Legalizing a non-conforming unit in El Segundo

No residential land in the coastal zone

El Segundo's coastal zone is roughly fifty acres of refinery, power plant and open space, zoned heavy industrial. The city's own certified Housing Element states plainly that there is no residential development in the coastal zone and none is permitted. For an apartment building, the coastal question does not arise.

One date to watch

El Segundo's ADU code has in places referenced units built before 2018, rather than the state's January 1, 2020 date. State law controls. The Department of Housing and Community Development asked the city to conform its ordinance in October 2025 and an amendment is moving. If a plan checker cites the earlier date, Government Code § 66311.7 preempts it — and we will say so in writing.

Rent control

El Segundo has no local rent stabilization ordinance. Rent increases are governed by the statewide Tenant Protection Act: five percent plus regional CPI to a maximum of ten percent, with units exempt for fifteen years from the date their certificate of occupancy is issued.

What the city can and cannot do

El Segundo cannot deny a permit for a pre-2020 unit because it violates building standards or the local ADU ordinance. It can deny only if it finds that correcting the violation is necessary to meet the substandard-building threshold in Health & Safety Code § 17920.3.

That is a far narrower test than full compliance with current code. A unit can fall short of today's standards in a dozen ways and still be permitted, so long as none of them makes the building substandard.