Brief

Councilmember John S. Lee introduced a proposed ordinance that would establish maximum size limitations for accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in Los Angeles. The motion, seconded by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, was referred to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee in August 2026. As of mid-September, the committee has scheduled the item for discussion at its September 22, 2026 meeting. The ordinance is still pending and has not yet been debated or voted on by the full Council.

Full summary

Councilmember John S. Lee introduced this motion in response to concerns that recent state housing legislation — particularly SB 9 and SB 1211 — has unintentionally opened the door to oversized attached ADUs that exceed the neighborhood scale the city's rules were designed to maintain. Under the existing Los Angeles Municipal Code, attached ADUs may be up to 50 percent of the floor area of the primary residence. That proportional cap worked well historically, but Lee argues that interactions between the new state laws and local code could now allow attached ADUs to balloon well beyond what was ever contemplated under the city's original framework. To address this, Lee's motion directs the City Attorney to draft an ordinance amending the municipal code to add a hard ceiling: attached ADUs could still be built up to 50 percent of the primary dwelling's floor area, but could not exceed 1,200 square feet under any circumstances. The motion frames this as preserving the longstanding proportional approach while adding a backstop to prevent outlier cases where a very large primary home would otherwise permit an equally large attached unit. Beyond the proposed ordinance, the motion asks the Department of City Planning to report back within 60 days on how SB 9 and SB 1211 have affected attached ADU development patterns in the city, including whether trends of outsized units are already emerging. A separate directive asks City Planning to identify any additional local regulatory tools available under state law that could help maintain neighborhood compatibility without running afoul of state ADU mandates — a notable acknowledgment that the city's options are constrained by Sacramento. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and referred to the Planning and Land Use Management Committee on the day it was introduced. No further action has been recorded. The file remains pending in committee with a two-year expiration window running to August 2028.

Activity (2)

• 2026-09-18 Planning and Land Use Management Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on September 22, 2026.
• 2026-08-11 Motion referred to Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Documents (1)

• 2026-08-12 Motion · motion