The Economist April 23rd 2022 pp23 |Extra Homes|”Cottage Industry” “How granny flats help boost housing supply and lower emissions” Los Angeles and Denver
Read The Economist for all the details
Summary by 2244
Image of a Granny Flat from californiaglobe.com
We’ve been covering how Austin Texas’ city council has been working towards increasing density within the city in an effort to allocate more affordable housing and to lower emissions by leveraging infrastructure and lessening commutes etc. This report in The Economist shares the climate for similar change in California-Los Angeles, Washington-Seattle and Colorado-Denver.
The first comment is somewhat familiar, Sam Schneider (Homestead, a company that finances and builds granny flats), notes that the permit process in Los Angeles, to add a granny flat, is “A Nightmare” but it’s getting better.
Granny Flats, AKA Accessory Dwelling Unit [ADU], “is a cottage or flat built on the same lot as a single-family home.” A family member or members might live there without charge or they may be rented beyond the family.
Reportedly about “180 municipalities in California passed ADU laws between 2017 and 2020.” Los Angeles issued permits for 6,700 in 2019, Seattle 800 in 2021 but Denver, where each plot must be re-zoned, only 71 in 2019. Startup companies, like Homestead that specialize in ADUs, can assist homeowners looking to add an ADU with the arduous process of getting permits and with managing construction etc.
Obviously, ADUs won’t solve the housing problem but they are a step in the right direction in making city housing more affordable for some and putting more urban residents closer “to public transport and the places where they would work or socialize.”