Every year, in each of California's 58 counties, a group of residents is sworn in to serve as a civil grand jury that investigates the operations of officers, departments and agencies of local government. This posse of deputized residents can investigate whatever they decide needs investigating.
In San Mateo County, located on the Peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose, a civil grand jury has blown the whistle on several cities it claims are relying on granny flats—a.k.a. accessory dwelling units (ADUs)—to avoid mandates to build new multifamily affordable housing units.
To address what California has declared is an affordable housing state of emergency, last year the state enacted an amendment to its 1969 Housing Element Law allowing communities to count ADUs as affordable housing in their plans to build affordable housing that meets state-mandated goals.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
