Santa Monica tweaks SB 9 roll-out
What happened
- Santa Monica voted to align its zoning code with state SB 9 while keeping a 1,500-square-foot minimum unit size. - The change permits duplexes and lot splits under the city’s revised rules. - The decision shows municipalities modifying state housing laws to preserve local design and sizing controls (smdp.com).
Why it matters
Santa Monica is rewriting its Senate Bill 9 rules to match state law, while keeping a local guarantee for units as large as 1,500 square feet. (smdp.com) The City Council voted 5-1 on April 14 to advance the ordinance, with Council Member Lana Negrete casting the lone no vote. The measure amends Municipal Code Section 9.31.125, which covers duplexes and lot splits on parcels zoned for single-unit residential use. (smdp.com) Senate Bill 9 took effect on January 1, 2022 and requires cities to approve, through a ministerial process, a duplex, a two-parcel lot split, or both on eligible single-family lots. State housing officials say the law must still allow up to two units of at least 800 square feet each on qualifying sites. (hcd.ca.gov) In Santa Monica, that means owners can seek a duplex on one lot or split a lot and build up to two units on each resulting parcel, for as many as four primary units. The city first adopted its local SB 9 rules in April 2023 and revised them again in May 2025 after Senate Bill 450 changed state requirements. (smdp.com) The fight in April turned on two local choices: unit size and owner occupancy. Staff proposed dropping the city’s guaranteed unit size from 1,500 square feet to the state floor of 800 square feet and restoring the owner-occupancy affidavit for urban lot splits. (smdp.com) Planning Manager Ross Fehrman told the council the size rule is a guarantee, not a cap, and said roughly 10 SB 9 applications had been filed since Santa Monica adopted the law. He said none of those applications had needed modified local standards to reach larger unit sizes. (smdp.com) Council Member Ellis Raskin argued the 1,500-square-foot standard should stay because the council adopted it in a May 13, 2025 compromise and because Santa Monica has few larger rentals. Negrete argued in earlier housing debates that the city should avoid going beyond state mandates and questioned whether added market-rate density would produce affordable homes. (smdp.com, smdp.com) The owner-occupancy question has become more charged since the city spent 2025 revisiting several housing votes after a conflict-of-interest ruling involving Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Zwick. In a May 27, 2025 action cited in a later staff report, the council had already raised the guaranteed unit size to 1,500 square feet while implementing Senate Bill 450. (smdp.com, santamonicacityca.iqm2.com) Santa Monica’s own city attorney told residents in May 2024 that a Los Angeles Superior Court ruling against SB 9 in a case brought by several charter cities did not stop Santa Monica from keeping its SB 9 ordinance in place. The city said then that its SB 9 program was tied to its state-certified housing element. (santamonica.gov) The next step is a final adoption vote on the ordinance. If that passes, Santa Monica will keep allowing duplexes and lot splits under SB 9, but with a local size standard the council says should preserve room for larger family units. (santamonicacityca.iqm2.com, smdp.com)
Key numbers
- Santa Monica voted to align its zoning code with state SB 9 while keeping a 1,500-square-foot minimum unit size.
- Santa Monica is rewriting its Senate Bill 9 rules to match state law, while keeping a local guarantee for units as large as 1,500 square feet.
- (smdp.com) The City Council voted 5-1 on April 14 to advance the ordinance, with Council Member Lana Negrete casting the lone no vote.
- The measure amends Municipal Code Section 9.31.125, which covers duplexes and lot splits on parcels zoned for single-unit residential use.
What happens next
- The city first adopted its local SB 9 rules in April 2023 and revised them again in May 2025 after Senate Bill 450 changed state requirements.
- (smdp.com) Council Member Ellis Raskin argued the 1,500-square-foot standard should stay because the council adopted it in a May 13, 2025 compromise and because Santa Monica has few larger rentals.
- In a May 27, 2025 action cited in a later staff report, the council had already raised the guaranteed unit size to 1,500 square feet while implementing Senate Bill 450.
Quick answers
What happened in Santa Monica tweaks SB 9 roll-out?
Santa Monica voted to align its zoning code with state SB 9 while keeping a 1,500-square-foot minimum unit size. The change permits duplexes and lot splits under the city’s revised rules. The decision shows municipalities modifying state housing laws to preserve local design and sizing controls (smdp.com).
Why does Santa Monica tweaks SB 9 roll-out matter?
Santa Monica is rewriting its Senate Bill 9 rules to match state law, while keeping a local guarantee for units as large as 1,500 square feet. (smdp.com) The City Council voted 5-1 on April 14 to advance the ordinance, with Council Member Lana Negrete casting the lone no vote. The measure amends Municipal Code Section 9.31.125, which covers duplexes and lot splits on parcels zoned for single-unit residential use. (smdp.com) Senate Bill 9 took effect on January 1, 2022 and requires cities to approve, through a ministerial process, a duplex, a two-parcel lot split, or both on eligible single-family lots. State housing officials say the law must still allow up to two units of at least 800 square feet each on qualifying sites. (hcd.ca.gov) In Santa Monica, that means owners can seek a duplex on one lot or split a lot and build up to two units on each resulting parcel, for as many as four primary units. The city first adopted its local SB 9 rules in April 2023 and revised them again in May 2025 after Senate Bill 450 changed state requirements. (smdp.com) The fight in April turned on two local choices: unit size and owner occupancy. Staff proposed dropping the city’s guaranteed unit size from 1,500 square feet to the state floor of 800 square feet and restoring the owner-occupancy affidavit for urban lot splits. (smdp.com) Planning Manager Ross Fehrman told the council the size rule is a guarantee, not a cap, and said roughly 10 SB 9 applications had been filed since Santa Monica adopted the law. He said none of those applications had needed modified local standards to reach larger unit sizes. (smdp.com) Council Member Ellis Raskin argued the 1,500-square-foot standard should stay because the council adopted it in a May 13, 2025 compromise and because Santa Monica has few larger rentals. Negrete argued in earlier housing debates that the city should avoid going beyond state mandates and questioned whether added market-rate density would produce affordable homes. (smdp.com, smdp.com) The owner-occupancy question has become more charged since the city spent 2025 revisiting several housing votes after a conflict-of-interest ruling involving Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Zwick. In a May 27, 2025 action cited in a later staff report, the council had already raised the guaranteed unit size to 1,500 square feet while implementing Senate Bill 450. (smdp.com, santamonicacityca.iqm2.com) Santa Monica’s own city attorney told residents in May 2024 that a Los Angeles Superior Court ruling against SB 9 in a case brought by several charter cities did not stop Santa Monica from keeping its SB 9 ordinance in place. The city said then that its SB 9 program was tied to its state-certified housing element. (santamonica.gov) The next step is a final adoption vote on the ordinance. If that passes, Santa Monica will keep allowing duplexes and lot splits under SB 9, but with a local size standard the council says should preserve room for larger family units. (santamonicacityca.iqm2.com, smdp.com)
