June 2, 2004

Secondary dwelling issue creates division

By Carol Rosen
Editor

Secondary dwelling units was the featured topic at the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association’s (WGNA) general meeting on May 11 and the outcome appeared to create more division than unity. At least half of the people attending were decisive in their view against the “granny houses,” while a number of others were just as determined to get across the point that the secondary dwellings are a good idea.

In April, the San Jose City Council authorized its staff to begin public outreach toward drafting an ordinance allowing construction of secondary dwelling units in single family (R-1) residential zones. The proposal defines such units as a 650- square-foot dwelling that’s attached or detached on a minimum lot size of 6,000 square feet with a separate entrance, kitchen, bath and single bedroom.

If detached, it must maintain a minimum 6-foot separation from other buildings on the lot, comply with the same lot setbacks and height limitations as the primary structure and offer one additional uncovered parking space not within the lot’s front or side setback. In addition, the property owner must live in one of the two units.

Secondary units, according to the City Council staff, must use materials to match the main house and have a roof pitch matching the main unit to meet compatibility issues. In addition, the secondary dwelling’s door must not be visible from the street.

The Willow Glen meeting is the first to be held on the controversial issue. City Councilmember Ken Yeager, who attended the meeting with two members of his staff, made no comments; but he did take notes, as did his staff. Yeager later told The Times that he hasn’t made up his mind one way or the other, and he’s awaiting further meetings before he does.

“The council voted to ask the staff to hold these meetings. The decision [whether or not to build secondary dwellings] has not approved one way or the other. I don’t have a decision on it yet, the WGNA meeting is the first. There are problems and benefits to both sides, and I still have an open mind,” Yeager said.

For every person in favor of the units, another stood up to register disapproval. Many comments concerned the already tight parking problems throughout the Willow Glen neighborhood. Others discussed the high cost of housing, “many people bought homes in Willow Glen and paid lots of money to live here because it’s an area zoned for single family housing,” said one homeowner. “To have these units and encourage renting could easily lower our property values and bring drugs and crime into the area.”

Others complained that people had converted garages into rooms. One homeowner said he had a garage that was converted into a room before he bought the home. He claimed his home had plenty of parking space and didn’t need the garage. The speaker, John Davidson, a senior planner with the city of San Jose, said that if the garage had been converted legally, then it was OK. But, if the building had not gotten the permits, then it was an illegal structure that the city might make him tear down and convert back to a garage.

Davidson added that the parking issue is important. No secondary dwellings will be allowed if the home doesn’t also provide two parking spaces. State law, he added, requires two parking spaces for each single bedroom unit. He claimed that the street parking impact was relatively small.

But, “there are constant problems with parking,” added another Willow Glen homeowner. “People park in front of my home and my neighbors’ homes constantly. The problems grow especially on trash days, where the garbage cans and yard trimmings clog up the street,” he added.

One woman noted that the small secondary dwellings would be perfect to house her parents who are getting older but don’t want to go to a retirement or nursing home. “It’s a perfect idea to give them a place to live so they can have some independence and it relieves my fears because I’m close in case they need help,” she said.

Another, a parent of college-aged children, said he thought it would be a good idea in case his children decide to live and work in this area after they finish school. “They won’t be able to afford a home, probably not even an apartment in this area. This way they can get on their feet before they have to worry about housing.”

What difference does it make architecturally, he asked, when people build monster homes that don’t match their neighborhood’s architecture. “A small granny house that can barely be seen from the street is not as much an eyesore as some of these monster homes that don’t match an area’s architecture and take up the whole lot,” he said.

Two people from outside Willow Glen came to talk about what the secondary units have done to their neighborhoods. One, from the Mexican American Political Action Committee, claimed that secondary units cause overcrowding. Another from a neighborhood association off Bascom Avenue, said that her neighborhood had been relatively free from crime until it was allowed to build the granny units. Since then, too many people have bought the homes and rented them out and property values have decreased while problems with crime and drugs have increased.

Others complained after the meeting ended that people from outside the Willow Glen area had come and spoke up for the dwellings. “They don’t even live here. There are people that rove around neighborhood meetings and say they’re for these ideas when they don’t live here,” he said.

Another, who asked not to be identified, reiterated a comment from the meeting. “Why are we even considering this option when you just open up the paper and see all these units for rent. Why go to all this trouble if the rental market is so bad? They want to take a single-family neighborhood and turn it into duplexes. And, despite what they say, our older neighborhoods—with 40- to 45-foot frontages—will be negatively affected.”

“One size doesn’t fit all,” added Ed Rast, who also owns a home in Willow Glen. “Newer neighborhoods have larger lots that can more easily accommodate a secondary dwelling. I think it should be on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. It also should take into account the number of bedrooms to equal the number of cars. There’s a lot that needs to be worked out,” he concluded.