{"id":230394,"date":"2018-06-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-08T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/blessing-or-curse\/"},"modified":"2018-06-08T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-08T07:00:00","slug":"blessing-or-curse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/blessing-or-curse\/","title":{"rendered":"Blessing or curse?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Por Dave Schwab<\/p>\n

New granny-flat rules create opportunity, controversy<\/strong><\/p>\n

The city has made it easier \u2014 and less expensive \u2014 to create \u201cgranny flat\u201d companion units to help alleviate the housing crunch, which is inviting blowback from some neighborhoods, like Allied Gardens in the Navajo area.<\/p>\n

Case in point: A companion unit now under construction by Jim and Amy Bennett in their front yard at 6306 Seaman St.<\/p>\n

The Bennetts say they are doing nothing extraordinary with their property.<\/p>\n

\"Blessing<\/a>
Loosened regulations and fees make it easier or homeowners to build granny flats on their property. (Courtesy of Jay Wilson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are developing an accessory dwelling unit on our property in accordance with the recent changes in California law and city regulations,\u201d said Jim Bennett. \u201cWe have both sets of our parents with issues of declining health and ability. We are relieved to be able to offer them help in this time of their lives. We have worked with our architect to design the new unit to match the architecture of our existing house. We are thankful that the law changes have afforded us this opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Issues surrounding granny-flat companion units are surfacing in the aftermath of a recent, unanimous vote by the City Council, with Councilmember David Alvarez absent, to cut fees by more than 60 percent on granny flats. Previously, homeowners had been paying upwards of $40,000 alone in government fees prior to constructing such companion units.<\/p>\n

Both District 7 Councilmember Scott Sherman, who chairs a council committee dealing with land-use issues, and Mayor Kevin Faulconer, were onboard leading the charge on granny-flat streamlining and cost-cutting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these new incentives, we\u2019re removing barriers to encourage the construction of new units that San Diegans can actually afford,\u201d Faulconer said. \u201cThe only way to change that is to build more housing that people can actually afford.\u201d<\/p>\n

Concluded Faulconer, \u201cHardworking folks who love San Diego and want to live in San Diego should not be priced out of San Diego.\u201d<\/p>\n

Characterizing San Diego\u2019s housing affordability crisis as \u201cthe top issue facing our city,\u201d Sherman concurred with Faulconer, contending housing shortages are \u201cliterally forcing the next generation of San Diegans to move outside the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the council\u2019s granny-flat vote, Faulconer noted other changes to help homeowners design and build granny-flat companion units are coming. He is hopeful the effort will collectively add at least 2,000 new units to the city\u2019s housing stock by 2028.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s office has also pointed out that more than 70 percent of San Diegans can\u2019t afford to buy a home at the county\u2019s median home cost of more than $550,000. That makes San Diego one of the most expensive housing markets in the country.<\/p>\n

\"Blessing<\/a>
Granny flats bring needed housing to San Diego, but some believe they should be regulated to back yards and not allowed in front yards like this one being built in Allied Gardens. (Photo by Jay Wilson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But not everyone is all in on the new changes governing granny flats. One detractor is Bennett neighbor and longtime Navajo community planner Marilyn Reed, who sees granny flats as an unwanted intrusion on the sanctity of her single-family neighborhood.<\/p>\n

Describing the Bennetts as good neighbors and a nice couple, Reed said she does not disagree with their building a companion unit, but rather \u201chow\u201d they\u2019re going about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey could build it with an attached unit to the back or side of their home,\u201d Reed said. \u201cBut instead, they\u2019re building a completely separate unit on their front lawn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reed fears others taking advantage of new, more-relaxed granny-flat regulations may signal the beginning of the end of single-family neighborhoods as San Diegans have known them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou put a granny flat in a single-family neighborhood in the front yard \u2014 and it changes the whole dynamic of the neighborhood,\u201d she claimed adding, \u201cgranny flats can be rentals. I want to live in a single-family home in a single-family neighborhood. If I wanted to live in a very dense neighborhood \u2014 there are other places in the city I could have chosen to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reed has a partial answer for what she believes needs to be done to address what she views as loopholes in existing regulations governing companion units.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city needs to take another look at their regulations,\u201d she said. \u201cInstead of making them so lax, they need to put some more restrictions on where these granny flats are being built. They should not be built on the front lawn of somebody\u2019s home. The city needs to go back and change some of these regulations to have more control over these granny flats, so they don\u2019t do to single-family neighborhoods what they\u2019re doing to them now. This is really causing the single-family neighborhood to become extinct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cautioned Reed about current granny-flat regulations, \u201cThere are no regulations from the city saying it has to be affordable, and regulations overseeing how they are being built now are non-existent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Concluded Reed, \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to put in changes making it easier for people to put granny flats in. It\u2019s another thing to put them in front yards, where you have two dwellings very close to each other, which lends an extremely dense appearance to the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the growth and regulation of granny flats remains unchecked in Allied Gardens, Reed said: \u201cWe may end up not having the single-family neighborhood we bought into many years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dave Schwab is a San Diego-based freelance writer. Reach him at dschwabbie@journalist.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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