Is this part of a solution to help Merced’s housing crisis?
.JPG "A house on M Street south of Yosemite Avenue in Merced is for rent on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017. Almost half of Merced County’s renters were “cost-burdened,” spending 30 percent or more of their income on rent, according to a report from Apartment List. Nearly a quarter spent half of their income on rent.")
Merced moved forward with a policy this week to allow homeowners to build in-law suites in an effort to put a small dent in Merced’s housing shortage.
The suites, which city staffers call “accessory dwelling units,” would likely be more popular in the older parts of town because those lots tend to have much more room to build a structure that’s less than 500-square feet, staffers said this week.
City leaders seemed to lean toward a plan that borrows from a program in Clovis, which allows the in-law suites assuming they come from a set of already-approved cottage designs.
A lack of housing is an issue statewide. In Merced, there is a less than 1-percent vacancy rate in rental space in a city where the majority of residents rent, according to numbers from city staffers.
“This is a new program and I don’t think we’re going to see a lot of applications right away,” City Manager Steve Carrigan said. “What staff really likes about it is it does add to our housing stock, and it gives people an opportunity.”
The city has projected it will have issued more than 600 permits to build single-family homes by the end of 2018, according to Carrigan. That’s compared to the 170 issued in 2017, and very few in the 10 years before that.
Then there are about 800 apartment units lined up for construction, Carrigan said, but those are contingent on developers getting funding.
When it comes to the in-law suites, newer lots in Merced tend to have small yards, according to Mark Hamilton, the city of Merced’s housing specialist. Homeowners in newer neighborhoods would likely have to build the suites over a garage or in some other creative method, assuming that type of suite is ultimately allowed by the City Council.
Allowing homeowners to build suites came down to the city from state legislation, city staffers noted.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many lots in Merced would be eligible to build an in-law suite, and staffers said the number would probably be small, but the proposed program highlights the dire need for housing in the fast-growing town.
The council is still mulling whether a homeowner would have to live in the home in order to rent the suite, or if both could be rented out. The council would ultimately also have to make decisions related to parking.
The council is set to discuss a number of the specifics in the New Year.