Suggestions
1.
Consider using flowcharts so people can triage projects
2.
Conduct focus groups with residents
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Provide guidance to create a community driven process
Identify possible County financing, which could be helpful
Make sure to cover ADUs in existing structures
Consider two manuals — one for staff and one for the public
Consider that Brisbane is bringing draft ordinance to Council on Jan 12. Our City
Attorney agrees with Goldfarb-Lipman's broad interpretation of "transit stop" to
include any stop served by publicly funded transit.
Create the manual based on new state laws and wait for HCD direction so jurisdictions
can modify to include their own standards.
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