Jamie Peltier, the planning supervisor in the Community Development Department, told the City of Oxnard Council on Dec. 16 that staff is proposing a city-initiated zone text amendment to Chapter 16 to update accessory dwelling unit (ADU) regulations and make a series of cleanup and permitting changes.

The proposal would replace the existing ADU ordinance to incorporate recent state law changes that staff said have altered local authority over objective standards. Peltier said the California Department of Housing and Community Development contacted the city indicating Oxnard’s ordinance was out of compliance with state law, prompting the update. "ADUs have become a critical part of the housing inventory in the state of California, especially here in the city of Oxnard," she said.

In addition to the ADU rewrite, the draft amendment would streamline single-family residential permitting by exempting single-family dwelling units from a discretionary development design review permit and allowing them to proceed with a building permit provided they meet applicable zoning standards. Staff said that change would align single-family processing with how ADUs are handled.

The Planning Commission reviewed the draft and recommended three specific modifications that staff incorporated into the packet: removing an 800-square-foot limit on multifamily ADUs, removing a requirement for a permanent foundation on manufactured homes, and making historic-preservation design standards more objective. "The Planning Commission voted five-zero with those recommendations," Peltier said.

Staff also described administrative cleanup edits: relocated ADU parking standards from the general parking section into the ADU section, clarified miscellaneous definitions, and adjusted the wording for modifications to planning entitlements to ensure consistent application across permits. Peltier said these cleanup items are intended to improve clarity and do not change basic development standards.

Staff recommended that the council find the amendment exempt from environmental review under the common-sense exemption and listed in the CEQA Guidelines as section 15061(b)(3), file a notice of exemption, and take first reading of the ordinance by title only with further reading waived. The packet reflects Planning Commission suggestions, according to staff; the transcript does not record any council vote on the ordinance.

The council is scheduled to consider the ordinance at first reading on Dec. 16, 2025; the transcript records the staff presentation and the Planning Commission’s recommendation but does not include a final council decision.