Local Government Accessory Dwelling Unit Policies After State Preemption in California

Abstract

Abstract While local governments retain dominant control over land use in the United States, state governments are increasingly interested in preempting local governments in this area. This article focuses on how local governments in California responded to preemption on the maximum unit size of Accessory Dwelling Units. Using the Terner Center Land Use Survey, and reviewing local government policies, I compare local Accessory Dwelling Unit policies before and after the preemption. I find that local governments responded to state preemptions that created a lower bound of the maximum unit size. Governments below this minimum standard largely moved to comply with it, but those above the standard also appear to have moved their policies to be lower than they were prior to the preemption. Local governments also responded to changes in preemptions that precluded minimum lot sizes, suggesting that the governments who brought their maximum size down were indeed responding to the preemption.