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has embraced this approach by creating a
<br />Residential Inn Incentive Program. It targets
<br />underutilized parcels in suburban and rural
<br />residential zones that are 21,78o square feet
<br />or larger. Properties that qualify are eligible
<br />for fee reductions to make additional resi-
<br />dential development less expensive in areas
<br />where existing infrastructure is in place (City
<br />of Riverside).
<br />Davis, California, has taken a much
<br />different approach to help facilitate infill
<br />development. Instead of providing financial
<br />or processing incentives, the city prepared a
<br />helpful guide to infill development, including
<br />principles and expectations. This document
<br />is still in draft form, but is publicly available
<br />(see References). This guide recognizes the
<br />complexity of infill development and seeks
<br />to help developers navigate the process to
<br />ensure that high -quality infill is ultimately
<br />built (City of Davis).
<br />Accessory Dwelling Units
<br />For years, accessory dwelling units (ADUs)
<br />have been a cost-effective way to increase
<br />the housing supply. These smaller housing
<br />units, either within the existing footprint of
<br />a home or in a small accessory structure,
<br />were traditionally created with the purpose
<br />of housing extended family members nearby.
<br />They are generally a good way to increase the
<br />density in low -density neighborhoods, while
<br />at the same time providing supplementary
<br />income for home owners. While some cities
<br />have embraced accessory dwelling units,
<br />others have put up roadblocks and tried to
<br />ban them all together.
<br />Recognizing their potential to limit
<br />sprawl and provide additional affordable
<br />housing, many states and jurisdictions have
<br />taken steps to ease the path for home own-
<br />ers to build accessory dwelling units. At the'
<br />end of2o16, California enacted a sweeping
<br />law streamlining the process whereby cities
<br />should approve them, as well as reducing the
<br />fees associated with them.
<br />Given the high cost of housing in Cali-
<br />fornia, the number of applications for ADUs
<br />has exploded in many jurisdictions, includ-
<br />ing Santa Barbara. ADUs may become one of
<br />the key fixtures for a "post -suburban city"
<br />where the modern household is not just the
<br />traditional nuclear family, but full of many
<br />generations, multiple unrelated adults liv-
<br />ing together, college students moving back
<br />home for longer periods of time, and home
<br />owners looking for additional cash flow to
<br />keep up with housing and living costs
<br />(Loudenback 2017).
<br />Cities outside of California are mak-
<br />ing significant progress, as well. Arlington,
<br />Virginia, recently rewrote its regulations to
<br />allow for an easier process for home owners
<br />to construct and license ADUs after only 20
<br />eligible home owners successfully obtained
<br />licenses over an eight -year period (Sullivan
<br />2017). Perhaps no city has seen as much
<br />success in promoting or building ADUs
<br />as Portland, Oregon. In 2016, the number
<br />of ADUs approved (615) was tantalizingly
<br />close to the number of single-family homes
<br />approved (867) (Law 2017).
<br />This is in stark contrast to just a
<br />decade ago, when Portland approved 3o
<br />times more single-family home permits
<br />than permits forADUs.'As the number
<br />of lots available for single-family homes
<br />decreases, and as demand for housing
<br />remains strong, the economics of maximiz-
<br />ing the buildout of a single-family lot by
<br />adding an ADU become more profound. With
<br />administrative and fee changes that the
<br />city has made for processing ADU permits,
<br />it becomes even cheaper than it otherwise
<br />might have been. Portland exempted ADUs
<br />from impact fees for roads, parks, and
<br />utilities in 2010 and has since renewed
<br />that exemption twice. Even with the recent
<br />boom, there is considerable development
<br />potential remaining throughout the city as
<br />well. Portland State University recently cal-
<br />culated that there are approximately 70,000
<br />single-family lots in the city that could add
<br />an ADU. (Law 2017)
<br />Additions and Garage Conversions
<br />One of the biggest limiting factors to how
<br />many people can live in a single-family
<br />home is the number of bedrooms it is per-
<br />mitted to have. Adding additional bedrooms
<br />has traditionally been relatively easy. In
<br />some cases, it's a matter of adding a wall
<br />or subdividing a room. In other cases, the
<br />additional bedroom(s) can take the form
<br />of an addition to the home. In still other
<br />circumstances, there may be underused or
<br />uninhabitable space that can be claimed,
<br />like a garage, attic, or basement. In the
<br />past, this has been a straightforward
<br />process: As long as you obeyed setbacks
<br />and floor area ratio requirements, all you
<br />needed was a building permit.
<br />Some cities concerned about over-
<br />crowding and its effect on on -street parking
<br />in neighborhoods have instituted limits and
<br />greater oversight. Berkeley, California, has
<br />instituted new restrictions on additional
<br />bedrooms that would require reviews and
<br />permits before increasing the number of
<br />bedrooms on a residential parcel beyond
<br />four. Davis, California, similarly requires
<br />additional off-street parking for homes with
<br />five or more bedrooms. It is probably no coin-
<br />cidence that both cities are college towns
<br />with burgeoning student populations. San
<br />Luis Obispo, another California college town,
<br />regulates high -occupancy residential uses
<br />where there are more than six adults living
<br />together in one housing unit. This includes
<br />greater oversight and higher off-street park-
<br />ing standards.
<br />Another method for increasing the liv-
<br />ing space in a home is to convert all or part
<br />of a garage, either into additional rooms
<br />for the main unit or as part of an ADU. The
<br />new California state laws for streamlining
<br />ADU approval contemplate existing garages
<br />as one option for home owners. Finishing
<br />garages (or in some parts of the country
<br />attics or basements) may often be a more
<br />affordable option for adding living space
<br />than an expensive addition or freestanding
<br />ADU. As driving habits and car ownership
<br />levels change, and as (some) cities relax
<br />off-street parking requirements, garage
<br />conversions may increasingly be part of the
<br />reimagining of single-family neighborhoods.
<br />Short -Term Rentals
<br />A pressure on single-family neighborhoods
<br />is the rise of the sharing economy and short-
<br />term rentals. In popular tourist areas, a
<br />well -run Airbnb can generate more money for
<br />a home owner than might otherwise be gen-
<br />erated through a long-term residential lease.
<br />Some recent data has shown that spikes in
<br />Airbnb listings can be linked to increases in
<br />the monthly cost of rent. This encourages
<br />property owners to withdraw their properties
<br />from the housing market and rent them out
<br />as short-term rentals.
<br />The impact of short-term rentals is
<br />more profound than just shrinking the
<br />home supply and increasing the cost of
<br />rent. Airbnbs and other short-term rentals
<br />have the potential to drastically change
<br />the character of existing single-family
<br />neighborhoods. Imagine —suddenly the
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