The City of Hercules adopted Ordinance No. 540 implementing Senate Bill 9 (SB 9), the California Home Act and More Efficiency (H.O.M.E. Act), to ministerially* approve up to two residential units and/or a two-lot subdivision in single-family residential zones, if specific objective criteria are met.

The bill and the City of Hercules allow the approval of the following: 

• Two Unit Development – a development that proposes no more than two units or proposes to add one new unit to one existing unit and that meets all the criteria and standards set forth in Hercules Municipal Code Section 13-36.  
• Urban Lot Split – a ministerial application for a parcel map to subdivide an existing parcel located within a single-family residential zone into two parcels, as authorized by Section 66411.7 of the Government Code and Hercules Municipal Code Section 10-2.900 “Urban Lot Splits”.

*“Ministerial" means a project must be approved if it complies with objective standards, without any subjective judgment from planners. Ministerial projects are not subject to environmental review or public hearings.

Eligibility and Restrictions

SB 9 seeks to expand housing construction in certain single-family residential zones. However, this law contains several detailed conditions, exceptions and allowances that apply to the permitting of two residential units, the lot split, or both.

To be eligible for SB 9, the subject parcel must be located within:

• A single-family residential zone (RS-E, Rs-L or Single-Family PUD).
  1. Please see Zoning Map to determine if your property is zoned single-family.

Not all single-family residential parcels are eligible. There are several exceptions, including:

• Environmental Sensitivity/Environmental Hazards - Properties designated as: 
  1. Prime farmland or farmland of statewide importance 
  2. Wetlands 
  3. Within a very high fire hazard severity zone (with exceptions) 
  4. A hazardous waste site (with exceptions) 
  5. Within a delineated earthquake fault zone (with exceptions) 
  6. Within a flood zone (with exceptions) 
  7. Identified for conservation or under conservation easement 
  8. Habitat for protected species 
• Ellis Act - Properties where the Ellis Act was used to evict tenants at any time in the last 15 years. 
• Historic Properties - Properties located in a state or local historic district, or properties designated historic landmarks. 

Restrictions

Additional restrictions apply to SB 9 eligibility, such as:

• Deed restricted affordable housing and rental housing – SB 9 projects may not demolish housing that is subject to a recorded covenant, ordinance, or law that restricts rents to levels affordable to persons and families of moderate, low, or very low income. Nor is it allowed for housing that is subject to any form of rent or price control through a public entity’s valid exercise of its police power. Demolition is also not permitted for housing that has been occupied by a tenant in the last three years. 
• Limits on demolition - Projects may not demolish more than 25 percent of existing exterior structural walls unless (a) the property has not been occupied by a tenant for 3 years or (b) otherwise allowed by the jurisdiction. 

Application Process

Applicants shall provide a complete application package to Planning Division to begin the ministerial review process.

Download the SB 9 Two-Unit Development Checklist & Application and/or Urban Lot Split Checklist & Application (PDF)

Once complete and submitted to the Planning Department, please allow up to 30 days for completeness review. For more information, please contact the Planning Department.