DISCUSSION
The County now allows a fully self-contained second residence (i.e., a residence with living, sleeping, bathroom and kitchen facilities and no limit on size) only on property with at least twice the required minimum acreage. Exceptions include second units of limited size for servant’s quarters, senior citizen housing, farm labor and temporary family care. These regulations are based on the residential density established in the County General Plan and Zoning Plan.
As a means of addressing a statewide housing crisis, the New State Housing Law, effective January 1, 2017, is intended to address barriers and make it easier for owners to construct smaller, subordinate residential units, known as “Accessory Dwellings,” on existing residential properties, thereby taking advantage of existing infrastructure and services, reducing the cost associated with new land purchase and development, and accommodating the needs and desires of extended families and seniors who want to age in place. Under the New State Housing Law, the County is required to allow Accessory Dwellings in residential districts with ministerial (non-discretionary) approval.
By ordinance the County can regulate where in the County Accessory Dwellings may be permitted, and establish development standards related to size, height, setbacks, parking, landscaping, architectural consistency with the primary residence, location on the lot, compliance with local building codes, requirements of the local water and sewer service provider or Environmental Health where an onsite wastewater treatment system is being used, and other standards to protect the public health and safety and ensure compatibility with structures and uses on the same lot and in the neighborhood. In addition, the New State Housing Law makes it clear that Accessory Dwellings that comply with state and local standards shall not be considered to exceed the allowable density established in the General Plan and Zoning.
Location Options: There are three leading options regarding where in the County Accessory Dwellings should be permitted.
1) Limit Accessory Dwellings to those residential areas of the County served by public sewer and water. These areas include the communities of Burney, Cottonwood, Fall River/McArthur, Palo Cedro, and Shingletown for a total of approximately 2,457 potentially eligible parcels. These are the areas of the County with the greatest number of services and the potential to absorb additional residential growth.
2) Limit Accessory Dwellings to those areas served by public water and sewer and areas within established Rural Community Centers. There are over 20 Rural Community Centers identified in the County General Plan, from Castella and Lakehead in the north, to Hat Creek, Old Station, and Round Mountain in the east, to Happy Valley and Centerville in the South Central Region, to Igo, Ono and Platina in the west (and over ten others in between). Overall, the General Plan directs higher population densities and more intensive land uses to the Urban and Town Centers with full services (such as the communities identified in option 1 above), and, to a lesser extent, to Rural Community Centers which generally have a central commercial district and may offer some urban services, but for the most part rely on individual on-site water and wastewater treatment systems. Staff estimates that the Rural Community Centers may contain between 3,600 and 4,000 potentially eligible parcels, in addition to the 2,457 parcels from option 1 above.
3) Allow Accessory Dwellings in all zone districts that allow a one-family residence by right, whether or not they are located in a Rural Community Center, or are served by public water and sewer. This option provides the broadest application of the New State Housing Law to the greatest number of Shasta County residents. Both options 2 and 3 would include development standards that specifically address the use of on-site domestic (well) water and waste water treatment systems for Accessory Dwellings by expansion of existing systems or installation of new systems. The number of potentially eligible parcels under option 3 would be several thousand more than either option 1 or 2.
In all of the options outlined above, it would be up to the owner to ensure that all services are provided in accordance with the requirements of the service provider and/or the Environmental Health Division as applicable and that all construction and occupancy conforms to the established development standards adopted by the Board of Supervisors.
The number of parcels potentially eligible for an Accessory Dwelling in the County is substantial (as intended by the New State Housing Law). However, early consultation with other jurisdictions in the region and local industry representatives indicate that there are also significant market-driven constraints curbing the “uncontrolled” proliferation of such units. These constraints include the cost of materials and construction, the suitability of any given site for an accessory unit, the potential difficulty in securing financing for a second unit, and the cost of permits including public facility impact fees.
To provide local context, over the past five years the Building Division has issued 46 permits for habitable residential accessory uses such as servants’ quarters, senior apartments, family care residences, second residences and guest houses. Although not exactly the same, these types of uses are subject to similar development standards and market constraints as an Accessory Dwelling would be and are probably indicative of the number of Accessory Dwellings we might expect in the next five years. Based on these numbers we might expect to see an Accessory Dwelling on about 1% of the parcels potentially eligible for these units.
Other concerns to be addressed include, but are not limited to, measures to preserve neighborhood character, ensure fire safety, provide adequate off-street parking, ensure architectural compatibility, limit the location in relation to other buildings on the lot, limit the use of mobile homes as Accessory Dwellings, limit the size in relation to the primary residence, ensure adequate utility services. These would be addressed in the proposed development standards.
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