WALNUT CREEK (KRON) — The solution to the Bay Area housing crisis may be in our own backyards.
A new bill in the state Senate would ease up the fees homeowners have to pay if they want to build a backyard cottage.
KRON’s Kate Cagle looks at how these “accessory units” or “granny flats” may be a quick fix to the Bay Area housing crisis.
Andre James said he knows a good roof over your head is a bit of a luxury in the Bay Area these days.
“Put in 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bath rental unit,” James said.
So, his plan for the concrete slab in his backyard is as much about self-interest as it is about solving a big problem.
“We have our budget here,” James said.
But there’s a wall he just can’t get over.
“$20,000 in fees and $10,000 in a sprinkler system,” James said.
All those fees are paid to agencies all over Walnut Creek before you can even start pouring the concrete.
As Bay Area boomers figure out what to do with their empty nests, they’re realizing the fees in some communities to build a rental unit could add up to as much as $50,000
“We don’t think that’s fair,” James said.
Homeowners hope to get some help from state lawmakers.
A bill in the Senate would eliminate some of the requirements to build an extra unit, such as new utility hook-ups, sprinklers, and parking.
It is sponsored by the Bay Area Business Council.
“We believe that the home has already paid those fees when it was originally built,” council spokesman Matt Regan said.
Regan said if “not in my backyard” created this problem, “yes in my backyard” is the solution.
“These things will be generally built by families or by small contractors. Not by big businesses,” Regan said.
James said in the short term, his unit could help out his daughter who graduated from college and now pays high rent in San Francisco, or bring home his son who moved to Portland.
“And it’s a solution that’s so simple. It doesn’t cost any funding to just say yes,” James said.
The bill is making its way through the state Senate right now. If it passes, it would go into effect in January 2017.
So, James is waiting until then to build his second unit.