A REVISED ordinance on construction of accessory dwelling units goes before the Garden Grove City Council on Tuesday (Shutterstock).

A second look at an ordinance implementing new state housing requirements that horrified members of the Garden Grove City Council when first submitted will come before that body on Tuesday.

When it first came to the council on Aug. 20, the proposed ordinance expanding the use of accessory housing units met with strong objections. The intent of the new city law was to include in the city municipal code new state law coming from Sacramento that allows ADUs not just in single family zones, but also in multiple family housing and mixed-use areas.

An ADU is defined as a secondary house or apartment that shares the building lot of a larger, primary house.

The new legislation is intended to help alleviate California’s housing crises and alleviate homelessness, but it drew fierce opposition from the council.

“I think this is a really terrible policy,” said Councilmember George Brietigam (District 1). “It destroys communities.” He predicted the paving over of backyards. “It effectively kills the garden in Garden Grove.”

Instead of approving the ordinance as submitted, the council voted to ask the city attorney’s office to tweak it to make whatever adjustments the state law allowed. After a public hearing, the council could then remand the matter back to the city planning commission for eventual reconsideration by the council of the revised version.

Changes proposed for the newer version include:

• Restricting the number of bedrooms for ADUs to two.
• Limiting the total floor area of attached studio or one-bedroom ADUs to 850 square feet or 50 percent of the primary dwelling unit (whichever is less), but in no event less than 800 square feet.
• A minimum of six feet is required between an attached or detached ADU and all other structures, including garages, as well as the primary dwelling unit.

The council will meet – virtually – at 6:30 p.m.