Greetings!

This edition opens with an article discussing Assembly Bill AB956, which intends to offer the opportunity to approve not just one, but two ADUs on any given lot. Next, we examine the California Coastal Act and how it intersects with home ownership in certain locations. Finally, we take a look at the merits of biophilic design. As always, Daniel Silvernail Architect offers practical insights for homeowners, contractors, and others interested in architecture and residential design.

Two Detached ADUs?

What AB 956 Could Mean for You

California’s accessory dwelling unit laws have changed so quickly over the past several years that it can be difficult for homeowners, designers, contractors, and real estate professionals to keep up. The next significant change may be AB 956, a pending state bill that would expand what is possible on many single-family residential properties by requiring local agencies to ministerially approve up to two detached accessory dwelling units — commonly known as ADUs — on qualifying lots.

In coastal communities, the California Coastal Zone is not just a concern for oceanfront estates or large development projects. It can affect ordinary decisions about buying, selling, remodeling, repairing, expanding, rebuilding, or even simply evaluating a property’s future potential. A modest home in Live Oak, Pleasure Point, Capitola, Aptos, Davenport, or the City of Santa Cruz may be subject to coastal regulations even if it is not directly on the beach. A property inherited from family, purchased as a future retirement home, considered for an ADU, or evaluated as a possible remodel-and-resale opportunity may carry permitting requirements that are not obvious at first glance.

Biophilic design begins with a relatively simple premise: people tend to function better in environments that maintain a meaningful connection with nature. That connection may be direct or it may also be indirect, expressed through natural materials, organic forms, changing patterns of light and shadow, or rooms that offer the spatial qualities we instinctively associate with shelter, outlook and discovery. Properly understood, biophilic design is an approach to organizing buildings and landscapes around human biological and psychological needs. This matters because Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors. The quality of the built environment therefore influences us continuously, whether or not we are conscious of it.