County encourages ‘granny units’

With the Santa Cruz County in the grips of a continuing housing crisis, the county supervisors are interested in expanding access to affordable housing for residents by using a new state law with regard to Accessory Dwelling Units – often called, “granny units,” or “in-law units” behind individual residences.
These types of residences are common sources of additional income and additional housing in mountain communities, and often are not regulated.
County oficials believe these smaller dwellings have the potential to help ease the housing shortage, and new State law makes the approval process easier for these units to be official approved by county zoning officials.
 Subject to local rules ensuring that any new dwellings are appropriate for existing neighborhoods, the county wants to encourage property owners to consider these units – a departure from previous approaches.
In order to identify barriers to building these accessory units and encourage candid feedback, the county has set up a free, confidential survey to gather information from owners, prospective owners and builders about their experiences.
Supervisors would like to hear about the development and financing process, how the units are used by owners, how to create markets for low-income renters, typical monthly rents and more.
Through March 15, property owners and builders are encouraged to take the confidential survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SantaCruzCountyADU with the goal of removing unnecessary hurdles faced by housing providers.
Accessory units are homes that can be built on existing residential lots as freestanding homes, over a garage or attached to the main house. They have the potential to help ease the housing shortage by providing places to rent that are more affordable than a standard single-family home.