REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Adopt an Interim Urgency Ordinance to Extend the Urgency Ordinance Adopted on January 4, 2022 to February 24, 2022 to Amend Title 19 (Zoning) of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code Related to New State Legislation (Senate Bill 9) on Housing Development in Single-Family Zoning Districts and Find that the Action is Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
Report
BACKGROUND
The Legislature has proposed several housing bills over the last few years aimed at eliminating single-family zoning or creating "missing middle" housing due to the housing shortage in California. Previous bills failed to pass the Legislature or were vetoed. However, the most recent bill, SB 9, was signed by the Governor on September 16, 2021. The proposed updates to the Sunnyvale Zoning Code (Title 19) and the Subdivision Code (Title 18) would codify requirements from SB 9, tighten up some of the existing objective development standards, and add new objective design standards so the City is able to maintain some local control over the processes and procedures associated with the requirement to allow this new form of development in single-family zoning districts. The new State legislation went into effect on January 1, 2022. As with the 2019 ADU legislation, SB 9 contains a number of unclear or ambiguous provisions that will likely be clarified by the State in the future. Further revisions of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code (SMC) may be necessary in response to any legislative changes.
On December 13, 2021, the Planning Commission forwarded a recommendation to the City Council to adopt the urgency ordinance and regular ordinance to amend Title 18 (Subdivisions) and Title 19 (Zoning) of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code related to new State legislation (Senate Bill 9) on housing development in single-family zoning districts. The staff report to the Planning Commission for the December 13, 2021 hearing, along with meeting minutes, and urgency and regular ordinances...
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