Steve and Karen Reinecke are approaching retirement with a plan: add an attached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to their Laguna Beach, CA, home. This addition, they reason, could provide rental income in the short term, and in the long term could be living space for family or hired caregivers to look after them as they age in place.
Despite Laguna Beach’s location in California’s coastal zone, the Reineckes were confident their plans wouldn’t face the California Coastal Commission’s typical bureaucratic hurdles. Their ADU was initially allowed by the City. It’s exempt from a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) requirement under the terms of a 1993 Categorical Exclusion Order issued by the Commission and administered by the City. It is also exempt under the terms of the Coastal Act itself.
Nevertheless, these layers of exemption failed to protect the Reineckes’ plans and their property rights. Less than two weeks after Laguna Beach agreed to approve their ADU, the CCC ignored its own regulations and state law, claiming the Reineckes’ ADU isn’t exempt from the CDP requirement after all.
California’s coastal zone is among the most heavily regulated land in the nation, if not the world. But even California regulations acknowledge coastal property owners’ fundamental right to use and develop their land.
The legislature too has recognized ADUs as essential to California’s housing supply and that ADUs should be encouraged and facilitated, not unduly burdened. In fact, state law establishes the right to build ADUs, and recent legislative reforms aim to foster their development by severely limiting local government restrictions.
Several state agencies are engaged in promoting ADU development statewide. Yet the CCC is coordinating with local governments to obstruct these efforts with contradictory regulatory interpretations.
Whether an attached ADU or some other home renovation, people should be free to improve their homes—especially when allowed by local law and encouraged by state law—without Commission interference.
Represented at no charge by Pacific Legal Foundation, the Reineckes are fighting back in state courts to force the City and Coastal Commission to follow the rules, mandatory procedures, and state law.
This case is the latest in PLF’s work protecting the right to build, so that property owners can create much-needed housing across the country.
What’s At Stake?
- Property owners have the right to responsibly make productive use of their property. The City and the Coastal Commission unlawfully violate property owners’ rights and directly contribute to the housing crisis in California.
