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3. Code Amendment (CODE 13241-2020)
Project Address: City-wide
Project Applicant: City of Pomona
Project Planner: Vinny Tam, Senior Planner
Council District: All
A city-initiated request to amend the City of Pomona Zoning Ordinance (PZO) for the purpose of regulating Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in accordance with State law. The request will include amending sections .5809-26 Accessory Dwelling Units, .5809-13 Historic Preservation, .580 Conditional Use Permits, and .560 Variances of the City of Pomona Zoning Ordinance pertaining to Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) regulations in order to comply with new ADU laws imposing new limits on local authority to regulate ADUs and JADUs that have taken effect January 1, 2020.
Under California Public Resources Code section 21080.17, the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") does not apply to the adoption of an ordinance by a city or county implementing the provisions of section 65852.2 of the Government Code, which is California's ADU law and which also regulates JADUs, as defined by section 65852.22. Therefore, the proposed ordinance is statutorily exempt from CEQA in that the proposed ordinance implements the State's ADU law. In addition to being statutorily exempt from CEQA, the proposed ordinance is also categorically exempt from CEQA under the Class 3 exemption set forth in State CEQA Guidelines section 15303. The Class 3 exemption categorically exempts from CEQA, among other things, the construction and location of new, small structures and the conversion of existing small structures from one use to another. Section 15303 specifically lists the construction of appurtenant accessory structures and garages as examples of activity that expressly falls within this exemption. Here, the ordinance is categorically exempt under the Class 3 exemption because the ordinance regulates the conversion of existing structures into, and the new construction of, ADUs and JADUs...
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