As one of San Bernardino County’s most recently incorporated municipalities, Twentynine Palms over the years has also proven to be one of the county’s jurisdictions most resistant to the State of California’s usurpation of local land use authority. It was therefore to the surprise, dismay and delight of many that one set of the city’s officials made a 180-degree reversal from that tradition and this month embraced what is in many circles considered to be the most radical of Sacramento’s notions with regard to modern urban planning.
At its September 15 meeting, the Twentynine Palms Planning Commission broached the concept, which will be considered and wielded into a policy that is potentially to be adopted by the city council as early as next month.
By a 3-to-0 vote, the planning commission, in essence, recommended that the city council revamp the city’s development code in a way that will allow homeowners – that is, those who hold title to existing single family residences – to augment their properties with as many as three so-called accessory dwelling units.
What is afoot as a consequence of this reorientation toward what the standards for living arrangements the community is to adhere to is the quality of life a significant portion of the population in Twentynine Palms over the next several generations. In essence, the planning commission is calling upon the city council to allow the density of single family homes already built in the city or to be built in the future to be quadrupled.
A multitude of factors is at play.
In recent years and decades, public officials at the state, regional and local levels, noting the escalation in real estate prices generally and residential real estate in particular and an accompanying increase in the homeless population have declared that a housing shortage exists. In response, the governor, state legislature and the California Department of Housing and Community Development have intensified what were previously modest efforts to encourage homebuilding. One of these is the transition of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment Survey – what was created in 1969 and intended to be a snapshot of the state’s housing stock and where it stood in relation to the housing demand – from an advisal to a requirement. As the consequence of legislation and state policy, the Regional Housing Needs Survey process, now administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, elevates an estimation made by governmental regional planning collectives of how many dwelling units are needed in specific geographical areas into a mandate that the governmental jurisdictions in those areas accommodate the construction of those estimated number of units if the building industry seeks permits to undertake such development. In the case of Southern California, excluding San Diego County, the Southern California Association of Governments ascertained that Imperial, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, during the October 2021 to October 2029 planning cycle should be prepared to approve the construction of 1,340,000 dwelling units, of which San Bernardino County’s share was 138,110 new housing units over the eight‑year period and Twentynine Palms was to provide 1,047 residential units. The drafting a passage of the State Housing Crisis Act of 2019 sought to overcome the shortage of available housing to the need for more homes by streamlining housing development processes.
The California legislature passed and the governor passed into law legislation establishing California Government Code §65580, which in part declared that “availability of housing is of vital statewide importance, and the early attainment of decent housing and a suitable living environment…is a priority of the highest order” and that the “early attainment of this goal requires the cooperative participation of government and the private sector in an effort to expand housing opportunities and accommodate the housing needs of Californians” and that “each local government… has the responsibility… to cooperate with other local governments and the state in addressing regional housing needs.”
Traditionally in California, land use decisions had been left to local governments rather than to the state legislature or bureaucrats in the state capital. In this way, city councils or planning commissions, in consultation with city planning staffs determined the character of the development that was to take place in their individual cities and how intensely the properties in their communities were to be developed. Hanging in the balance was the question of density, or how many dwelling units were allowed to be constructed per acre, the height of buildings, the ratio of space occupied by buildings to the space occupied by unpaved ground with grass or plants growing on it, the mix of residential, commercial, industrial development and open space to be permitted in a city, along with whether apartments and condominiums should be allowed to displace single family homes. These decisions historically were left to the people who lived in the places that were to be impacted by the decisions. In the rush to redress the state housing crisis, action by the state, including the State Housing Crisis Act of 2019, were reducing local control the quality and type of development taking place. Something on the order of two dozen of the 482 cities and incorporated towns in California resisted the state’s seizing of land use authority as pertained to housing. Among those in San Bernardino County standing up and speaking most vociferously with regard to state mandates on residential uses were Chino Hills, Chino, Fontana and Barstow, all of which petitioned the California Department of Housing and Community Development for reduced Regional Housing Needs Assessment unit construction mandates.
Twentynine Palms did not contest the state housing mandates. On another issue involving the imposition of Sacramento’s will with regard to land use and development policy, however, Twentynine Palms actively resisted state-level land use mandates well prior to the fuss over the impact of the State Housing Crisis Act of 2019’s impact on local planning control when in 2012 the city passed an ordinance banning utility-scale solar fields within city limits. This set up a conflict with the State of California over California Assembly Bill 205, legislation which created a state law granting the California Energy Commission the authority to override local municipal zoning and issue automatic approvals for clean energy projects that meet certain criteria, effectively bypassing local planning commissions. Solons in Twentynine Palms reiterated their adherence to the concept of localized resistanceto state sovereignty as recently as March 2026, when the Twentynine Palms City Council officially voted to deny a proposal by E-Group Solar to install a 50-megawatt, 160,000-panel facility across 184 acres.
