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Among the intractable problems that planning commissioners face is affordable housing.
There is a form of affordable housing that requires no tax subsidy, is integrated into single family neighborhoods, and is accepted in a growing number of communities. It is not a panacea, but it deserves more attention than it gets. What I am referring to is the accessory apartment or unit.
A zoning amendment is often needed to permit accessory units, and, as I will discuss, the zoning process can be used to severely limit the installation of accessory units.
Interest in accessory units surfaced in the early 1980s, but they have almost been forgotten. This is probably because accessory units are installed one by one, providing little opportunity for ribbon cuttings.
How is it possible that accessory units can provide affordable housing with no subsidy?
Part of the answer lies in the fact that the baby boom has left behind an empty nester boom — families whose children have grown, and now find themselves with excess space in their homes. In addition, baby boomers generally have small families. As a result of these two facts, roughly one single family home in three has enough surplus space for a complete separate rental unit. …
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