State preemption of land use regulations : the case of accessory dwelling units
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While land use regulation has traditionally been the purview of local government, states are becoming increasingly involved in this area. One example is state preemption of accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The first chapter records the history of state policy in this area, showing that state ADU preemptions have increased in strength and prevalence. The second chapter focuses on how local governments in California responded to a state preemption on maximum ADU size. Local governments do respond to this policy change. Both those that had policies impacted by the new standard and those that did not changed their policies to meet the new standard. The final chapter focuses on how the public views land use reform. In a national survey experiment, I test how policy favorability is impacted by the level of government conducting the policy, along with partisanship, and upzoning intensity. Partisanship and preemption have limited impact on approval, while upzoning intensity, particularly upzoning for apartments, has a negative impact on approval. Respondents said that ADUs were more likely to benefit certain politically advantaged groups, including current residents, homeowners, and seniors. This research suggests that accessory dwelling unit preemption can be a politically effective approach to alter land use policy. However, state governments will need to deal with reaction from local governments, which may require repeated legislation. It is not clear if the relative success of ADU preemption will be replicable with other forms of land use preemption, as ADU's are seen as benefiting certain, politically important groups, and opposition increases with more intense forms of upzoning.
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Ph. D.