Petaluma granny unit rules to become permanent

The Petaluma City Council this week began shaping a new law for accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, that local officials hope will incentivize more construction of a grassroots remedy to the housing crisis.

On Monday, a majority of the council supported codifying a temporary ordinance enacted in April 2018 that eliminated parking requirements for new ADUs and led to a significant spike in the number of permits issued. Since the ordinance was adopted, 29 permits were issued, compared to 14 in 2017.

The emergency 12-month statute was meant to help displaced fire victims and recovery workers, and also lifted barriers for permitting recreational vehicles as long as they met certain criteria. However, city officials said no one took advantage of the softened RV rules, so the council decided not to extend it.

By making the ordinance on so-called “granny units” permanent, the council is hopeful more homeowners can start building attached residences to their properties and, in turn, help increase the local supply of housing.

“It’s affordable housing that we get that (the city) didn’t actually have to step up and find partnerships for funding for,” said Councilman Kevin McDonnell. “It’s bringing new players to the affordable housing market.”

Where the council differed, though, was on development impact fees, which Planning Manager Heather Hines said has been a deterrent for some residents that initially expressed interest in building an ADU.

In 2010, Petaluma reduced its fees for granny units to approximately $12,000. Previously, the fee schedule was the same as a single-family home, which costs more than $41,000.

Resident Kelly Haegglund shared a personal account of how having an additional $13,000 in annual income could help her family, which has been beleaguered by costly medical issues. Unfortunately, she said, all of the up-front costs are making it harder to pursue a project that could benefit them long-term.

“Not all people looking to build ADUs are people of great means,” Haegglund said. “Many are just looking to hold on, and make it through their retirement years.”

Councilman Dave King said he wanted to look at ways to minimize the burden of Petaluma’s impact fees at the beginning, like possibly staggering them over multiple years.

In other jurisdictions, development fees for ADUs are waived for smaller projects, or they are a fraction of Petaluma’s.

“I think it’s a bit of a barrier when you add it onto everything else,” King said. “If our goal is to have more housing of this nature - and this is as close as we’re going to get at this moment to middle-class housing - reducing some of these barriers is a good goal.”

Multiple council members were open to identifying tradeoffs for reducing or eliminating the fees, like providing deed restriction for its affordability that would allow the city to include the unit in its regional housing goal counts, or for pursuing zero net energy projects.

With affordable housing vacancies nearly nonexistent, ADUs have become more commonplace in recent years, offering property owners a chance to supplement income with an attached unit, or provide housing in close proximity for family members.

Rental costs for an ADU, while dependent on initial investment and market forces, are typically lower than traditional multi-family units.

According to the website Rent Cafe, the average rent in Petaluma is over $2,300. More than 80 percent of local apartments are priced at $2,000 or higher.

To save costs, city officials expressed interest in creating pre-approved plans for residents that would reduce staff time, and lower costs for residents, helping eliminate the need for an architect and engineer.

The council requested city staff expedite the framework for Petaluma’s upcoming regulation so the gap between the end of the temporary ordinance and the adoption of a permanent one is as brief as possible.

(Contact News Editor Yousef Baig at yousef.baig@arguscourier.com or 776-8461, and on Twitter @YousefBaig.)