Title
Introduction of Ordinance Amending the Alameda Municipal Code by Amending Section 30-5.18 (Accessory Dwelling Units) and Adding Section 30-5.19 (Accessory Dwelling Units Condominium Regulations) of Chapter 30 (Development Regulations) to Update Accessory Dwelling Unit Regulations and to Permit Accessory Dwelling Unit Condominium Conversions.
This action is categorically exempt from environmental review pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines section 15282 (h) and 15061(b)(3). (Planning Building and Transportation 20962710)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Gerry Beaudin, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) currently provides accessory dwelling unit (ADU) development standards and procedures intended to meet the City of Alameda’s (City) varied housing needs and to comply with State mandates. Separately, the AMC provides regulations and procedures for converting residential units into condominiums, allowing property owners with multiple existing or proposed units to sell them separately.
The current ADU ordinance is intended to increase access to housing by codifying streamlined processes and relaxed development standards for the creation of easy-to-build residential units. The proposed amendments are intended to continue this strategy of removing barriers to ADU development by: (1) updating the development standards to more clearly reflect local and State standards, and (2) providing a new streamlined process to facilitate condominium conversion of ADUs pursuant to recent legislation. These amendments are derived from the direction received from the Planning Board during the study session and a public hearing held on this item, during which staff was directed to preserve the ordinance’s flexibility, provide clarity and predictability around development standards, and continue implementing strategies to encourage the production of ADUs.
Staff recommends that the City Council hold a public hearing and adopt the first reading of the ordinance amendment, as it has been edited following the Planning Board’s recommendations.
BACKGROUND
The AMC includes regulations regarding ADUs that were originally adopted in July 2017. This section was amended in 2020, 2021, and 2022 primarily to comply with evolving State law, although the City’s ADU standards have historically been more lenient than the minimum requirements enforced under State law. Assembly Bill 1033 (2024) also authorized the City to facilitate ADU condominium conversion.
Planning Board Deliberations. In May of 2026, the Planning Board held a study session to provide staff with feedback on a range of policy decisions regarding possible changes to the ordinance to address updates to State law since the last ordinance amendment in 2022. The Planning Board emphasized the importance of maintaining flexibility in development standards beyond what is required by State law, which has been a hallmark of the City’s past ADU policies, as well as making clear, easy to understand language a high priority.
On June 22, 2026, the Planning Board conducted a public hearing and adopted a resolution recommending that the City Council adopt the draft ordinance, with a few specific edits. In making its recommendation, the Planning Board’s direction included refinement of the development standards for non-State ADUs and, with respect to the ADU conversion provision, adding a right of first refusal for existing tenants, providing clarification on the applicability of the Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) standards, and adding language to better reference subsections without creating ambiguity, among other minor changes. The recommended ordinance reflects this guidance.
ADU Construction Progress. The City has been issuing permits for ADUs since the State law changed in 2016. While those first few years did not see today’s levels of ADU development, the City approved an average of about 50 ADUs per year between 2017 and 2025. With at least 450 existing ADUs in the City, staff projects a continued steady rate of development for the next few years.
DISCUSSION
The following is a summary of the amendments recommended by staff and the Planning Board. They are designed to advance the City’s 2023 Housing Element Update Program 5, which commits to promoting and facilitating ADU construction through several specific actions.
Conversion of ADUs to Condominiums. Feedback from the Planning Board informed the staff’s decision to draft the regulations regarding condominium conversion of ADUs as a new subsection. This ensures that ADU condominium conversions will be processed in a manner that both streamlines the existing process outlined elsewhere in the municipal code and complies with State law.
While condominium conversions are generally uncommon in the City, allowing the conversion of ADUs into condominiums may incentivize property owners to construct ADUs that wouldn’t otherwise be feasible. In addition, an ADU condominium may theoretically provide a more affordable pathway to homeownership because it is typically smaller and simpler in design than other single-family homes in the City, thereby diversifying the stock of available housing types. Conversely, conversion of existing and proposed ADUs into condominiums could hypothetically reduce the stock of rental units in the City. However, even if every existing ADU were converted into a condominium, it would still represent less than 3% of the City's rental housing stock.
