Walnut Creek approves ADU plan for religious, faith-based properties


A crane maneuvers an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, over South 12th Street in San Jose, prior to being lowered into a backyard of a residence.
11-9-2020 San Jose
George Avalos / Bay Area News Group

WALNUT CREEK — Property owners of the roughly three dozen churches, synagogues, mosques and other properties used for religious services in Walnut Creek will soon be able to legally build up to two accessory dwelling units on their land.

But this change is not intended to spur projects like Hope Village at Grace Presbyterian Church, where six ADUs will soon be built alongside on-site supportive services such as counseling, health care referrals and laundry facilities to help support low-income seniors transitioning out of homelessness.

Instead, the Walnut Creek City Council unanimously approved amendments to the city’s ADU ordinance Tuesday night — creating a more conservative path for religious leaders to help residents struggling to secure an affordable home. In addition to allowing for approval without requiring input from the city’s planning commission or council, the intent is that owners of religious-based properties will not have to wade through extensive community pushback and environmental reviews that commonly disrupt higher-density blueprints.

Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Darling applauded this carveout to accelerate more modest ADU projects.

“This is going to be a way for a faith-based organization that is having a hard time getting a preschool teacher that can live in town — and I can see several churches that have those kinds of needs — to build something on site,” Darling said Tuesday. “(The ordinance is) for people that just need a place to live in a city without very many of those.”

Additionally, the amended ordinance fills a gap for projects that don’t take advantage of numerous state laws that further streamlined faith-based properties’ housing initiatives, such as SB 4 and AB 2162, which facilitated Hope Village’s ongoing development.

Aaron Sage, principal planner, said during Tuesday’s meeting that the city issued 147 building permits for ADUs between 2015 and 2023. While that represents only 7% of all housing in Walnut Creek, those homes accounted for 55% of the city’s total below-market units.

But the city’s ordinance historically only allowed those kinds of homes — often called in-law units, granny flats or carriage houses — on properties with single- or multi-family dwellings.



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