Board upholds Planning staff and denies Sandoval appeal over ADU incompleteness determination

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors denied an appeal July 7 from an applicant seeking ministerial approval of an accessory dwelling unit (ADU), upholding Planning staff’s determination that the coastal ADU application is incomplete.

Planning staff told the board the application lacks information necessary to determine compliance with health and safety requirements requested by the Carpinteria‑Summerland Fire Protection District and County Flood Control. Missing items include whether the primary dwelling is sprinklered (which determines ADU sprinkler requirements), a scaled fire‑truck turnaround so emergency vehicles can enter and exit, the location of the nearest hydrant for water supply verification, and a survey‑quality flood delineation when the proposed ADU is near mapped flood zones.

Attorney Diana Sandoval, representing the applicant, argued the county missed statutory deadlines under state ADU law and that the application should be considered approved by operation of law; she also invoked the ADU “amnesty” provisions for pre‑2020 units. Staff and county counsel said the county had not received the fees and intake in a way that started the county’s completeness clock until April and that required safety checklists remain outstanding. Staff recommended denial of the appeal and treating the action as not a project for CEQA purposes.

After questions from multiple supervisors about timing and whether parts of the checklist could be satisfied, the board voted to deny the appeal and find the application incomplete. County counsel clarified that if the board found it complete at a later date the ADU completeness clock would begin from that later date.

What’s next: The applicant may provide the outstanding fire and flood documentation and resubmit for a completeness determination according to Planning Department procedures.