Development Standards and Conditions of Approval. The recommended ordinance amendment includes several changes to the existing ADU development standards. State law restricts the City’s ability to regulate State-mandated ADUs, but permits the City to regulate non-State-mandated ADUs. For non-state mandated ADUs the amendments: (1) establish a standard 20-foot front yard setback specifically applied to ADUs with proportional reduction for lots less than 100 feet deep; (2) codify the practice of requiring the removal of a curb cut and driveway where the driveway is no longer useable and applies this standard specifically to garage conversions; (3) revise deed restrictions to match State law; and (4) require that tenants be given a first right of refusal to purchase an ADU condominium conversion.
Clarifying Edits. The code section contains other amendments that: (1) remove portions of the existing ordinance that are no longer enforceable, (2) place all development standards for ADUs mandated by State law (known as section 66323 units) in a standalone subsection, (3) update references to State law based on a recodification of the Government Code, and (4) clarify and explicitly state the applicability of certain standards to reduce ambiguity.
Design Review Requirements. Currently, projects with a scope of work that triggers additional entitlements (such as demolition of an accessory building or raising a building to create a habitable basement) must obtain those entitlements prior to obtaining a building permit. The City’s practice has also been to require design review for aspects of a project that are not integral to the ADU but are associated with it. For example, decks above the first story, including roof decks, are generally subject to staff level design review, even though the ADU itself is not subject to design review.
In response to a public comment during the hearing, the Planning Board discussed an exemption for small decks that meet certain development criteria to streamline the review. Their ultimate recommendation was to proceed only with clarifying language and continue the City’s current practice. Staff are recommending ordinance amendments that would exempt decks attached to an ADU with an area under 50 square feet, a finished floor height at or below 10 feet, and setbacks of 10 feet in the rear yard and 5 feet in the side yards. This refinement would eliminate some rooftop decks that have caused adjacent neighbors' privacy concerns.
Conclusion. Staff believes that the amendments represent an important update to the City’s Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance for compliance with State Law, implementing ADU condominium conversion, and adhering to best practices for ADU development standards. The amended ordinance provides flexibility and certainty for ADU project sponsors and creates a viable pathway for ADU condominium conversion.
ALTERNATIVES
• Adopt amendments that omit or amend the staff recommendation for roof deck standards as an exemption from Design Review.
• Adopt amendments that omit the conversion to condominiums.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There would be no financial impact to City operations of adopting clarifying amendments to the ADU ordinance and allowing ADU conversions to condominiums.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
Assembly Bill No. 1033 (2024) - Amending Sections 65852.2 and 65852.26 of the Government Code.
Housing Element Program 5: Accessory Dwelling Units.
Strategic Plan Project HH7: Implement Housing Element.
Strategic Plan Project HH8d: Improve and streamline design review and building permit processes for housing per State law.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), this action is exempt from further environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15282(h), which exempts local ordinances implementing State ADU law and 15061(b)(3) (“Common sense exemption”) because CEQA applies only to projects with the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. The proposed zoning text amendments have no possibility of having a significant effect on the environment because these amendments do not involve major physical changes.
CLIMATE IMPACT
There would be no climate impact of adopting clarifying amendments to the ADU ordinance and allowing ADU conversions to condominiums.
RECOMMENDATION
Introduce an ordinance to amend the Alameda Municipal Code Section 30-5.18 pertaining to ADUs to implement new state law changes and to allow for the sale of certain ADUs.
Respectfully submitted,
Abby Thorne-Lyman and Andrew Thomas, Co-Acting Directors of Planning Building and Transportation
By,
Tristan Suire, Planner II
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Existing Accessory Dwelling Unit Ordinance
2. Planning Board Resolution and Ordinance
3. Ordinance Amendment - Redline