Building an accessory dwelling unit in Marin requires spending a lot of money and navigating a thicket of rules, regulations and fees. To meet ambitious state-mandated housing targets, the Marin County Civil Grand Jury is urging the county to streamline the process and make it more affordable.
ADUs—also known as in-law apartments or granny units—are a significant component of Marin’s strategy for increasing housing stock. The county has already implemented some programs aimed at getting them built, but the grand jury wants it to pick up the pace.
In a report issued on June 15, the jury urged Marin to consider a variety of approaches: reducing building and impact fees, providing financing tools, accelerating the permitting process and hiring a full-time staffer to guide homeowners through the regulations. It also recommended granting amnesty to existing ADUs built without permits.
In recent years, the state has passed a raft of legislation intended to ease California’s housing crisis, including bills to encourage the construction of ADUs. Some cities and counties have been quicker than others to take up the challenge. San Jose, for example, offers same-day building permits for ADUs. Napa and Sonoma have a full-time ADU program coordinator.
Each of California’s 58 counties has a civil grand jury, a court-appointed panel that investigates ways to improve the functioning of local government. This year, Marin’s panel decided to make ADUs a priority.
Affordable housing advocates say Marin has already taken steps to encourage construction of ADUs but agree that it could do more. “It’s great to see attention being brought to this important opportunity,” said Rachel Ginis, project manager for Hello Housing, a nonprofit running a pilot ADU project for Marin. “More funding options would be a great boon to development and having dedicated permitting staff would also be tremendously helpful.”
Marin’s housing goals call for 9.5 percent of new housing to be ADUs by 2031, the end of the next eight-year, state-mandated housing cycle. The goal for West Marin is 7.85 percent. But the jury report cites a U.C. Berkeley report that concluded that ADUs could help the county meet two-thirds of its housing mandate.
ADUs can be attached or detached from a primary residence. They must have a separate entrance, a separate bathroom and a full kitchen. They range in size from about 400 square feet to 1,200 square feet and accommodate one or two bedrooms. Although they are less expensive to build than detached homes, they can easily cost upwards of $500,000.
Sarah Jones, director of the Community Development Agency, said the county is already working on some of the jury’s ideas. “We recognize that the issues they have raised are barriers for people,” she said. “I agree with the grand jury’s assessment that the process could be easier and that ADUs make a lot of sense for West Marin.”
Earlier this year, the agency launched HelloADU, a pilot project that provides free technical assistance for homeowners interested in building ADUs or junior ADUs, a less expensive alternative that involves renovating a bedroom, basement or attic space. JADUs have a kitchenette and can share a bathroom with the main home.
Ms. Ginis, who is managing the program, said about 50 people joined the pilot, about 20 of them homeowners in the coastal zone. But after participating in workshops and one-on-one sessions, only six are now moving forward with construction plans. All are from unincorporated areas outside the coastal zone, where homes rely on septic systems that often require an upgrade before an ADU can be installed.
Immanuel Bereket, a county planner, said many homeowners interested in building ADUs change their minds after considering the costs. “I think it’s fair to say that access to an adequate sewage disposal system is the primary impediment to ADUs,” he said.
The county is running another pilot program with the Bolinas Community Land Trust aimed at making it easier for homeowners to comply with septic requirements. The 20 participants received up to $40,000 for septic upgrades. The county waived permit and impact fees and granted limited amnesty to homeowners with unpermitted work on their property.
The program was originally aimed at homeowners who agreed to rent at affordable rates. Few owners could make the math work, however, so the county allowed people to participate provided they agreed to make their ADU a long-term rental.
Ms. Jones said the C.D.A. is working with the regional water quality control board on modifications to septic regulations that would reduce the additional capacity needed to install an ADU.
The county’s commitment to streamlining its rules is a welcome development, said Don Smith, a Bolinas resident who spent more than a decade seeking approval for an ADU. He was repeatedly told that his septic system would need to be upgraded, even though his house had far more capacity than needed for him and his wife.
“This sort of bureaucratic obstruction is one big reason we have so few ADUs being built, even though they’re generally acknowledged to be the most expedient and least expensive way to create housing in West Marin,” said Mr. Smith, who is not participating in the Bolinas pilot program.
After years of resisting, the C.D.A. recently approved his project without requiring a septic upgrade. When it is completed, Mr. Smith plans to rent it at cost to a low-income tenant.
The Community Land Trust Association of West Marin is also working with homeowners who want to install ADUs or JADUs. They have facilitated 16 so far, nearly all of them JADUs, which can typically be created for around $100,000.
CLAM is also running a small pilot program for the county that provides homeowners with $40,000 to cover pre-development costs such as architects’ fees.
ADUs could come online much more quickly if the county approved a standard design for a unit that could be immediately approved for anyone who wants to reproduce it. “Having a set plan helps save time and money,” said Pam Dorr, CLAM’s executive director. “That way, each homeowner doesn’t have to go get an architect.”
Ms. Dorr also suggested the county make greater use of innovative financial tools offered by the state, including a home loan program that doesn’t require repayment until a property owner sells their home.
Providing financial support and simplifying permitting rules might encourage more owners of vacation homes to install ADUs that could be rented at affordable rates to low-wage workers who work in West Marin but can’t afford to live here.
Ms. Dorr hopes the county will heed the suggestions in the grand jury report. “I hope it will move us closer to our goal of keeping people from being displaced,” she said. “It’s going to require a holistic approach.”