Agenda - Planning Commission - 12/06/1994

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CASE PROPOSED REGULATIONS FOR ACCESSORY APARTMENTS By: Sylvia Frolik, Zoning Administrator Background: Per direction from the Planning Commission and the City Council, Staff has prepared the following report and proposed ordinance pertaining to accessory apartments. There is currently one application for an accessory apartment that has been tabled by the City Council in lieu of establishing City regulations for same. Observations: Staff has conducted a survey, and basically Andover, Anoka, Blaine, Coon Rapids and Elk River are currently doing the same as Ramsey. There is nothing in the codes to prevent boarders and roommates, and for lack of regulations, accessory apartments are prohibited. The census data indicates that people are living in smaller households than they did 20 or 30 years ago. There are more single people, either because they are marrying later, divorced more often, or living longer after their spouses die. Working women are having fewer children, and the baby boom has been followed by an empty-nester boom. Yet, federal dollars for affordable housing have dried up, forcing cities to seek out inexpensive ways to augment the supply of lower cost housing in their communities. Accessory apartments add affordable housing stock without dramatically changing the nature of neighborhoods, while keeping the dream of home ownership alive even when housing costs seem prohibitive. By keeping more residents within established neighborhoods, cities also reduce sprawl while adding to the tax base. Communities that allow accessory apartments typically average one conversion, from a single- family unit to a single-family unit with an accessory apartment, yearly for every 1,000 single family homes. There is no known example of a community that has reversed its decision to permit accessory apartments. Accessory apartments are the least visible because they are built within an existing home. The underused housing stock is increasingly being looked at by home owners as a source of income and services. Both the homeowner and the community can benefit from the presence of accessory apartments if they are carefully managed. Accessory apartments offer particular advantages to older home owners. Apartment tenants can provide not only rental income but they may also provide personal services to older homeowners in return for lower rent. Tenants can be a source of companionship and security from fear of criminal intrusion and personal accidents. In addition, buyers of new and/or existing homes may find that the installation of an accessory apartment offers them a means of meeting payments on high interest loans. The presence of an accessory apartment can also help single parents to hang onto their houses in the wake of divorce or death. The most obvious public benefit of accessory apartments is that they offer a source of inexpensive housing units in the community. Accessory apartments can bring households at a variety of stages in the life cycle into a neighborhood, reducing fluctuation and demand for services. The most frequent reason for resisting the legalization of accessory apartments is increase in parking and traffic congestion. Studies indicate that parking problems are generally not created by accessory apartments but are the result of residents using garages for storage and not for automobiles. In addition, most neighborhoods reach peak population density and peak car ownership levels about 20 years after they are built. At that time, the homes are full of teenagers with cars. Accessory apartments are not installed in enough numbers to come close to that 20-year peak of kids and cars.