Granny Flats on Hold
The Planning Department for the City of Los Angeles announced yesterday that due to "budget cutbacks" it was halting its plans to craft an ordinance setting the terms of how homeowners in R-1 (single family) zones may build an "auxiliary dwelling unit" or "granny flat on their property. The sudden turnaround is believed to be a consequence of public skepticism over the special interests that the plans really serve, versus the "affordable housing" claim that the city has been using to trumpet its plans.
The city had been falsely claiming that it was mandated by state law
to craft such an ordinance, and plans were being discussed for how to
reduce the minimum required lot size for such a flat from 7,500 square
feet (as currently established in an Interim Guidelines) to 5,000
square feet. State law requires that all applicants be permitted to
build granny flats if nine conditions are met. That law also gives
municipalities the leeway to add further restrictions. (Pasadena, for example, requires a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet for a "granny flat.")
In the absence
of a city ordinance, the terms set forth in the state law will apply.
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