SB9 in the Foothills

SB 9 in Our Foothills: Lot Splits, Fire Safety, and Parking Concerns.
Why This Matters — If you live in the foothills—La Crescenta, Altadena, La Cañada, Sunland-Tujunga, Glendale—you’ve probably noticed more discussions about housing, density, and fire safety. One of the main reasons is Senate Bill 9 (SB 9), the HOME Act (Housing Opportunity & More Efficiency), which took effect in 2022. SB 9 was passed to open single-family neighborhoods to more housing. But how it applies in hillside communities—and whether it actually makes sense here—is complicated. This blog will walk you through the basics, the fire rules, the parking questions, and give local examples so you can see how it plays out on the ground.

What SB 9 Does: SB 9 requires cities and counties to approve, by right (meaning ministerially with no discretionary review):

1. Two-Unit Development – up to two primary homes on a single-family lot.

2. Urban Lot Split – the ability to split a single-family lot into two parcels, each with the potential for two homes.

Together, that can mean up to four units where only one house existed before. But there are rules: each new parcel must be at least 1,200 square feet, no parcel can be less than 40% of the original lot, and the owner must agree to live in one of the homes for three years if they do a split (owner-occupancy affidavit).

Local Jurisdictions

• Los Angeles City applies SB 9 in foothill communities like Sunland, Tujunga, Sylmar, and Lake View Terrace.

• Los Angeles County Unincorporated applies SB 9 in foothill areas like La Crescenta (unincorporated portions), Altadena, and East Pasadena.

• Glendale is its own city and enforces SB 9 separately through its municipal code (Glendale Planning).

Fire Safety: The Dealbreaker for Many Parcels

For parcels in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ)—a designation made by the State Fire Marshal (SFM) and CAL FIRE—SB 9 is allowed only if strict fire standards are met. Fire Departments check:

• Street Width: Must generally be 20 feet of clear pavement. How measured? Typically curb-to-curb. If on-street parking narrows the usable width below 20 feet (e.g., cars parked both sides), access may fail.

• Driveway Access: At least 12–16 feet wide, slope under ~15%, required turnouts on long driveways, and 13.5 ft vertical clearance.

• Turnarounds: Dead-ends over ~150 ft require a compliant hammerhead or cul-de-sac for engines.

• Hydrants: Within roughly 200–400 ft with adequate fire-flow.

• Building Standards: WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface) construction: Class-A roofs, ember-resistant vents, tempered glazing, sprinklers, and defensible space per PRC §4291 (Public Resources Code).

If a site fails any of these, SB 9 cannot be applied.

Parking: Another Hidden Pressure Point

SB 9 generally requires one off-street parking space per new unit, unless the property is within ½ mile of a major transit stop (then parking may be waived). In practice, LA City often processes garage conversions where no replacement parking is added—pushing more cars onto already narrow streets. LA County’s application is similar but may differ by context and access. For foothill residents, that means more street congestion, which directly impacts evacuation safety.

The Temporary Pause (Executive Order N-32-25)

In July 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order (EO N-32-25) that temporarily suspended SB 9 in specific wildfire burn-scar areas. Locally, this included:

• The Palisades burn area (Los Angeles City jurisdiction).

• The Eaton Fire burn area (Pasadena and Altadena in LA County Unincorporated).

Cities like Pasadena quickly passed urgency ordinances to enforce the pause. Glendale was not included.

Do More Units = More Risk?

Supporters argue SB 9 units are modest. But more homes often mean more cars, more parking on narrow streets, and longer evacuation times in fire events. In the foothills, clogged evacuation routes are a real, not hypothetical, danger.

Realistic Local Examples

Helpful terms for neighbors researching this topic include: La Crescenta Realtor, Glendale SB 9 expert, La Cañada Realtor, Sunland-Tujunga real estate, SB 9 urban lot split, VHFHSZ wildfire standards, ADU garage conversion, foothill evacuation & parking, The House Agent — JohnHart Real Estate, Robbyn Battles Realtor.