AFFORDABLE ALTERNATIVES
Poll shows local homeowners favor building accessory dwellings on their property — which could ease the supply problem
A new poll shows that 25 percent of Bay Area homeowners would consider building accessory dwelling units on their properties, suggesting that these so-called “granny flats” or “in-law apartments” could play a significant role in ameliorating the region’s housing crisis.
Extracted from the Bay Area Council’s recent survey of attitudes about housing and transportation, the findings point — at least potentially — toward a new source of affordable housing in an increasingly unaffordable region.
If 1 in 4 of the Bay Area’s approximately 1.5 million homeowners were to build granny flats, that would add something on the order of 400,000 new units to the region’s constricted housing supply.
“A huge portion of the pentup housing demand could be met,” said Denise Pinkston, housing co-chair for the Bay Area Council. “It’s not the whole solution to the housing crisis. We need a lot of ideas. But this is one idea whose time has come.”
The poll found that 32 percent of San Mateo County homeowners would consider
building an accessory dwelling unit, officially referred to as an ADU, while 23 percent would consider the same in Santa Clara County. Across the bay, 30 percent of Alameda County homeowners expressed interest, while the share was lower — just 17 percent — in more suburban Contra Costa County. In San Francisco, 25 percent of homeowners expressed interest in accessory units.
“We’ve turned a corner in the form of education, where people now understand what it means to add an in-law apartment or accessory dwelling,” said Kevin Casey, whose Emeryville-based firm, New Avenue, has focused on the design and construction of accessory dwelling units since 2009. “City councils are supporting these changes and people are showing up to support this. And if there is opposition, it’s very muted or hidden.”
In fact, there has been growing statewide support for ADUs. A bill sponsored by Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, became law Jan. 1, easing parking requirements for adding such units, while reducing some of the impact fees — often for utility hookups — that often have added a deal-breaking $10,000 to $60,000 to an accessory dwelling unit project. The Bay Area Council was a key proponent of that bill.
There has been some push-back from sewer and water agencies that are seeking clarification of the law’s fine print, Pinkston said. And some municipalities “have been grumbling about the fact that you can now do a remodel to add an ADU without increasing the off-street parking,” she said. “We’re in that period of acclimation and accommodation where some people are really happy and some are a little disgruntled.”
But overall, most towns and cities have adapted their ordinances to the new state provision, and there has been a spike in inquiries by homeowners: “In the East Bay, we’re hearing about hundreds, if not thousands, of homeowners looking into building these units,” Pinkston said.
The council’s recent polling also showed that 76 percent of respondents characterize the region’s housing crunch as a threat to the Bay Area’s economy — and that 40 percent are thinking about moving away in the next few years. Among millennials, 46 percent said they are considering leaving the region.
“That should be sending off alarm signals to our governments and businesses,” Pinkston said. “What society does not provide living space to its young people?”
And while 400,000 new units might be pie-in-thesky — a rock-bottom new one can cost $50,000 to construct — even a smaller number of new granny flats will help expand affordable housing for students, teachers, extended family members, elderly citizens and others who are being priced out of the market.
Pinkston pointed to a report showing that 35 percent of single-family homes in Vancouver, British Columbia, have accessory units. Whether that high a share will emerge in the Bay Area is an open question: “It’s hard to say how many homeowners will do this over time here. But the potential is there. The fact that they are showing this much interest suggests that over the next 10 or 15 years, you might get some good penetration.”