Belvedere’s proposed second-unit rules prompt public outcry

A group of Belvedere residents is pushing back against the city’s plan to make it easier to build second units after discovering their properties would not qualify for streamlined approval.

In an effort to align with a statewide push for more affordable housing, the city late last year passed an urgency ordinance exempting most accessory and junior accessory dwelling units from design review, instead allowing those applications to be granted or denied by local planning staff through a ministerial review process. The streamlined review applies to detached units that are 800 square feet or smaller and no higher than 16 feet, as well as certain types of spaces within existing structures.

The city is now looking to make that ordinance permanent, but with one change — excluding 50 Belvedere addresses deemed restricted due to “constrained emergency access” as determined by the Tiburon Fire Protection District.

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