‘Unfathomable’ how quickly first granny flats were built
Units a result of preapproval program launched by the city
Six months after San Jose launched a new initiative to make the construction of granny flats more appealing for residents, prefabricated homes now are being installed in backyards across the city.
Downtown San Jose residents Jeff and Flora Thompson last month became the city’s first proud new owners of a granny flat built under the city’s preapproved accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, program launched last year. The entire process, including getting their permits, took just under 12 weeks.
“When you think about that timeline, in conjunction with other options of permanent housing being built across the Bay Area, it’s unfathomable,” John Geary, co-founder of the Bay Area startup and ADU developer Abodu, said at a news conference celebrating the city’s first preapproved unit March 5.
Under the city’s program, ADU designers and builders like Abodu submit standardized design plans for preapproval from the city. Once approval comes, customers then can work with companies to streamline the process and cut through the bureaucracy.
After nearly a year of going through the daunting process of deciding on the right backyard home for them, the Thompsons learned about the new preapproved models from the city and then everything fell into place.
“When Abodu came along and they were preapproved for the quick process, it was kind of the perfect combination — a new, streamlined process with the city and a new builder that had really great, wonderfully designed and perfectly longterm livable unit,” Jeff Thompson said during a news conference March 5.
The Thompsons still are making finishing touches on the unit and deciding their next steps. Flora’s mother is nearing retirement, and the couple would love to have her closer to the family. But in the meantime, they may rent it out as an opportunity to earn some extra income.
Abodu became the first builder to receive preapproval for its one-bedroom, 495-square-foot backyard home model in September. The city since pre-approved another floor plan for a 640-square-foot model submitted by the builder prefabadu. The city currently is working with five other companies to get their designs approved and ready for residents to consider.
Abodu’s model, which includes a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room, starts at about $200,000, with upgrades available for appliances, roofing and exterior features. The unit is built off-site, transported on a truck and then placed onto a foundation in the backyard by a crane.
The company has installed two units, including the Thompsons’, so far in San Jose and is planning to install at least three more in the coming weeks.
“We know homeowners aren’t developers. They only want to do this if there’s not a lot of hassle and additional cost and they can easily understand how to get it done, so we have to make it easy for them if this is going to be a successful solution,” Mayor Sam Liccardo said on March 5.
Although Geary said his company is working with customers in other cities,
San Jose is the only city in the Bay Area that he has seen take the extra steps to institute a formal preapproval process like this.
“San Jose has proven to be extremely forward-looking in its approach to housing policy, and this unit we’re standing in front of today is quite a testament to that approach,” Geary said.
The program is just one part of a larger effort by the city to make the permitting and building process for granny flats a more attractive and viable option for residents.
In addition to the new preapproved program, the city hired a full-time “ADU ally” to help homeowners navigate the process, launched an online portal where residents can find out whether they’re eligible to build a granny flat on their property and started “ADU Tuesdays,” allowing homeowners and developers to obtain a building permit within 90 minutes through an express lane at the city’s permit center.
In January, the city approved an amnesty program to allow owners of illegally converted garages, sheds or other types of inlaw units to take the mandatory steps to bring them up to code without paying the typical fees and fines for violating the permit process.
So far, the initiatives seem to be paying off.
Last year, the city provided permits for the construction of 416 units — more than the past five years combined and up from about 40 units in 2016.
“This is an important solution, but we know it’s not the only solution,” Liccardo said. “Still, I think it’s important to appreciate the scale of what we’re accomplishing already.”