Laserfiche WebLink
<br />~fyl- <br /> <br />b. <br /> <br />How Many Units are there? The inventory of accessory living units is gleaned from hard <br />data and soft data, which should be viewed together to begin to create a picture of the <br />supply of accessory living units. Available data includes assessor's data, estimates by <br />Planning staff, 1990 Census data, comments of realtors and building permits. The <br />following numbers apply to the entire City and to all zoning districts. Furthermore, they <br />include legal and illegal units. <br /> <br />There are approximately 530 accessory living units in Redwood City in 1998 as <br />measured by the County Assessor's records of the following two categories: more than <br />one detached single living unit on one parcel, and a single family residence that has <br />been converted to two rentable living units, but the market does not consider the <br />building a duplex. These are probably, but not necessarily, legal units. The location of <br />these units has been mapped, and they occur throughout the City (except Redwood <br />Shores) with the largest concentration in Friendly Acres and Roosevelt neighborhoods. <br /> <br />Preliminarily, staff estimates that there are thousands of accessory living units, many <br />more than those in the Assessor's data. <br /> <br />According to the 1990 Census, there were a total of 26,847 housing units in Redwood <br />City. Of the 26,847 units, 15, 445 units (57.5%) were in 1-unit structures. Of the 15,445 <br />units, 1,489 are accessory living units attached to a main unit. The number of detached <br />accessory dwelling units is not readily discernable from the Census. The California <br />Department of Finance has added to the 1990 Census to take into account units with <br />new utility hook-ups. For attached units in 1-unit residential structures, the increase is <br />54 units in the 1995 to 1999 period - clearly an understatement. <br /> <br />In the 1990 Census information, two key numbers related to second housing units are <br />unknown: those that are detached and/or those without a separate address. This is <br />significant because the numbers may be large. For example, if there was a main house <br />(a 1-unit structure) with attached and/or detached living units and all of them shared one <br />address, they would be counted as one unit. Real estate agents and staff at the <br />Association of Bay Area Governments report informally that there are many second <br />living units in Redwood City and that the number is increasing rapidly. <br /> <br />c. <br /> <br />A review of City records of building permits for new single family housing showed 12 <br />permits for accessory living units from 1-1-90 to 1-31-99. This data presents a partial <br />picture of legally created second living units. <br /> <br />Public Policy Issues of LeGal NonconforminG and illeGal Second Units. The issue of <br />accessory dwelling units arises primarily in the R-1 and RH zoning districts for two <br />reasons. First, the expectation of property owners in the R-1 and RH districts that they <br />have purchased a property in a single-family neighborhood. Second, when the density <br />of a neighborhood is increased by adding secondary dwelling units, the immediate <br />neighbors and the neighborhood may be impacted in the following ways: <br /> <br />. Health and safety, <br />. Increased parking on the street, <br />. Increased parking on site, <br />. Increased traffic on neighborhood streets, <br />. Increased noise, <br />. Increased impermeable surface on site (Le., more concrete, lot coverage), which <br />cumulatively increases runoff of rainwater because there is less permeable ground <br />to absorb the water. <br /> <br />-2- <br /> <br />..~.. 1Ir <br />