5.03.104 ADU Process Time and Submittal Requirements. — Colma Zoning Code

(a) Determination of Completeness.

Determination in 15 days. The Town will determine whether an application to create or serve an ADU or JADU is complete and will provide written notice of the determination to the applicant within 15 business days of the Town's receipt of the application submittal.
Incomplete items. If the Town’s determination under Section 5.03.104(a) above is that the application is incomplete, the Town’s notice must list the incomplete items and describe how the application can be made complete.
Cure. After receiving a notice that the application is incomplete, the applicant may cure and address the items that were deemed by the Town to be incomplete.
Subsequent submittals. If the applicant submits additional information to address incomplete items, within 15 business days of the subsequent submittal, the Town will determine in writing whether the additional information remedies all the incomplete items that the Town identified in its original notice. The Town may not require the application to include an item that was not included in the original notice.
Deemed complete. If the Town does not make a timely determination as required by this subsection (a), the application or resubmitted application is deemed complete for the purposes of subsection (b) below.
Appeal of incompleteness. An applicant may appeal the Town’s determination that the application is incomplete by submitting a written appeal to the City Clerk. The City Council will review the written appeal, affirm or reverse the completeness determination, and provide a final written determination to the applicant within 45 business days after receipt of the appeal.

(b) Processing Time.

On lots with an existing single-family or multifamily dwelling, an application to

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create an ADU or JADU shall be approved or denied within 45 days of submission of a complete application, unless the applicant requests a delay, in which case the 45 days shall be tolled for the delay period.

The permit application to create an ADU or JADU is submitted at the same time as a permit application to build a new single-family or multifamily dwelling on the lot. In this case, the Town may delay processing the ADU or JADU permit application until it has acted on the permit application for the new single-family or multifamily dwelling, but the ADU or JADU application will still be considered ministerially, without discretionary review or a hearing.
If the Town has not approved or denied a completed application for the ADU or JADU within 45 days and neither of the above exceptions is met, the application shall be deemed approved.
Applications for detached ADUs using Pre-Approved Plans under Government Code, section 65852.27 shall be approved or denied within 30 days from receipt of a completed application

(c) Certificate of Occupancy Timing.

Generally. No certificate of occupancy for an ADU or JADU may be issued before the certificate of occupancy for the primary dwelling unit is issued.
Limited Exception for State-Declared Emergencies. Notwithstanding subsection (c)(2) above, a certificate of occupancy for an ADU may be issued before a certificate of occupancy for the primary dwelling if each of the following requirements are met: (i) The county is subject to a proclamation of a state of emergency made by the California Governor on or after February 1, 2025.

(ii) The primary dwelling was substantially damaged or destroyed by an event referenced in the Governor’s state of emergency proclamation.
(iii) The ADU has been issued construction permits and has passed all required inspections.
(iv) The ADU is not attached to the primary dwelling.

(d) Submittal Requirements. An application for an ADU or JADU shall be submitted to the Planning Department. An ADU shall be reviewed as part of the established building permit process, and compliance with the standards of this chapter will be verified through the ministerial planning review process.

(e) Denial/Remedies. If the Town denies an application for an ADU or JADU, it will provide the applicant with a written, comprehensive set of comments within 45 days of receiving a completed application. This will include a list of defective or deficient items, and a description of how the applicant can remedy the application. When the primary dwelling is proposed concurrently as the ADU, the Town may take more than 45 days.

(f) Appeal of Denial. An applicant may appeal the Town’s denial of the application by

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submitting a written appeal to the City Clerk. The City Council will review the written appeal and affirm or reverse the denial and provide a final written determination to the applicant within 45 business days after receipt of the appeal.