California Assembly Bill 2221 (signed 2022, in effect January 1, 2023) — requires a city that denies an ADU application to return, within the 60-day review period, a full written list of what is deficient and how to fix it; stops front-setback rules from blocking an 800 sqft ADU; and confirms that a detached ADU may include a detached garage.
AB-2221 did not create ministerial review. That came with SB-1069 and AB-2299 (in effect 2017), and the 60-day deadline with SB-13, AB-68 and AB-881 (in effect 2020). AB-2221 tightened how the review works: a city must approve or deny within the deadline, and a denial has to say what to fix. SB-897, signed the same day, required local ADU standards to be objective and raised the heights cities must allow.
Part of the BackyardADU California ADU Glossary — plain-English definitions of the regulatory, construction, and financing terms you'll encounter during a California ADU project.