December 7, 2017

The San Diego City Council’s Smart Growth & Land Use Committee continues to make progress in lowering the fees for and making it easier to build addition dwelling units (ADUs), more commonly referred to as “granny flats.” Often cited as an important tool to increasing the number of housing units in the city, although admittedly not as effective as streamlined regulations or faster approvals, granny flats have historically had a fee structure that was cost prohibitive to would-be builders. At the direction of City leadership, staff presented a proposal to waive the Permit Plan Check Fee, Permit Inspection Fee, and the Coastal Development Permit Fee for granny flats. In doing so, the hope is to drop permitting fees from tens of thousands to closer to $2,000 if certain templates are used. This is a bold move recognizing the importance of bringing more housing units to the market without adding to the cost of developing those units.