Complications converting 4 unit into 6 unit Inglewood, CA

[Zachary Freeman]

Hi,

I own a multifamily property in Inglewood, CA. It was originally built as a 6 unit ( 6x 2br) in the 1960s. In the late 80's the owner converted it into 4 units (2x2br 2x5br) in order to get a conventional loan refi. I want to convert it back to 6 units. 

Issues:

1. Parking. The city in years prior stated that I could not due to parking requirement changes. Their laws state I need 2 park spots per unit. There is no way to add parking. I have familiarized myself with AB2097 which reduces parking requirements for development projects. Is a conversion/rehab considered a development project and falls under AB2097?

2. Density. The City is stating that density requirements limit the unit count to 1 per 1400ft of the lot. This would make the max unit count 4 units. 

Solutions:

I can perhaps argue the parking requirements don't apply but I don't know how to get around the density requirement. 

Perhaps I can convert half of each 5-br unit into a storage room (non-liveable space) and then convert that space into an ADU. But ADU count is limited to 25% of the as-built unit count which would mean I could only add 1 ADU, not 2.

Any thoughts on this and how I can reach a solution? 

[Alex Otto]

@Zachary Freeman

1. Based on our experience in LA City, I think that AB 2097 would apply whenever you are adding units (whether that be through alteration, addition, or new construction). However, you need to make sure that the property in question really does sit within a 1/2 mile of public transit, per whatever definition Inglewood has set for public transit. 

I don't see a clear definition from the state on what constitutes public transit, which makes this tricky. Here's an example from LA City showing why it's tricky: In LA City, for AB 2097, the LADBS determines "public transit" using their Transit Oriented Communities map, which has a more convoluted way of determining what counts as a "public transit" stop. However, for ADU parking requirements, they just let measure 1/2 mile to any sort of transit stop. The former applies to far less properties than the latter.

2. I would love to be wrong on this, but my understanding is that you can't grandfather any nonconforming condition that has already been remedied to make it conforming. 

In terms of the ADU, I'm reading Inglewood's guidance and it seems to contradict the state law. In short, the state says you should be able to build 2 detached units.

The state laws say that a multifamily property can have 2 detached ADUs, regardless of the unit count on the site. The 25% limit only applies to conversions of portions of multifam structures not used as livable space. (See page 20 of the 2022 HCD ADU Handbook and 65852.2(e)(1)(D) of the CA Gov Code)

Inglewood's "ADU/JADU Development Standards" PDF says that the 25% rule applies to detached ADUs... 

So, Inglewood might put up a bit of a fight, but I don't think they can stop you from building, say, a detached duplex w/ 2 ADUs, especially if each ADU is <800 sq ft.