Riddick family prevails in ADU suit against the City of Malibu

California Supreme Court declines to review intermediate court’s decision in city’s appeal

By Barbara Burke

Special to The Malibu Times

Against a backdrop of the embroiled, continuing, and contentious conundrum regarding building alternative dwelling units in Malibu and statewide, and after years of time-consuming litigation, Malibu’s Elizabeth and Jason Riddick have prevailed in their arduous battle against the City of Malibu.

The legal dispute came over the city’s refusal to grant the Riddicks permits to build an ADU to accommodate Liz’simmunocompromised mother Renee Sperling, who is in her 80s and suffers from various medical conditions, including glaucoma, arthritis, asthma and osteoporosis.

The Malibu Times caught up with the Riddicks at Postal Annex as they had their application seeking permits from the city to construct their ADU notarized.

The Riddicks are jubilant, but cautious.

“I hope our application to build goes smoothly with the City of Malibu.” Liz Riddick said. “I hope they don’t challenge us during the plan check process.”

The Riddick’s long and winding road seeks to add a space for grandmother

Recently, the California Supreme Court declined to review a court of appeals ruling that the city’s coastal policies do not prohibit homeowners from building attached dwelling units attached to their homes.

The procedural history is protracted. The Riddicks’ long journey seeking to build a 460-square-foot ADU to accommodate Sperling’s needs began in 2021, when the Malibu Planning Commission denied their application on the basis that, although the Riddick’s ADU proposal complies with state law, it fails to comply with Malibu’s Local Coastal Program.

The Riddicks appealed to the Malibu City Council — and lost.

The Riddicks took the city to court — and won. The Los Angeles Superior Court held that the city’s coastal policies do not prevent homeowners from building ADUs that are attached to their primary residences. Therefore, the court determined that the city’s failure to correctly process the Riddicks’ permit constituted a violation of state law, which instructs that homeowners have a right to build ADUs, noting that ADUs are an essential element of California’sstruggles to address the state’s housing shortage. The court ordered the city to process the Riddicks’ permit application.

The city appealed to the California Court of Appeals — and lost. The appellate court, in a published and precedential decision, ruled that the Riddicks could build their attached ADU and, furthermore, that they did not have to apply for a coastal development permit.

The city sought the California Supreme Court’s discretionary review — and lost.

“The city’s petition was denied,” Liz Riddick stated in an email to The Malibu Times. “In other words, Malibu’s LCP allows attached ADUs that comply with state standards, and they cannot use total development square footage or side yard setback requirements to deny applications.”

TDSF is the term for the amount of building square footage that is allowed on a residential lot in Malibu, including the main residence and any accessory structures, such as guest houses, garages, barns, sheds, gazebos, and cabanas, according to the city’s website which explains the city’s Planning Department regulations.

Expressing her frustration regarding becoming embroiled in litigation with the city, Riddick added,  “Now, was that so complicated? How many lawyers, councilmembers, planning commissioners and planning staff does it take to understand the plain language in our local coastal program?”

Elaborating, Riddick stated, “This was a very time-consuming and expensive English lesson paid for by the taxpayers of Malibu. Seems like the only ones who really benefited were the lawyers and the law firm that counseled Malibu and represented the city in this four-year battle.”

Next steps for the Riddicks

The Riddick’s have filed their application for permits seeking to construct their attached ADU. To obtain all relevant permits, they must, of course, comply with all city regulations.

Next Steps for Malibuites and the City Council

“The City of Malibu is complying with state law, but the city has constraints with regard to ADUs,” City Councilmember Paul Grisanti said. “People will still need to have septic tanks that accommodate adding on an extra bedroom and bath, and if septic tanks are 40 years old or so, a determination must be made by the city concerning whether the septic tank must be replaced.”

ADUs are but one component of the ongoing deliberations concerning the state of housing in Malibu. Recently, the city settled with the California Department of Housing and Community Development and Attorney General Rob Bonta regarding the city’s obligation to comply with the state’s Housing Element Law’s mandate that every city and county in California periodically update its housing plan to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), a term pertaining to a city’s share of the regional and statewide housing needs.

“Located in Los Angeles County, Malibu was required to update its housing plan by October 15, 2021, to accommodate its 79-unit RHNA target.” The CDFC announced in its April 24 press release announcing the settlement. “The city submitted a Housing Element Update in 2022, but it was not found to substantially comply. After receiving a notice of violation from the state, the city and the state conferred in good faith to chart a course for the city to attain compliance.”

Grisanti states that the new housing element has been submitted to the state and the city hopes to get a favorable determination from the state. The Malibu Times will keep readers informed concerning the outcome.

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