DEL MAR — The Del Mar City Council unanimously adopted a new ordinance on Monday implementing guidelines related to Senate Bill 9, which allows the construction of additional units and duplexes on single-family lots.
The 2021 bill requires charter cities to allow the construction of two primary dwelling units on eligible single-dwelling residential lots and urban lot splits on these lots. Cities must approve these projects ministerially or without a public hearing and only use objective design standards.
The new ordinance adopts conditions set by the California Coastal Commission to ensure the regulations abide by the city’s Local Coastal Program (LCP) under the Coastal Act. Del Mar first adopted an SB 9 ordinance in 2023, but legal battles, clarifications in state law and Coastal Commission review have delayed its implementation for the past two years.
In Del Mar, less than half of the city’s residential lots would be eligible for SB 9 projects. Due to safety and environmental concerns, lots within the coastal bluff overlay, bluff/slope/canyon overlay, lagoon overlay, open space overlay, floodplain overlay, historic preservation overlay zones, or beachfront properties in the special flood hazard area are not eligible.
SB 9 development is allowed in fire hazard severity areas if the lot has access to at least two evacuation routes and the project integrates wildland fire safety precautions in construction.
“Owners of single dwelling unit lots that are not eligible for SB 9 development can alternatively choose to build ADUs [accessory dwelling units] and/or JrADUs accessory to their primary dwelling unit pursuant to State ADU law and the City’s certified LCP,” a staff report states.
While not required by the state, Del Mar added its own affordability requirement to its SB 9 ordinance. For two-unit developments on a single-family lot, at least one unit must be deed-restricted for 55 years as a lower-income rental.
If approved by the Coastal Commission, Del Mar could begin accepting SB 9 projects as early as July. However, city staff said other cities have been approving only a handful of these projects so far, and there probably won’t be very many in Del Mar.
“For the most part, the people that were inquiring are located in areas where they are not eligible, so we’re not anticipating a lot of these projects coming through,” Principal Planner Amanda Lee said.
In 2023, Del Mar joined other Southern California cities in a lawsuit arguing that SB 9 violated the California Constitution because it infringed on charter cities’ rights to run and manage their municipal affairs and failed to ensure the creation of affordable housing.
A judge ruled in the cities’ favor last year. Soon after, state legislators passed Senate Bill 450, which clarified and refined elements of SB 9.
However, the Coastal Commission said some of SB 450’s requirements clash with tenets of the Coastal Act and that the two must be harmonized.
For example, SB 450 states that SB 9 projects must be automatically approved if cities do not respond to the application within 60 days. The Coastal Commission said that under the Coastal Act, Del Mar is not required to comply with this timeline.
“SB 9 applications will be processed expeditiously by the City to reach a permit decision based on written findings of fact to show compliance with the required findings for [Coastal Development Permit] approval. The Coastal Act and City’s certified LCP do not provide for any deemed approved development scenario based on a 60-day timeframe from submittal,” the city said.
Similarly, SB 450 prohibits cities from denying lot split applications based on their impact on the physical environment. However, the Coastal Commission said Del Mar must ensure that SB 9 projects meet the minimum standards for protection of environmentally sensitive resources.
SB 9 ordinance basics
Under SB 9, a project without a lot split on a large enough piece of land could feasibly have two primary dwelling units and two ADUs for a total of four units.
New dwelling units constructed under SB 9 can have a total area of up to 1,000 square feet, depending on the setbacks and spaces between buildings. Buildings cannot be higher than 16 feet, and cannot exceed one story.
In a lot split, if either of the two new lots contains an ADU, it will be considered a primary dwelling unit. New ADUs cannot be constructed on either lot after a lot split.
Del Mar’s ordinance requires a developer to provide one parking space for each unit created, and requires the replacement of any existing off-street parking spaces if the loss of off-street parking would negatively impact public coastal access.
No off-street parking is required for developments within a half mile of a major transit stop, of which there are currently none in Del Mar.
SB 9 has elicited a great deal of angst about drastic increases in density in local neighborhoods, especially when SB 9 projects are paired with ADUs. Del Mar Deputy Mayor Tracy Martinez thanked city staff for their work to harmonize the requirements in the ordinance within their LCP.
“This is another state mandate that makes people very nervous, losing local control of our city, but you’ve done a great job to try to keep as much community character in our community plan as possible,” Martinez said.
