Lee Fehrenbacher//December 3, 2012//
Home builders who specialize in accessory dwelling units might have cause for celebration this Wednesday.
The city council is scheduled to vote on a resolution that would extend a suspension on system development charges for ADUs for another three years to July 31, 2016. Adopted in 2010, the suspension was slated to expire in 2013.
ADUs are small apartments – often converted garages or mother-in-law cottages – that are built onto existing residential properties. While the price to build one can start at $80,000, the SDCs alone can often cost between $8,000 and $13,000.
Matthew Grumm, policy manager for Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s office and the Bureau of Development Services, said the existing suspension had proven to be successful in promoting ADU development. In a Sept. 25 article in the Daily Journal of Commerce, Hammer and Hand owner Sam Hagerman said the SDC suspension had increased the number of yearly permits for ADU construction from a couple handfuls to a couple hundred.
The goal of the resolution is to foster continued ADU development. Wednesday’s city hall meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. and is located at 1221 S.W. Fourth Ave. Information on the resolution can be found .