Hello Glenn - 

I'm trying to find information for Jr Adus in the coastal zone.  Nothing is clear. 

I did find reference to this below.  it appears it was adopted pending Coastal Commission Certification in September 2020.  

Surely 3.5 yrs has been enough time for certification?

Absent that, can anyone there point me to the current Jr Adu specifications? 

This is not for a new building it would be for space in existing home. 

Thanks

Bryan

PS - The complaint against the realtor was filed with DA this past Wednesday   Over 30 Acts of fraud with multiple counts per act and over 30 acts of conspiracy. That number will go up as the documents pan out. The same complaint will be going to the FBI.  IN addition to harming consumers, these are Bank fraud schemes. I've also found a list of about 12 houses the same agent was involved in buying/selling. those he sold are of most interest given the GC and he said they had worked together before. 

https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/government/departments-a-h/housing-community-development/planning-services/advance-planning/ordinances-plans-under-development

Mr. Canary,

The current regulations (Section 20.64.030) do declare ADUs in North County coastal off limits without making a distinction between ADUs and JADUs. These regulations were adopted in 2011, and at that time, the Coastal Commission staff was driving that policy.

New state law (since 2011) is more permissive of ADUs and JADUs but the state ADU law “does not supersede or alter the Coastal Act” (under which our local coastal regulations are adopted).

The County of Monterey Housing and Community Development (HCD) submitted an ADU ordinance that would have updated regulations to CCC staff with a request for certification in 2020 but those regulations were not supported by CCC staff. HCD is now working on addressing all the changes and recommendations of CCC staff. HCD has meetings scheduled to work out a few more details and are targeting a Planning Commission hearing in April and Board in May.

In the meantime, the County of Monterey’s adopted regulations prohibit ADUs in North County Coastal and has an unclear state law to rely on.

If you have any further questions, contacting the Housing and Community Development is encouraged to acquire accurate and detailed information by following the included link Housing and Community Development | Monterey County, CA

Best,

Vanessa Acevedo

Policy Analyst

Office of Supervisor Glenn Church

County of Monterey, District 2

Office: (831) 755-5022

www.glennchurch.com

Hello 

Thanks very much, This is very helpful, and the target meetings of April and May help make it feel it's in motion. 

I do feel this situation clearly shows the problems were with Monterey County staff, not the CCC, given they've shown they worked with Santa Cruz and other Counties to get things in place. 

Based on some internet browsing, I'm also suspecting the unclear law to rely on is being used by many to actually have the jr adus -- not, not have them.  There in might be part of the problem with property owners who have attorneys and are willing to use the unclear law as a loophole not a prohibition. -- it's logical for them to not wanting regulations that may or may not be inclusive of their current situation and/or may create more competition for their small rental units --   but sounds like a firm understanding of laws may be closer to reality. 

Can you provide the name of a specific person at the Housing and Community dev office that is the appropriate person to ask for to obtain further information or make sure I can figure out how to get updates as these meetings and ordinance progress?

 I called in when I sent this to you . got a call back from someone who said all fo this but was without the April / May target information. She indicated she'd ask for a contact name and ask them to get back to me, but then then minutes later i got email notice my case had been closed, so she was not planning on following up and i've not heard from anyone else either. Sometimes just calling in doesn't result in a name or contact, speaking from recent experience. 

thanks

Bryan

Good morning Mr. Canary,

Since HCD is targeting a date with the Planning Commission in April/May for the ADU/JrADU’s, attending the Planning Commission meetings would be the most beneficial to be updated on the latest projects. I have attached the Planning Commissions meeting dates for 2024. The Planning Commission Clerk is Sophia Magaña maganas@co.monterey.ca.us. More information regarding the Planning Commission can be found at Committees, Hearings & Agendas | Monterey County, CA under “Decision Making Body”.

Housing and Community Development staff directory can also be found at the provided link HCD Staff Directory | Monterey County, CA.

Have a great day.

Best,

Vanessa Acevedo

Policy Analyst

Office of Supervisor Glenn Church

County of Monterey, District 2

Office: (831) 755-5022

www.glennchurch.com

Hi Vanessa -- 

This email is in response to a dialogue we had about 18 months ago that I questioned then but got no direct response. 

