Commissioners struggled to craft regulations that would balance the interests of people seeking housing with those earning money by renting their properties.
The former planning official is crediting with helping to coordinate municipal outlooks on growth and to restrict urban development to the Highway 101 corridor.
The permit application was placed more than nine years ago by Brian Johnson, 65, who is seeking to build a two-story, 1,488-square-foot house on an unoccupied plot at 21 Calle del Onda.
The planning commission reversed course and recommended the county follow state mandates allowing two ADUs on lots restricted to single-family residential development