Santa Cruz Planning Department looking for community input on ADU’s

To help the housing crisis here on the Central Coast, one city is revising their ordinances surrounding Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s).

The city of Santa Cruz is hoping to make it easier for anyone wanting to build what’s called a “Granny Unit.”

The city will be holding a meeting at the police community room Thursday night at 6 p.m.

They will be asking for the public’s input on how to make the process of building those granny units better for everyone.

“Granny units” are self-contained living areas located near someone’s home. They can be detached or attached to the other dwelling.

The city of Santa Cruz gets about 30 permit requests every year for the units, but only 20 of those usually end up getting built. The planning department said they know financing can be an issue, but they’re also looking for other reasons why people do not build.

“I would encourage them to come, have a conversation with us and tell us what they need to make it more feasible for them. We understand that ADU’s are not a silver bullet, it’s not a cure all. But it’s one piece of the puzzle that we combined together we are hopeful we can start to turn around the housing crisis in the city,” said Sarah Fleming

The planning department hopes to have the new ordinance written and ready to present to the city council by November.

Coming up at six, KION’s Ashley Keehn will have more from one Santa Cruz resident who has been wanting to build but something is stopping him.