Residents who wish to construct an additional single-story
housing unit for grandma will not have to worry about their
neighbors thwarting the project, but those who want to build larger
units will need a special permit.
Gilroy – Residents who wish to construct an additional single-story housing unit for grandma will not have to worry about their neighbors thwarting the project, but those who want to build larger units will need a special permit.
Following its 2006 Affordable Housing Workshop, the city council moved to encourage “accessory dwelling units,” sometimes called “granny units,” since state law champions housing for citizens of varying income and age. Earlier this month, The council voted 6-0 to approve the new ordinance that clarifies ADU construction requirements. Councilman Paul Correa was absent for the Oct. 1 vote.
Earlier this year the planning commission entertained a motion to limit the construction of these units if a resident’s neighbors objected to the ADU, but last month Housing Planner Regina Adams-Brisco wrote to City Administrator Jay Baksa that discouraging ADU construction by charging residents a planning fee “based on whether or not a neighbor complains might seem punitive and arbitrary.”
As long as the units are rented, not sold, and as long as there is adequate parking for the existing house and the one-bedroom, a single-story ADU, a resident must merely complete routine residential construction reviews and pay normal fees.
Accessory units should also contain water, sewer, and gas or electric utility connections, which is a step up from the past when units could be without such utilities.
The city will allow a duplex dwelling unit only if it is located on a corner lot and does not increase the overall density of the area beyond 7.25 dwelling units per acre.
Only one ADU is permitted on any one lot, but two are allowed if only one is for dwelling and the other is for something such as storage.
