HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/17/2020 Item 16, McKenzie
Wilbanks, Megan
From:John McKenzie <
To:E-mail Council Website
Cc:Corey, Tyler; Mike Wulkan
Subject:Draft Housing Element - ADUs
Attachments:Housing Element Letter - City Council.pdf
Dear Council Members,
As you review the draft Housing Element, please consider my attached comments on its treatment of ADUs. Thank you
for your consideration.
John McKenzie
1
November 6, 2020
RE: Draft Housing Element
Dear Council Members,
The City’s Draft Housing Element provides a wealth of useful information that the City will rely on as
housing related issues are dealt with in the future. My concern relates to the treatment of Accessory
Dwelling Units (ADUs) and junior ADUs. Recent state legislation has made it very easy for residential
properties to get permits for these types of uses.
When considering the R-1 zoning, a standard lot with a home can convert all or a portion of their garage
to a studio (junior ADU) and add another residential (ADU) unit (up to 1,200 sf or two-bedroom unit). So,
the R-1 zoning that use to assume one residence for a standard lot is now allowed to have three
residences. While this will be a boon to the homeowners and fits well into the City’s goal to provide
affordable housing, there will also be potential infrastructure costs to serve the higher density. Having
such information would be very helpful for future planning documents that must consider ‘worst case’
or ultimate buildout scenarios. The other higher density residential land use categories are not quite as
generous, however, in general, a 25% ADU density increase is now allowed for each property. This is not
recognized in the draft Housing Element.
Unfortunately, the proposed Housing Element has taken a very light touch on this issue, which could
have a detrimental effect moving forward. Rather than incorporating the well-defined limits for ADUs in
residential zoning, which would be similar to what was done to define what other types of housing stock
is allowed within each residential zoning, it has taken a ‘historical approval’ approach and assigned 30
ADUs each year for the next 10 years for a total of 270 ADUs. It is silent on junior ADUs. Additional
information should be provided in the Element as to how this number (30/year) was arrived at, and that
it is considered conservative enough to hold for the next 10 years. As the state legislation passed to ease
ADU restrictions and create junior ADUs is very recent, using historic data would seem inadequate.
Further, as rent is very high in the City and demand is great, converting a garage or constructing an ADU
would be very lucrative to offset the high mortgage payments that most homeowners or landlords
currently pay. Lastly, as there are probably over 10,000 existing residential lots within the City, with each
being allowed an ADU and a junior ADU, this theoretical potential should be provided, with the standard
caveat that the realistic ADU/Jr. ADU buildout would likely be less due to a range of constraints.
Another issue related to ADUs and Jr. ADUs is parking. Since there are no longer any parking
requirements for these uses, and the Jr. ADU is displacing the parking for the main residence, there will
be a greater demand for on-street parking. While some neighborhoods can absorb this change there are
many neighborhoods that either already use most or all of their street parking, and the recent trend in
new residential development is to make streets narrow with very limited or no street parking. Additional
parking districts are likely going to be needed. Recognizing this new parking reality would help planners
in the future better consider this aspect in new residential development and be more cautious in their
consideration of narrow streets with limited parking, as well as any requests for reduced parking
requirement requests. If the Housing Element is not the appropriate document to discuss this issue in
some detail, it should at least be recognized with an action item to address in the near future in the
appropriate document.
If the theoretical and/or reasonable ADU/Jr. ADU buildout is provided, planners and engineers will have
critical housing information as they assess future development/buildout scenario impacts as well as
when major city infrastructure improvements or upgrades are being considered.
Please direct staff to provide this additional information to the draft Housing Element so it will provide a
more complete picture on the ADU/Jr. ADU housing front. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
John McKenzie