Moraga Municipal Code Art. 5 Deed Restriction

The requirements of this Article 5 shall apply to the following:

A. Streamlined ADUs and JADUs approved under Article 2;

B. A detached or attached ADU approved under Article 3;

C. An ADU approved under Article 4.

(Ord. No. 296, § 3, 4-14-2021)

Prior to the issuance of a building permit for any ADU or JADU, the property owner shall record in the office of the Contra Costa County Recorder a deed restriction setting forth the following requirements, in a form satisfactory to the planning director and the town attorney:

A. The primary unit and the ADU or JADU, as applicable, established on the same lot may not be sold independently of each other, and the lot may not be subdivided so as to create separate legal lots for the primary unit and the ADU or JADU.

B. An owner of a lot upon which the ADU or JADU is located, that is accessory to a single-family residence, may be subject to the owner occupancy requirements as set forth below. a principal residence either the primary unit or the ADU or JADU, unless the applicant establishes by substantial evidence to the satisfaction of the planning director that strict application of the requirement on a temporary basis would constitute a hardship warranting an exemption to this requirement.

(1) All ADUs approved before January 1, 2020, are subject to the owner-occupancy requirements or restrictions that were in place when the ADU was approved.

(2) An ADU that is approved after that date but before January 1, 2025, is not subject to any owner-occupancy requirement.

(3) All ADUs that are approved on or after January 1, 2025, are subject to an owner-occupancy requirement under Section 8.124.210(B). A natural person with legal or equitable title to the property must reside on the property as the person's legal domicile and permanent residence.

(4) All JADUs are subject to an owner-occupancy requirement under Section 8.124.210(B). A natural person with legal or equitable title to the property must reside on the property, in either the primary residence or JADU, as the person's legal domicile and permanent residence. However, the owner-occupancy requirement of this paragraph does not apply if the property is entirely owned by another governmental agency, land trust, or housing organization.

C. No ADU or JADU, as applicable, or primary unit on a lot that contains an ADU or JADU shall be rented to the same party for fewer than thirty (30) consecutive days at a time.

D. The restrictions described in this Section 8.124.210 shall be binding upon any successor in ownership of the property and lack of compliance may result in legal action against the property owner.

E. The town shall have the right at any time to request and have the owner provide such information deemed necessary by the town to confirm compliance with these restrictions.

(Ord. No. 296, § 3, 4-14-2021)