While Twentynine distinguished itself as taking a principled stand against the state on the battleground oflocal environmental control and, more or less, prevailing, the cities that duked it out with the state over Sacramento’s intrusion into the province of land use policy related to residential projects did not fare as well. The City of Huntington Beach, which had taken the most forthright, energetic and aggressive position among the state’s cities in opposing the state’s dictates, was rebuffed in state court. Chino Hills’, Chino’s, Fontana’s and Barstow’s petitions to reduce the Regional Housing Assessment unit numbers they had been saddled were denied, and they were issued stern warnings by the California Department of Housing and Community Development that they would need to comply with California Government Code §65580.
To facilitate local jurisdictions – counties, cities and towns – in complying with California Government Code §65580, Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2024 signed into law three legislative bills – Assembly Bill 2533, Senate Bill 1211 and Senate Bill 1077 – which took effect on January 1, 2025. That legislation gave homeowners the power to double the density of their residential property by constructing on it an “accessory dwelling unit,” known by its acronym ADU, otherwise referred to as a “granny flat.”
On September 15, the Twentynine Palms Planning Commission went the State of California not one, not two but three better, calling upon the Twentynine Palms City Council to give homeowners the ability to construct three accessory dwelling units on their property.
With Commissioners Max Walker and Alex Garcia were absent, commissioner Jim Krushat, Leslie Paahana and Leslie Cure voted to repeal in its entirety that section of the Twentynine Palms Development Code pertaining to accessory dwelling units and update and replace it with a liberalized set of regulations, as was articulated in a staff report, “to maintain consistency with state law and support streamlined housing production.”
Among city staff members, most notably Community Development Director Keith Gardner there is a perceived need to bring the city’s general plan and other planning documents and stated polices in compliance with state laws and regulations pertaining to housing programs and mandates.
The ordinance proposed by the city’s planning staff and the three participating members of the planning commission at the meeting on September 15 for adoption by the city council would repeal and replace Chapter 19.134 in its entirety, such as to bring the city into conformance with state law.
What is being proposed would apply to a range of dwelling unit add-ons, including ones defined as both accessory dwelling units and so-called junior accessory dwelling units.
According to the documents contemplated for inclusion in the development code redraft, “’Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU)’ means an attached or a detached residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities for one or more persons and is located on a lot with a proposed or existing primary dwelling. An ADU shall include permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation.” According to the document, an accessory dwelling unit can also consist of an efficiency unit or a manufactured home. The document also defines an attached ADU as “an accessory dwelling unit that shares at least one wall with a primary dwelling” and defines a Conversion ADU as “an accessory dwelling unit created from existing habitable or nonhabitable space within an existing dwelling unit or accessory structure, including but not limited to storage rooms, boiler rooms, passageways, attics, basements, or garages.” The documents further define a detached ADU as a “residential dwelling unit which does not share any portion of a wall with the primary residence but may be attached by a breezeway or roof structure that is open on at least two sides.”The documentation defines a junior accessory dwelling unit (JADU) as “a residential dwelling unit that: 1) is contained entirely within an existing or proposed single-family dwelling [and] includes an efficiency kitchen.”
An efficiency kitchen is a compact, self‑contained cooking area that includes essential appliances—typically a small sink, a two‑burner cooktop, and an under‑counter refrigerator—designed to maximize functionality in very limited space.
According to the city documentation, “An ADU or JADU… shall [b]e considered an accessory use and shall not be counted toward the allowable residential density for the lot upon which it is located… [b]e considered a residential use that is consistent with applicable general plan and zoning designations for the lot on which it is located… [n]ot be denied, delayed, or conditioned based on any local ordinance, policy, or regulation that conflicts with applicable State law [and] [n]ot be required to correct a nonconforming zoning condition as a condition of approval.”
The documents further state, “A JADU shall be permitted on a lot containing an existing or proposed single-family dwelling in accordance with applicable State law and this chapter. A JADU shall be contained entirely within the walls of an existing or proposed single-family dwelling, including within an attached garage that has been converted to habitable space.”
