(Malibu, CA) – On January 8, 2024, the Malibu City Council adopted an ordinance to regulate Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in the City, taking a significant step toward addressing Malibu’s housing challenges while balancing the need to preserve the community’s rural coastal village character.
“The City of Malibu remains committed to fostering sustainable growth and creating a community that accommodates the state’s diverse needs as we work through the statewide housing crisis,” said Mayor Steve Uhring. “By incorporating valuable community input, we ensured that our ADU regulations align with state laws and help create more affordable housing options. The Council requested that the ADU ordinance be brought back to Council at a future date to ensure that the ordinance is in line with the unique needs and characteristics of our community.”
The City has held multiple public hearings to let community members give input and ask questions about the ordinance in order to ensure that the ADU ordinance reflects the community’s needs and characteristics.
An ADU is a smaller, independent residential dwelling unit located on the same lot as a stand-alone, single-family home, that can be detached or attached to the home. In response to recent changes in California state laws, the City began developing the ordinance to amend the Municipal Code and Local Coastal Program (LCP) so that they are consistent with State law.
In 2016, in an effort to increase affordable housing opportunities amidst the statewide housing crisis, California adopted three laws regarding ADUs and Junior Accessory Dwelling Units (JADUs): State Bill (SB) 1069, Assembly Bill (AB) 2299, and AB 2406, which all went into effect in 2017. The new regulations were intended to reduce the regulatory, physical, and financial barriers to constructing ADUs, which were seen as an opportunity for providing affordable housing.
The City will next submit the LCP Amendment to the California Coastal Commission (CCC) for certification review. The entirety of the City of Malibu is within the Coastal Zone and has a certified LCP that governs all new development, including ADUs. Portions of Malibu’s LCP are more restrictive than state ADU regulations.
State law allows cities to adopt additional ADU regulations, as long as they do not conflict with state regulations. In January 2018, the state legislature added updates to ADU law, including: allowing ADUs to be built concurrently with a single-family home; increasing the areas where ADUs can be built to include all zoning districts that allow single-family uses; modifying fees from utilities, such as special districts and water corporations; and reducing parking requirements.
For background information about ADU regulations in the City of Malibu, including the complete ordinance, visit the ADU webpage: https://www.malibucity.org/adu.