However, what I didn't do next, back then, was follow up with you to tell you I actually went into HCD out of frustration and at my wits end for what I felt was inaccurate information from the permit techs as well as you -- and to my shock, I was not only told I could get the JrADU status for an internal conversion via a simple building permit process, I was told that had always been an option.  As you can imagine with that news I was both excited and shocked . How could I have been misled by so many people for three years?

Shortly after my inquiry to Supervisor Church (and your response stating ADUs/JrADUs prohibited in North County Coastal under 2011 regulations, with unclear state law), I visited HCD in person. Staff there clarified that a basic building permit was sufficient for my internal bedroom conversion to JrADU—no Coastal issues blocked it. My permit was approved and issued in 2024.

This directly contradicts the guidance that "ADUs are off limits" in North County Coastal. If internal JrADUs were viable (as HCD ultimately confirmed), why was this not communicated earlier—either in my prior inquiries or your response? The 2011 Section 20.64.030 appears targeted at detached structures impacting coastal resources, not internal conversions with no new footprint/load. State preemption (§65852.22) should have allowed internals regardless.

Additionally:

• My related inquiry (called in simultaneously) was closed without follow-up, despite a promise of contact.

• No specific HCD person was provided for ongoing questions—only a general directory.

Given what transpired, I'd like to ask a few questions for transparent understanding. I'm trying to figure out how a Policy Analyst for a Supervisor works in general, and if you may have been misled by one or more people or if you did an analysis that just came up a bit errant.

General Question

As a Policy Analyst, when a question like this comes in, in general, not specific to this, is your first move to contact someone or do you do research yourself or a little of both, or dependent on research done prior via an archive?

Specific Questions for my situation

• Was the ADU question a new question for you or had you answered it before?

• Did you notice my reference to "internal conversion"? Did you realize the relevance of that and did you incorporate it in your analysis?

• What research might you have done yourself vs that obtained from another person vs that which may have been in an archive somewhere you relied upon?

• If you spoke to anyone about this, who was that /were they by name and title, and was that via email, phone, in person or other?

• At this time, do you understand that we had been put off on this by similar responses for 3 years and it was your suggestion to go into HCD that sent me to my wits end—and when I did it, I was shocked to find that nobody that was answering questions for the public (permit techs or yourself) were providing accurate information and can you imagine how frustrating that was for us?

• To your recollection, can you state how many other times you may have issued this response to an inquiry like this for ADUs?

Other

• Did your employment start with Church or were you working in a similar capacity prior?

• What training does a policy analyst get to do policy analysis? Maybe stating that another way, is that title descriptive of your work or are you more of a conduit to find people in the county and get information from them?

• Is there anything else relevant you might want to add or that I have not asked that may be relevant?

The Concern here, if not apparent, is that there may have been or may be a very organized effort to suppress housing density that was transpiring at a higher level and/or that arbitrary approvals were transpiring for those that presented in person, pushed hard enough, or were connected somehow.

I have been a landlord since the 1990s. Building out smaller rental units was the way I made a living from the 1990s to 2012—and it benefitted me and my tenants. It was also the only work I felt I could dive into back then that allowed me to leave the corporate world which is a dream for many. Thus, this has relevance and importance to me in more ways as well.

Answers would help resolve confusion and ensure consistent guidance moving forward.

I realize there are holidays coming up. If you feel this is something that you can not reply to right away, if you can please simply acknowledge receipt and let me know when I might expect a response I'd appreciate it 

Thank you—look forward to your response.

Regards, 

Bryan Canary

Our correspondence and the information I provided you with was before the Coast Commission approved the County of Monterey to amend its municipal code to allow JADU’s and ADU’s on coastal zones. The Coastal Commission gave approval on October 10, 2025. As of December 19th, 2025, JAD’s and ADU’s are now allowed on the coastal zone. You can find more information at the following link: Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) and Junior Accessory Dwelling Unit (JADU) Update (REF240016 and REF 240015), (Coastal Zoning Area and Inland Zoning Area) | County of Monterey, CA

Best,

Vanessa Acevedo

Policy Analyst

Office of Supervisor Glenn Church

County of Monterey, District 2

Office: (831) 755-5022

www.glennchurch.com