The documentation being presented to the city council further calls for allowing up to three granny flats on existing residential property in Twentynine Palms that consist of lots which are at least 0.4591 of an acres under a section of the city’s proposed development code entitled “Additional ADU Allowance.” That section states, “In addition to the ADU and JADU opportunities otherwise permitted pursuant to this chapter and applicable State law, the city allows one additional ADU on a lot containing an existing or proposed single-family dwelling, subject to the following requirements.” The chapter further states, under a heading of “Eligibility for an Additional ADU” that “The lot shall be a minimum of twenty thousand (20,000) square feet and shall contain an existing or proposed single family dwelling. In addition to the ADU and JADU opportunities otherwise permitted pursuant to this chapter and applicable State law, the city allows one additional ADU on a lot containing an existing or proposed single-family dwelling, subject to the following requirements: The lot shall be a minimum of twenty thousand (20,000) square feet and shall contain an existing or proposed single family dwelling. The additional ADU may be attached, detached, or created through the conversion of existing space, subject to the applicable development standards of this chapter. The additional ADU shall comply with all applicable building, fire, and health and safety requirements.”
An acre is equal to 43,560 square feet.
The new development code does prevent granny flats or accessory dwelling units from being constructed to a size larger than homes that are typically constructed on Twentynine Palms residential lots.
“A JADU shall not exceed 500 square feet,” the newly drafted document yet to be considered by the city council states. “An attached ADU may not exceed 50 percent of the floor area of the primary dwelling, or one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet of interior livable space, whichever is less. A detached ADU subject to the development standards of this chapter shall not exceed one thousand two hundred (1,200) square feet of interior livable space.”
The proposed chapter redraft relating to accessory dwelling units calls for accessory dwelling unit applications to be processed without having to be approved by the planning commission or the city council.
“An application for an ADU or JADU proposed on a lot zoned for residential or mixed-use development shall be reviewed and approved ministerially, without discretionary review or a public hearing, when the proposed ADU or JADU complies with the applicable requirements of this chapter and other applicable laws and regulations,” the newly drafted section of the city development code pertaining to accessory dwelling units states. “A detached, new construction ADU shall be permitted ministerially on the same lot as an existing or proposed single-family dwelling.”
Under the heading “JADU Owner Occupancy,” the new document contains the following stipulations: “Owner occupancy shall be required on a lot containing a JADU only if the JADU shares sanitation facilities with the existing structure. The owner shall reside in either the single family dwelling or the JADU. Owner occupancy shall not be required if the JADU has separate sanitation facilities or if the property is entirely owned by another governmental agency, land trust, or housing organization.”
Twentynine Palms was incorporated as a city on November 23, 1987, after the cities of San Bernardino, Colton, Redlands, Ontario, Upland, Chino, Needles, Rialto, Barstow, Fontana, Montclair, Victorville, Loma Linda, Adelanto, Rancho Cucamonga, Big Bear Lake and Grand Terrace were founded as municipal entities, and a single day before the City of Highland was granted cityhood. Thereafter, over the next four years, Hesperia, the Town of Apple Valley, Yucaipa, the Town of Yucca Valley and Chino Hills were chartered as official municipalities. Thus, while it has been a city for approaching 39 years, Twentynine Palms is not as fully matured of an urban environment as some two-thirds to three-fourths of its counterparts throughout the county.
In the last decade-and-a-half, Twentynine Palms has burned through nine city managers/interim city managers, leaving the current city council and other community leaders unsure of what stance they should take with overarching governmental authorities.
Community sentiment in Twentynine Palms runs strongly against the intrusion of large industrial solar projects into neighborhoods, while increased residential density in the city of 25,814 inspired far less opposition. Accordingly, it seems City Manager Kevin Cole and city staff members, to include Gardner, have calculated that the issue of increasing the number dwelling units on a residential lot is not the hill they and the rest of the city should die on. Rather, according to the staff report that was considered by the planning commission on September 15 and which will go to the full city council as early as next month, the development code contemplated is one designed to please the authorities in Sacramento.
“This comprehensive update ensures full consistency with State law, incorporates recent legislative changes, and improves clarity, organization, and administration of the City’s ADU/JADU regulations,” the report states. “The Development Code Amendment prescribes reasonable controls and standards to ensure compatibility with other established uses, and assures that the City does not impede the development of housing during the 2021-2029 planning period for the Housing Element. The development code amendment provides reasonable property development rights while protecting environmentally sensitive land uses and species, insofar as the changes in the code allow more flexibility and more clearly define land uses and simplify the entitlement process for housing.”