HomeMy WebLinkAbout1/8/2020 Item 5, Jeffries
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Krista Jeffries <
To:Advisory Bodies; E-mail Council Website
Subject:ADU and JADU ordinances
To The Planning Commissioners and City Council of San Luis Obispo,
I wish to comment on the proposed ADU/JADU ordinances to be discussed at
tonight's Planning Commission meeting. Our organization, SLO County Yimby
(or "Yes In My Backyard") is dedicated to advocating for more housing for
everyone who wants to call SLO County home. We especially support the
development of homes that allow more affordable options in the rental
market, without displacing existing tenants or encroaching on our beautiful
surrounding landscape.
Accessory dwelling units (and junior accessory dwelling units) fulfill all three
of these important goals. Due to their size and comparatively low construction
cost, these units are often some of the most affordable new housing units on
the market. Additionally, they allow individual homeowners to be a part of the
solution to our housing shortage and allow public funds to be saved for
homes reserved for those with the lowest incomes - homes that would
otherwise not be built without subsidies. It is for these reasons that our
organization believes that ADUs/JADUs should be supported and encouraged
at every stage of the approval process, with minimal restrictions.
The current proposals, as described in the agenda packet provided online,
present arbitrary and expensive roadblocks to the production of more homes
for our neighbors. Our objections are as follows:
-The proposals regarding similar siding materials, architecture, and design as
the main unit do not add any safety or affordability to prospective units. They
only incur costs.
-The proposal limiting the size of ADUs to 1000 square feet, only a hair's
breadth away from the state's maximum of 1200sqf, will limit the flexibility of
these homes to suit as wide a variety of residents as possible. It may also
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conflict with state law outright. There is also no reason to limit the number of
bedrooms either.
-The mandate that these new homes both receive a new lateral and replace a
neighbor's lateral is prohibitively expensive, and will all but ensure that any
small-time local builders will be priced out of producing these homes,
meaning any homes produced will be more expensive to both build and rent.
None of these conditions are conducive to the intent of Senate/Assembly Bills
68, 881, or 13, as an effort to address our state's affordable housing
shortage. They should all be removed from the proposed ordinance so that
SLO can house our residents as best we can. Please support housing your
neighbors and remove these unnecessary burdens from the ordinance. Thank
you for your service to our community.
--
SLO County "Yes In My Backyard"
Healthy, Affordable, Accessible Communities
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