California homeowner’s 3-year ADU permit fight revived after $1M loss claim

The ruling affirmed homeowners’ right to timely ADU approvals under California’s streamlined permitting laws. Adding a second home on an existing residential property is often presented as one of California’s simplest answers to its housing shortage. But for one homeowner in Palos Verdes Estates, the effort to build an accessory dwelling unit became a years-long permitting battle. A recent appellate ruling has now reopened his lawsuit, finding that California’s rules were designed to protect homeowners from precisely the kind of delays he says he experienced.A permit request that stretched for yearsAccording to the Judicial Branch of California, Shi first applied in 2020 for permission to construct an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, on his property in the City of Palos Verdes Estates. He planned to complete the additional dwelling alongside construction of his family home.California law requires qualifying ADU applications to be considered through a ministerial process, without discretionary review or a hearing. The Judicial Branch of California notes that the applicable rules also require a permitting agency to approve or deny a completed application within 60 days when an existi...