Senate Bill 9, SB 9

California State Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) would allow a 2 residential units development in a single-family residential zone to be considered ministerially, without discretionary review, public hearing & CEQA, if the development meets certain requirements by the local agency. SB 9 said this development approach does not require owner occupancy.  Neither unit would be subject to rent control & the units could be sold as condominiums. 

If your property is located within an urban area & your property was not established through a lot split prior to Senate Bill 9; Then you can subdivide your lot into 2 parcels and build 2 homes on each of the 2 new lots allowing for a total of 4 units. SB 9 said the lot split approach requires the applicant to occupy one of the units as their principal residence for a minimum of 3 years. SB 9 allows the local agency to ministerially approve a parcel map for an Urban Lot Split that meets certain requirements by the local agency.

The review & approval process under SB 9 will be “objective” in terms of zoning standards, subdivision standards, and design standards.

Key points to consider:

  1. Qualify Projects must be zoned in a single-family lot; Not a historic site or district; Cannot alter or demolish rent-controlled housing, housing that was Ellis Act in the last 15 years, or housing occupied by a tenant in the last 3 years.
  2. Minimum unit area 800 square feet.
  3. Minimum 4 feet setback at rear & side. (5 feet would be better in some situation)
  4. San Francisco requires minimum 25 feet separation between existing & new buildings.
  5. One parking per unit; Some local agency may consider no parking if parcel located ½ mile walking distance of transit.
  6. Cannot be use as short-term rentals.
  7. If units are attached, it must be design as condominium to allow for separate sale.
  8. Urban Lot Split should result in 2 approximately equal-sized lots (60-40 split). Each new lot is at least 1,200 square feet. Urbanized area is an area with 50,000 or more people. See US Census Bureau for urban area reference maps.