In Pasadena the city is making it nearly impossible to build a Granny Flat, those cute back houses that are now called ADUs–Accessory Dwelling Units. We’ve had a wonderful ADU committee meeting for the past year researching ways to make this kind of housing more accessible. David went to Pasadena’s Planning Office and asked what it would cost in fees to build an 900 s.f. ADU on his property. See it outlined below. We were shocked and saddened that our city is trying to make it nearly impossible for lower income homeowners, for example, seniors on fixed incomes, to create a tiny home for a caregiver or college student to live for a little extra income.
We are recommending that Pasadena follow the example of Temple City, where the fees for ADUs are $3,000.
If you are in the Pasadena area next Monday, join us at the City Council to help us lower these fees as well as eliminate a a required size. Stay tuned for more info about this!
Making Housing and Community Happen 
Can you break down the 22,000 residential impact fee to show me how that is calculated? You should press on that to make sure they abide by the new changes in state legislation. I am working on ADU policy right now for Alameda County. I may be able to help you. Jim
On Dec 5, 2017 12:07 AM, “Making Housing and Community Happen” wrote:
> Jill Suzanne Shook posted: “In Pasadena the city is making it nearly > impossible to build a Granny Flat, those cute back houses that are now > called ADUs–Accessory Dwelling Units. We’ve had a wonderful ADU committee > meeting for the past year researching ways to make this kind of hous” >
Jim, I now that $20,000 is our park fee. That is waived for affordable housing, but I believe that affordable covenants need to be put on ADUs if you waive fees and that is not what we want–most homeowners don’t want a long term affordable covenant on their deeds. As much as I love affordability, we don;t want to hinder folks from building ADUs. I have also heard from the ADU staff in Santa Cruz that if you provide waivers on fees it then kicks in prevailing wages. Again, as much as we need good wages so folks can pay for expensive housing, this requirement can get very complicated and messy. I just learned that Gendales fees are only $10-12,000, the city right next door. This is so much more reasonable for a fee. I think our city is out of compliance with the new state law:
“It is the intent of the Legislature that an accessory dwelling unit ordinance adopted by a local agency has the effect of providing for the creation of accessory dwelling units and that provisions in this ordinance relating to matters including unit size, parking, fees, and other requirements, are not so arbitrary, excessive, or burdensome so as to unreasonably restrict the ability of homeowners to create accessory dwelling units in zones in which they are authorized by local ordinance.” http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=GOV§ionNum=65852.150
Are there any grounds for suing the city? Surely some aspect of the state legislation is violated through an effective ban on ADUs via “arbitrary, excessive, and burdensome” permitting fees. E.g., California Government Code Section 65852.150 now reads
“(8) Accessory dwelling units are, therefore, an essential component of California’s housing supply.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that an accessory dwelling unit ordinance adopted by a local agency has the effect of providing for the creation of accessory dwelling units and that provisions in this ordinance relating to matters including unit size, parking, fees, and other requirements, are not so arbitrary, excessive, or burdensome so as to unreasonably restrict the ability of homeowners to create accessory dwelling units in zones in which they are authorized by local ordinance.”
Yes, I have a PowerPoint showing how the fees in Pasadena are not in compliance with state policy I can send you this. I hope to post it soon. Thanks Alex for making this comment. It would be good to talk.. Jiill
Hi Jill, sounds super interesting! Looks like the statehouse is also concerned about the fee issue —
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/17/this-california-lawmaker-wants-to-bring-granny-flats-to-your-neighborhood/
Check the ADU requirements for your property in Pasadena at https://www.hausable.com/city/pasadena-ca. Calculate max square footage, permit fees and income potential to start planning your ADU!