Tiburon OKs rule changes to comply with housing law

The Tiburon Town Council last week codified a new state law — and layered on several rules of its own — for future housing specifically developed under controversial legislation that makes it easier to build up to four units on lots otherwise zoned for just one.

Acting on the recommendation of the Planning Commission, the council at its May 4 meeting voted 4-0, with Holli Thier absent, to approve amendments to the town’s municipal code to reflect Senate Bill 9. That law, which took effect Jan. 1, seeks to both create new housing and allow for more affordable homeownership opportunities with minimal obstruction from local governments by requiring ministerial approval, or a staff-level checklist signoff without a public hearing, of certain development.

The bill does allow local governments to limit some aspects of the proposed developments, as long as those criteria don’t conflict with language in the law. Without the local ordinance, any new development plans would have to be allowed under the state’s less-restrictive default standards.

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