San Diego Tribune: California Housing Crisis: ‘Granny Flats’ a Good Step

San Diego Tribune: California Housing Crisis: ‘Granny Flats’ a Good Step
September 1, 2016 Lei Lani Fera

Economists say adding housing stock is crucial to slowing the growth in housing costs in San Francisco and elsewhere in California.The passage in Sacramento of three bills making it easier to build “granny flats” may not be a giant step forward in the housing crisis, but it is still very welcome. It shows state lawmakers have internalized the idea — finally — that adding stock is the best way to address California’s housing crisis. AB 2299, by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, and SB 1069, by Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, remove obstacles imposed by local agencies that block or make it costly for homeowners to convert garages or convert or add backyard structures for use as “secondary housing.”

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